Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Statistics - Indian Corruption

From the time of birth till death, nothing will move in India with out paying bribe. Here are some interesting Statistics on Corruption in India.

  • 85% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to successfully complete jobs in public office.
  • Criminalization of Indian politics is a serious problem. In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder".
  • India tops the list for black money in the entire world with almost US$1456 billion in Swiss banks (USD 1.4 trillion approximately) in the form of black money.According to the data provided by the Swiss Banking Association Report (2006), India has more black money than the rest of the world combined.
  • Indian Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt.
  • India's traditionally ruling family's (Gandhi's) financial net worth to be anywhere between $9.41 billion (Rs 42,345 crore) to $18.66 billion (Rs 83,900 crore), most of it in the form of illegal monies.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Targeting Life Skills (TLS) Model

Soft Skills required for a CEO


~ Political sensitivity.
~ Business and commercial awareness.
~ Strategic awareness.
~ Understanding funding streams and mechanisms.
~ Information management.
~ Organisation and control.
~ Team building.
~ Communication and persuasion.
~ Networking and public relations.
~ Leading change.

How to improve the soft skills required for work?

In the previous article I listed 60 soft skills, which if practised at the workplace, could boost your professional life.


Subjects like financial management, marketing management, HR management can be taught in the classroom and can be studied at home. But not soft skills. Soft skills are acquired and experienced on the spot and cannot be developed by merely reading textbooks.



The soft skills you gain will equip you to excel in your professional life and in your personal life. It is a continuous learning process.
The 60 soft skills mentioned can be classified into corporate skills, employability skills and life skills. In some parts of the world like in USA and Australia , soft skills are also known as world skills.
Corporate skills
These are generally CEO level skills, but if you are familiar with them you will be in a position to guide your boss towards success ie working together for a common goal as a team. You can become a courageous follower as mentioned by Ira Chaleff in his award-winning book Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders
These skills include:

~ Political sensitivity.
~ Business and commercial awareness.
~ Strategic awareness.
~ Understanding funding streams and mechanisms.
~ Information management.
~ Organisation and control.
~ Team building.
~ Communication and persuasion.
~ Networking and public relations.
~ Leading change.
Employability skills
These have to be mastered by employable graduates and freshers include communication, team working, leadership, initiative, problem solving, flexibility and enthusiasm.
Every skill helps us to learn one more as they overlap each other. 
To quote an example, leadership encompasses a number of other skills including cooperating with others, planning and organising, making decisions and verbal communication. Verbal communication itself involves various means of communication, some of which you may find easier than others -- talking over the phone, making a presentation to a group, explaining something to a person with a more limited understanding of the topic for example.
By improving one skill, you may also improve a number of others. In the context of your career planning and development, they are called career management skills.
Employability skills
These have to be mastered by employable graduates and freshers include communication, team working, leadership, initiative, problem solving, flexibility and enthusiasm.
Every skill helps us to learn one more as they overlap each other. 
To quote an example, leadership encompasses a number of other skills including cooperating with others, planning and organising, making decisions and verbal communication. Verbal communication itself involves various means of communication, some of which you may find easier than others -- talking over the phone, making a presentation to a group, explaining something to a person with a more limited understanding of the topic for example.
Life skills

These skills are related to the head, heart, hands and health ie highly personal and behavioural skills which reflects our personality and naturally helps in personality development. 
We manage and think with our head.  Resilience, keeping records, making wise use of resources, planning/organising and goal setting are 'head' related managerial functions.  Service learning, Critical thinking, problem solving, decision making and learning to learn were related to our thinking processes, which we manage with our head. 

Functions of the heart are relating to people and caring. How do we relate to people? We relate to people by accepting differences, conflict resolutions, social skills, cooperation and communication.  The second function we do through our heart is caring.  We care through nurturing relationships, sharing, empathy and concern for others.

We give and work through our hands. Community service, volunteering, leadership, responsible citizenship and contributions to group effort -- are our way giving back to society.  We work through our marketable skills, teamwork and self-motivation to get the things done. 

Living and being comes under the functions of health. Healthy lifestyle choices, stress management, disease prevention and personal safety are our prime concerns for better living. Self-esteem, self-responsibility, character, managing feelings and self-discipline must be practiced without fail for our well-being. In a nutshell, the essence of life skills is share well, care well and fare well.
Things to do everyday
Follow these ten golden rules and enjoy every moment of living.
~ Greet your family members first thing in the morning. If you are not used to this, they will be surprised with your sudden and nice gesture.

~ Greet your peers, subordinates and boss once you enter the office. Smile at even the 'security' personnel standing at the gate, who takes care of your safety.

~ Greet your friends along the way and do not ignore them.

~ Continously reciprocate to breed communication. If you do not reciprocate at least with a 'thanks' when you get information or a source on your online network or your offline network, you will not be remembered for a long time.  If you are not remembered, you are out of your network. 

~ Be a proactive listener and empathise with others to command respect.

~ While talking to others, your voice, tone and tenor must be audible and soothing. It should not be aggressive or in a shouting mode.

~ Dress well to suit your profession and to create positive vibes in your workplace.  If you are a sales representative, do not go out with printed shirts and jeans, which may turn down your customer. 

~ Political and religious comments must be avoided at all costs in the workplace, when you are in a group.

~ Your communication should not provoke others. 
~ Do not speak ill of others if you can help it.




Top Soft Skills required for job


Amit Kumar did his M Tech from IIT, New Delhi  He has an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad . But he still could not get the job of his choice during campus recruitment.
Reason: Blame it on his soft skills. Or rather the lack of them. These include communication, listening, negotiation, etiquette, language skills etc. Hence, he could not compete with his fellow students who got better jobs.


Soft skills play a vital role for professional success; they help one to excel in the workplace and their importance cannot be denied in this age of information and knowledge. Good soft skills -- which are in fact scarce -- in the highly competitive corporate world will help you stand out in a milieu of routine job seekers with mediocre skills and talent.


The Smyth County Industry Council, a governing body based in the US, conducted a survey recently. The results of the survey was called the Workforce Profile which found "an across-the-board unanimous profile of skills and characteristics needed to make a good employee." The people most likely to be hired for available jobs have what employers call "soft skills".
Here were some of the findings according to the workforce study:
The most common traits, mentioned by virtually every employer, were:
~ Positive work ethic. 
~ Good attitude.
~ Desire to learn and be trained.
Mohan Rao, a technical director with Emmellen Biotech Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Mumbai defines a 'good attitude: "It is a behavioural skill, which cannot be taught. However it can be developed through continuous training. It represents the reactive nature of the individual and is about looking at things with the right perspective. You must be ready to solve problems proactively and create win-win situations. And you must be able to take ownership ie responsibility for your actions and lead from the front without calling it quits at the most critical moment."

Most of the business leaders observed that they could find workers who have "hard skills" ie the capability to operate machinery or fulfill other tasks, but many potential hires lack the "soft skills" that a company needs.

CEOs and human resource managers said they are ready to hire workers who demonstrate a high level of "soft skills" and then train them for the specific jobs available. The ever-changing impact of technology has given hard-skills-only workers a short shelf life.
According to results of the Workforce Profile, (source: www.workforce.com) the more valuable employee is one who can grow and learn as the business changes.
Soft skills "are as important, if not more important, than traditional hard skills to an employer looking to hire -- regardless of industry or job type. This could offer a major breakthrough as educators and training providers seek to develop and cluster training courses to fit business and industry needs."
Top 60 soft skills
The Workforce Profile
 defined about 60 "soft skills", which employers seek. They are applicable to any field of work, according to the study, and are the "personal traits and skills that employers state are the most important when selecting employees for jobs of any type."

1. Math.
2. Safety.
3. Courtesy.
4. Honesty.
5. Grammar.
6. Reliability.
7. Flexibility.
8. Team skills.
9. Eye contact.
10. Cooperation.
11. Adaptability.
12. Follow rules.
13. Self-directed.
14 Good attitude.
15. Writing skills.
16. Driver's license.
17. Dependability.
18. Advanced math.
19. Self-supervising.
20. Good references.
21. Being drug free. 
22. Good attendance.
23. Personal energy.
24. Work experience. 
25. Ability to measure.
26. Personal integrity.
27. Good work history.
28. Positive work ethic.
29. Interpersonal skills.
30. Motivational skills.
31. Valuing education. 
32. Personal chemistry.
33. Willingness to learn.
34. Common sense. 
35. Critical thinking skills.
36. Knowledge of fractions.
37. Reporting to work on time.
38. Use of rulers and calculators.
39. Good personal appearance.
40. Wanting to do a good job.
41. Basic spelling and grammar.
42. Reading and comprehension.
43. Ability to follow regulations.
44. Willingness to be accountable.
45. Ability to fill out a job application.
46. Ability to make production quotas.
47. Basic manufacturing skills training.
48. Awareness of how business works.
49. Staying on the job until it is finished.
50. Ability to read and follow instructions.
51. Willingness to work second and third shifts.
52. Caring about seeing the company succeed.
53. Understanding what the world is all about.
54. Ability to listen and document what you have heard.
55. Commitment to continued training and learning.
56. Willingness to take instruction and responsibility.
57. Ability to relate to coworkers in a close environment.
58. Not expecting to become a supervisor in the first six months.
59. Willingness to be a good worker and go beyond the traditional eight-hour day.
60. Communication skills with public, fellow employees, supervisors, and customers.
How many soft skills do you possess?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

How to select the right B School?


20 years ago management courses in India were synonymous with IIMs. Though IIMs continue to be the best B-schools in imparting business education in India, with time several good B-Schools have emerged to cater to the growing population of MBA aspirants. These institutes offer innovative courses to satisfy the needs of all sections of students.
Hence, it is very important to understand your needs and select the right institute. Since you will be spending a lot in your MBA, it is important you select the right institute. How do we differentiate between these colleges? Here are some tips that you can follow-:
1) Reputation: Some B-schools already have a very good brand value and are very well recognised in the industry. Students of these well-reputed B-schools are sought-after by employers across industry. The brand value of the college adds value to the student's CV. If it is a new or upcoming college, then it is advisable to consult with somebody in the industry to understand the industry perception of the college.
2) Rankings: Every year, reputed newspapers, magazines and websites release B-school rankings. Although these rankings are not very reliable, they give some idea about the relative merit of the college.
3) Accreditation: Does the college have the requisite approvals? Is it AICTE- approved? What other collaborations does the college have? It is very important to know what all accreditations your colleges have. If your degrees are not recognized, they won't hold much value especially if you're seeking jobs in the public sector.
4) Placements: One of the primary reasons why many students opt for MBAs is to get a well-paid job. It is for this reason that most students carefully study the official placement report of the college. When looking at the placement statistics, try and find out the job profiles offered. Also check out which companies hire from these institutes,
5) Alumni: Talk to the alumni, find out about the college and where they are placed. Try and get your doubts cleared about the quality of education offered and the facilities available.
6) Faculty and Staff: Find about how many permanent and temporary faculty members are there. Find out about their qualifications. A healthy mix of people with some industry exposure is preferred. This brings in insights from the industry and academics to the classroom.
7) Students: Data such as the average CAT/GMAT scores, average age, average work experience and male-female ratio gives you a fair idea of the student mix of the college.

PGDM vs MBA WHICH ONE IS BETTER?


Most aspiring managers who want to pursue management studies to give a boost to their careers are very often a confused lot. They want to get the maximum return on their fees and hence do everything it takes to get a degree from one of the renowned B-Schools of the country. In an attempt to make it to IIMs, XLRI or Symbiosis, these students are willing to spend as much time and money as required. They join coaching classes, take practice exams and have mock interviews to make it to the best of the lot.
However, one thing that really confuses them is to go for a MBA from a recognised university or PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) from IIMs. Let us help you understand the basic difference between the two in India-:
1) Only universities can offer MBA: In India only those management institutes which are affiliated to a university can offer an MBA degree. For this reason institutes like Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA), University of Pune, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies or Faculty of Management Studies can offer MBA degree, as they are affiliated with Pune, Mumbai and Delhi University respectively. Also IIMs, though being the best of the lot, can't offer MBAs as they are not affiliated with any university. Institutes which are not affiliated to university are autonomous and can offer PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) degree. However, some of these programmes are approved by regulatory bodies such as AICTE.
2) Difference in focus of curriculum: While there are huge similarities in the curriculum of both MBA andPGDM, there are finer points of difference. While MBA focuses more on theoretical aspects of management and is more exam-oriented, PGDM has a focus on building soft skills and is industry-oriented. It prepares you for the job market.
3) Curriculum of PGDM is flexible: Since an autonomous institute does not have to follow university standards, it is free to change its curriculum according to industry standards and change in business environment. Also aPGDM gives you an industry exposure. Whereas it will take time to change the curriculum for MBAs as it is affiliated with a university and it will essentially follow the university guidelines and changing this curriculum is a very slow process.
4) MBAs are more affordable: In compared to PGDM, generally MBAs are more affordable as the fees is almost similar to university standard. You can get a rough idea if you compared the fees of IIM and FMS.
5) Difference in focus: An MBA will help in developing technical skills and business knowledge whereas aPGDM will prepare graduates for senior level positions in industry and paves the way for a strong corporate career. Hence, if you're looking for a career in the challenging area of management, you should go for PGDM.
However, one should remember that it is not important whether a student pursues PGDM or MBA. The institution where he is studying is of supreme importance and enhances their employability. If you pursue your management studies from a reputed college which is recognised and offers decent placements, then your chances of employment and going abroad get enhanced.

Tips from CAT Topper to achieve 100 Percentile in CAT 2011



Meet Ankit Garg, first-year student of IIM Kolkata, who achieved 100 percentile in CAT 2009. A graduate in Electronics Engineering, he has once again proved that if you're determined to achieve something, then you can!.He shares his secrets behind his success in the dreaded CAT.



Q 1) What was your preparation strategy for CAT?
Ans) It is very important to be thorough with your basics. Once your concepts are clear then it is not very difficult to bell the CAT. Many students believe that CAT is a complicated and tricky exam, but that is not the case. If you divide your time well and start preparing well in advance, then nothing can stop you from achieving success in the exam. If you need some help with your preparations, you can join a coaching centre. I too joined Career Launcher. Besides this I took many mock tests as practice makes one perfect.
Q2) Since, you appeared for the first version of Online CAT. How was the experience?
Ans) Despite all the hype created around technical glitches that had marred CAT exam last year, I did not face any problem. Maybe I was lucky, but I did not face any hassle when I took the exam. Also, I believe that every year there are some minor issues in CAT paper- sometimes in format or maybe technical glitches. But last year the media had blown these technical glitches out of proportion.
Q3) How is this Online format of CAT different from the pen-and-paper format?
Ans) I don't see any difference between the Online and pen-and-paper format. If you're well-prepared and confident about your preparations, then the format of the test should not make a difference to you. But it is always advisable to make yourself familiar with the online format before taking the exam, like I did before sitting for the final exam.
Q4) What last-minute tips would you give to students aspiring for CAT?
Ans) This is not the time to revise or take mock exams. This is the time to relax. I would recommend all students appearing for CAT 2010 to wrap up what they have been doing and just relax. Listen to music, go for a walk, take enough rest, eat healthy and sleep well as you have to arrive at the test centre all bright and refreshed.
I do not think that CAT is a tricky or rigorous test, hence there is no need to take any tension. Taking unnecessary stress will not help you in the test. Also avoid last-minute discussions with your friends about your preparations as that will make you more nervous.
Also refrain from taking any mock exams at the last minute. A full-fledged mock test at this point, just days ahead of the real exam, might not be a good idea. If the scores in the mock test are not up to the expectations of the candidate, there are chances of feeling demoralised.
Hence, my mantra of success is 'Eat well, sleep well and perform well'. Just free your mind of worry about the test, and relax.
Q5) Was IIM-Kolkata your first preference?
Ans)Yes, IIM-Kolkata is one of the best B-schools in our country. It is simply the best as it boasts of great faculty, great image and great placements. It's just an awesome place to be.
Q6) What are your future plans?
Ans) I have n't yet decided. I will definitely like to join the corporate world and make some constructive contributions to the society.