Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Small Car

Hi,

Car is going to be a reality soon to the average Indian - please refer to the article http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jan/04tatacar.htm. If this car becomes a hit, it will have several implications on not just the markets and the Indian economy in general, it will even influence the lifestyle of the modern age Indian. It will sure put a lot of pressure on the governments to improve the infrastructure. Consumerism is definitely the trend that has started in India with the retail boom that is currently happening - http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/16691/. All the dollars converted by the Indian software and BPO companies are gonna dance around the markets. Soon I can imagine the lifestyle of the Indian middleclass consumer. He will set off on his Tata car with his wife and children, plays the regional FM radio, drops by Big Bazaar to buy stuff - fills up the car with stuff, goes to watch a movie. More people may use car to travel shorter distances. Like in the western world, people would rather prefer to drive a car for a 2 hour travel, rather than take a train or a volvo bus. What other implications do you see?

Friday, January 4, 2008

Do I need an MBA?

Hi,


I have met a lot of students and professionals constantly bothered with this question, "Do I need management education?" Well, my answer to all of them is - a positive YES.

Before discussing the career opportunities for an MBA and the big fat pay cheques MBAs normally are expected to end up with, let us try to answer the basic question - "what value does an MBA add to a student". The first and foremost thing that comes to my mind is - widening of horizons. An engineer without the basic knowledge of Finance, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, Strategy etc, really will not be able to deal with various skills demanded of him at work place and hence will be limited in his career path (Of course there are exceptional cases). Same is the case with a commerce graduate or any other graduate. I often meet engineers who think their bosses get paid for doing nothing. There was a friend of mine with an engineering bent of mind who thought management education was worthwhile only because they serve free pizzas in the management meetings at office :-)! If you are one of those people, I request you to come out of the shell. There is much more to the management of a firm than bossing people around. You need to approach your decision making in a systematic manner. Several decisions to be made at an organizational level need you to have the basic knowledge of several disciplines of management. Management education helps you apply your thought in more directions than you might imagine. Well, let me end this post here - why don't you share your views and opinions on this topic by leaving a comment?