Tag: Uncategorized

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It is said, that a person should give back to society what he has attained. I have not earned lots of money, to donate to charity but yes, I think this city has given me the pedestal to rise to be in an IIM. So I think it is my duty to give it back, by teaching the younger generations. Also, this would help me to pass time and be in touch with the collegians of today, thereby being abreast of the latest happenings.

Thus, I have started taking classes at T.I.M.E. – A coaching institute for MBA/ MCA entrance examinations.

In this regard, many students keep asking me about the possible effects of the CAT going online from this year, and how it would impact them. I thought, I should be taking this opportunity, and also enlighten my readers of the possible changes and how it should be handled, as I am sure many of you there are CAT aspirants waiting to nail CAT’09.

So far the information doled out by the IIMs,

• Confirmation that CAT is becoming a computer-based test from 2009 (CBT CAT)
  
• Prometric ETS has been awarded the contract for conducting the test
  
• CAT 2009 will be conducted over 10 days at the end of 2009
  
• More details will be communicated along with the advertisement (this is typically released in July)
  
• According to IIM-B admission chairperson Subhashish Gupta, CAT 2009 is unlikely to be computer adaptive
  
• Most likely there will be three tests a day over 10 days — meaning a total of 30 different tests. (source : Rediff.com)
  

CAT 09 is very unlikely to be computer adaptive (that is the system adapts itself to the test takers according to their intelligence. If you answer a question right, the next question would be more tough and of more marks, and if you answer a question wrong the next question would be a slightly easy one). Making it Computer adaptive would not be feasible right now, as I don’t think the IIMs would have the repository of the correct answers and the wrong answers attempted by CAT takers all these years. So deciding if a particular problem is difficult or easy would be purely based on the judgment of the CAT question paper setter.

One more issue lingering in the minds of the aspirants – is it not unfair, that I may get slightly difficult questions and my competitor might get easier ones? Well, very possible. But realize that no question is easy or difficult. It is only our preparation that determines that. Also, IIMs would ensure a fair competition and would set questions from different set of question banks dependant on the difficulty level or the time taken to solve it. Of course, there would be people cribbing that wish I had the paper given by someone else. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side.

How are the IIMs going to compare or normalize the scores across various tests?

While the information has not been made public, we can extrapolate from the manner in which they compare scores for past academics for CAT aspirants.
 
If the IIMs decide on non-adaptive testing, they would be expected to normalise the scores across different papers using statistical distribution of scores for each test. A basic example would assume that the scores follow a bell curve. Then, the performance of students would be measured by how they have performed compared to the average performance.
 
If the IIMs decide on computer-adaptive testing, then each question will have a difficulty rating. A student will face a moderately difficult question first. Based on whether he gets it right or wrong, the level of difficulty will go up or down. There will be an algorithm that will generate the scores. (Source: Rediff.com)

A student very innocently asked, do I require any extra computer skills to attempt this exam? NO. It is just a question paper which comes on the computer screen. So if you know how to operate your cell phone, operating the graphics on the computer would not be tough at all. Moreover, I am sure the coaching institutes would have sufficient material and arrangements to give you practice. Also, the IIMs would ensure that you first take a practice test on their system before jumping into attempting the actual questions. Yes, it would help to practice reading on the computer screen, which is quite tiring.
 
About being able to do rough work, this I think is the biggest disadvantage of taking CAT online. The second one being reading huge comprehension passages online. For rough work, I loved doing it just next to the question on the question paper itself. Now as that would not be possible, IIMs would decide to give you rough sheets or maybe create special scribbling space on the computer screen like in GMAT.

Is there any change in strategy required? I would say, not really. Right now, it is more important that you prepare the normal way and stop speculating. Get your fundamentals right, and get trained for the three sections which sure are not going to change. There is no clarity if the entire question paper would be given at once online, or would it be question after question. Also, there is no clarity if one can return back to an unanswered question. So there is no point thinking about it, and rather follow and make up your strategy of selecting questions and answering them. Sure, if anything changes, you would have to dump the strategy later. Of course, start practicing reading comprehensions and content on the computer screen to increase speed.

These are some issues that could be discussed with the information in hand presently. Any more discussion would just lead to speculation and unnecessary wastage of time. So it is recommended that you rather concentrate on building up the fundamentals and ground knowledge. It could be adapted to whatever technology and form required. Yes, this year’s CAT would be an unfair disadvantage to those who have been writing it for many years, as they must have gained considerable knowledge and built up enough strategies to attempt CAT like in the previous format. It would be a fresh start for them all over again.

Content in this article is inspired from an article in rediff.com, and due credit has been given wherever it has been quoted verbatim.

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Well there have been talks of Shah Rukh Khan dumping the letter Kolkata from his team name – Kolkata knight riders, but dumping the team in its enterity – that no one expected.

According to a news article in Business Standard,

After dropping “Kolkata” from Indian Premier League team (IPL) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), actor Shah Rukh Khan has started discussions with Nokia, Sahara, the Anil Ambani group, and several other companies to sell the team he bought just over a year ago for Rs 300 crore, and exit the business.

Shah Rukh could have easily sold a stake in the team, but that would come at the cost of sacrifice of part management control. Well, did not expect this romance to end so soon – afterall Shah Rukh’s team garnered the highest profit last year (only one of the two profit making team, the other being the champions RR)

Now what could be the reason behind this motive?

TIME – It does take a lot of time on Shah Rukh’s part to keep the team running, and everyone knows how much money he would be making if this time is spent on making films and ads.

PERFORMANCE – The sad performance of the team in this edition, and the final nail in the coffin being the loss with RCB – the clash of the titans, battle for the last position.

MONEY – Selling off the team right now, for the next edition, and if no fresh teams are issued would lead to huge valuations and thus a very high ROI in a short span.

HASSLES – the frequent tiffs with the Kolkata municipal corporation, Kolkata police and this new issue with the Fake IPL Blog.

Whatever be the reason – KKR was associated with SRK, and had developed a brand identity with King Khan. It would be interesting to see how the team develops after SRK, well that is if it happens!

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There was this time, not many years ago when computers were something alien to the Indian students. Now it has become more of a necessity everywhere. I for one have got totally addicted to this case. Early morning, the first thing that pinches me is checking mail, reader, twitter etc..You probably can’t do an MBA without a laptop. Projects, presentations, work… Everything is done on this wonderful machine. Thank you Bill gates, for Microsoft office.

Now even the entrance to this exam is going online from this year, according to a release by IIM, Bangalore.

Hundreds of thousands of students aspiring to get into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will now be answering the Common Admission Test (CAT) online from this year onwards.

The CAT, scores in which decide admission to the IIMs located in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong, will now be a Computer Based Test (CBT), said a statement issued by IIM-Bangalore on Monday.

This has been in news of late for some time now and the main reason is the exponentially increasing number of applicants.

While about 95,000 candidates took the CAT in 2003, the number rose to about 250,000 in 2008, indicating a whopping 163 percent rise.

According to the IIMs, this has resulted in severe strain on the administrative system of the institutes to conduct the CAT in its existing format.

Some people have raised concerns about the security of the test, which I am sure the CAT admissions committee would look into in detail and ensure all the process before going ahead. Outsourcing it to a third party is nice, but it would be held over a span of days. This has some issues, for one I believe the performance on that particular day, in those particular 3hrs is very crucial, and that very largely depends on the questions coming in.

I hope the committee ensures that everyone gets the same type of questions, and thus ensure fairness. This is far more crucial here as the scoring pattern of Cat has always been relative. 99 percentile meant you are in the top on percent of the applicants and nothing about your score. So maybe, a GMAT type score, say from 1000, would be a better metric, and take the Indian MBA system a little closer to the foreign B schools. (Not saying that they follow the best process, but an online test with different questions for different people has to be scored, and not compared).

What does this shift mean to the aspirant?

Rules would no doubt change. A slightly different skill set would be required, but of course the deserving student would still score. It is like a shift of cricket from one days to T20’s – you still need to know cricket, but just adapt well to the new format. Of course, every deserving MBA from IIM should have this adaptability and ease of change, which is very essential in the current business environment.

What does this mean to the coaching insti’s?

They need to setup computer labs or setup online systems to enable the students to practice tests. Also everyone is in complete confusion as to what exactly would be the pattern. Will rough sheets be given to work? Will the questions paper come all at once, or would it be question by question? How difficult it is to read the passages on the computer screen without the facility to highlight or underline the key words?

More on the topic in upcoming posts

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Surprisingly woke up at 5Am today morning. Well, seeing my recent track record that is like a full minimum 6 hours early than my normal up time. APTRANSCO to blame. How can they even think of having a power cut from 4AM in the morning? Tough time it was with the mosquitoes.

So at about 5AM, I woke up and decided to go for a jog. I wanted Mom and Dad to be awake and if possible go out with dad himself, who has been a regular since more than 30 years. 6AMM, mom wakes up, and I get ready and all set, and the power is back. Mom asks if I am still interested or was I going back to sleep. NO! Today it has to be. From many months now, I have just kept procrastinating.

This interest or rather fascination with jogging started somewhere in the first year at L, when Tanuj proposed that we better jog to keep fit. I agreed, and set out for a day or two and that too in the evening, as morning was for sleep. Poor guy! He agreed to all my tantrums, and what did he have to bear? A jog just for a little more than 150mts. After reaching the director’s bungalow, I just kept admiring its architectural beauty and insisted that w e rather walk. Jogging is painful. (I still don’t understand how I completed two complete rounds of the campus, each being 2.7KM, initially during induction under the name of “Health Run”).

He got fed up and there ended my tryst with jogging in just two days. Somewhere during December 2007, me and Tanuj again planned that from the next year we should be more fitness conscious, and should go for a jog and also gym. One of the countless New Year resolutions that each of us make. We started ambitiously on jan 2^nd, as jan 1^st was spent in deep slumber and hangover after the 31^st night party. The real reason for Tanuj to get attracted towards jogging was his hanging pot belly (tondu). We again kept the promise and it went on, again for two days. Tanuj gave up (Nah not jogging!), he gave up making plans to jog with me.

Now two months of intern gave me lots of time, and I actually thought about it once in Cochin where I had ample time all to myself. The pristine marine drive, so much similar to the Vizag beach, and also the fact that my hotel was at walk able distance from the beach actually inspired me walk the line. But, well again someone to blame – My new Reliance netconnect kept me occupied all night, extending up to the time when people generally jog. So there went two beautiful months across the country.

Second year beginning. Here it is worthwhile to say that those in academic life have two beginnings for a year. One in January, and the other in june. We see lots of resolutions being made by everyone in January, and the same continues with the acad-related junta in june too. So here in june 2008, at the beginning of my second year, I had made many resolutions to myself, and one among them happened to be Jogging. Alas! It did not even have a start this time, forget the two days! That is the reason it is said, whenever you make a resolution (or a commitment), do announce it to a couple of your friends, so that you are forced to abide it for sometime atleast. Now you know why marriages are announced to everyone?

My MBA life of two years can clearly be classified as life before PPO and life after PPO. So in November, after getting the PPO, I was all relaxed. No more placements, no more tensions, I just had to pass through to make it. I decided one fine morning in november, “okay, enough of partying and drowning (you know in what?), I should now think seriously about my fitness. I should go for a jog every morning. Alas! This time agin I just promised this to myself, and as expected it did not see the light of the day.. er! Morning.

I was too engrossed in partying and other sinful activities at the beginning of the year 2009, to be making any resolutions. So no jogging. Yeah, sometime in march I decided once I am back home, I would make use of the long holiday and go for a jog every morning, and to the gym every evening. It has been a month now that I am home, and today was my first morning for a jog. “Delhi 6 loaded on my N72, and running across on the pavement beachside – nothing like it. I am not sure, how long it is going to take to start hitting the gym. Soon, hopefully!

Kill the lazy bugger, where the hell is he?

Tailpiece:

This thing about the fakeiplplayer is making rounds in this season of IPL. SRK is haunted. Do visit it for more dope!

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For the past many weeks we have been hearing stuff on elections – the biggest reality show of India, staged once in five years. This year, due to ample time at my disposal, and interest, I have been following the elections quite closely. In spite of this I have not really felt the urge to vote!

Early morning today, mom woke me up to close the door as mom and dad both were leaving to vote. What? So early in the morning? It is only 8AM!, and it is a special holiday. Well, I just dragged my feet to the door, closed it and slept back.

Watching TV later, me and Dad were discussing the political situation prevalent in the state in particular and the country in general. I was cribbing that the voting process is not online, to allow me to vote at a click. My dad tried hard explaining me the importance of voting, but I stuck to my stance – Why should I take all the pain, stand in a queue, fight the scorching heat amidst heated arguments, and in the end probably find that my name is not there. Even if my name is there, why should I actually take all that pain?

Mom was infuriated as she had to walk back home twice and waste about an hour and in spite of that was not able to vote, as her name went missing from the voters list. I was in no mood to spoil my mood, so why get in at all? Ignore. Who cares? Dad tried hard, and this actually convinced my brother who went out to vote, but the lazy bugger in me was more dominant.

My brother informed me that my7 name was actually there, and I could vote just carrying some identity proof. I thought why not, and set out. I first had a smoke and then after collecting my voter slip went to the polling booth. It was 3:50PM, and the guard there was trying to push me off saying time is over. I had to argue and get into a verbal duel with him explaining him that it is not yet 4PM, and it is his duty to allow everyone till 4, and then shut the doors.

Also this time over, I have observed many people propagating the right to vote. More than the calls for exercising “my franchise to X party”, more publicity has been given to the basic right – “call to exercise the voting right”. The right to adult suffrage.

“This could be the defining election of our lives.”
“Voting is your right and responsibility.”
“Vote as if your life depended on it.”

You’ve probably heard all these slogans. Most likely you’ve seen the political ads and maybe even watched the conventions. So, what’s the urgency about; why does voting matter? It’s easy to get cynical about voting, especially in national elections where many have been faced with barriers to voting, had their votes discounted or simply haven’t found a candidate who speaks to them or their issues.

We have been hearing of sites like letsvote.in, which has been running campaigns all across the country in many innovative ways and using the latest technology. The silent march they held in vizag is a case in hand that I was witness to. Huge hoardings across the city telling everyone about the silent march, and then conducting it peacefully without any noise in spite of the turnout being more than fifty thousand people. Their tie up with a leading online apparel retailer to sell their logo tees is also a case in hand – going the corporate professional way in promoting their cause at little or no cost at all.

One more similar site, though with a funny overtone is BleedIndia.com. It has a funny character PAAPu RAJ very cleverly saying what they want to say. The front head tagline – “No tension. Why vote in election?” is again a very catchy tagline to catch the eye of the reader. An example of their funny antics to get across their point –

Meet our Candidate: PappuRaj, of the esteemed ‘Bleed India’ party. Read about his manifesto, his beliefs, and his agenda

With funny questions like the below, they prove and make everyone think the terror we would be under just because we don’t vote.

This is where your Vote counts!

Who Has Bled India More?
a) Moral Police b) Chor Police

What Is a bigger threat to India?
a) Valentines Day
b) The Recession

The TATA’s can never be far for any public service. Janaagraha, linked with industrial conglomerate Tata has been running a campaign that berated youngsters with this slogan: “If you are not voting, you are asleep.” Janaagraha’s Web site has received millions of hits, and has helped 500,000 Indians register as new voters.

An average youth feels like, “come on! It does not affect me. Why should I vote?”. ” I rather go on a date with my girl, or sleep maybe!“. The message cuts it well, “dude, you not safe with your girl in the presence of the Rama Sene’s of the country!“

Now the issue – why are these campaigns so much important this time over. The 180 million people under 35 who are going to vote this year, and the 43 million of them who will be first-time voters. A huge number, and if they are to vote this year and every season that comes as a responsible citizen, this is the best time to educate them of their responsibility.

I was the last person in the queue, and thus the last person at the polling booth to exercise my right. Yes, I have just returned back from the polling booth, exercising my franchise, and smearing my left index finger.

Tail piece:

One more thing that seems to be in fashion this season is “hurling of footwear on leaders”. The latest victim being our own Prime Minister wannabe – L.K. Advani.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prime Ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani became the latest ‘slipper’ gate target on Thursday. Pawan Agarwal, a BJP worker, threw a slipper at Advani on Thursday.

Earlier, a retired school principal had thrown a shoe at Congress MP Navin Jindal in Kurukshetra.

In a similar incident, an agitated Dainik Jagran journalist Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram during a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi.

Last December, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network, had thrown his shoes at former President George W Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.

Well, when will our habit and obsessiveness with everything western change? Change – See, even I am forced to use the slogan word of Obama’s Campaign!