All alone in the nest!

I realized that I had drafted the content of this post 3 years ago. One of my Chinese classmate has come to India on an consulting assignment and raised this topic again. She was greatly fascinated by our interwoven and intimate family culture. Here's a nice photo with Indianized Chinese classmates during my wedding

My post drafted in 2007:

I have often wondered at my chinese classmates, many of them grew up all alone in their family due to the single child policy. To some of them, it was a positive step to control the ever increasing population, to some it didnt matter. However, I could only sympathize with one of the girls who longed to have a sibling to share life with. She was quite curious to know about the family value system of India, how siblings engage in friendly fights, how we bath, eat, sleep and play together as children, and not to speak about the marriage ceremonies which turns out to be a child's delight.

Coming back to china, I can't agree more with the officials on the need to control population in china. However, this has a cascading effect on the overall society. A single child in the entire family means parents shower unmoderated love and affection on the child and sometimes and most of the times, tend to spread their control over the son/daughter even after they have grown up. This leads to natural tensions in the family as their cherished son/daughter want to be independant enough to take their decisions.

As they dont have a second child to dot on, this often results in an emotional state for parents.

Interview on MBA in China

I was recently interviewed briefly by a leading news daily on value of pursuing MBA in China. This post can be useful specifically to Indians and generally to everyone. Here it goes:

1) Why did you chose the school? Did you have an intention of working in China/doing business with Chinese companies?

I chose the school acknowledging the importance of China in global business and economy as CEIBS is the best business school in China and one of the best in the World. I had the intention of working in China for couple of years and immerse in Chinese business culture. After graduation, I joined a Scandinavian firm based out of Shanghai though the role encompassed multiple geographies. During this period, I interacted with many Chinese companies closely and developed vital business relationships which can help in any future venture in/with China

2) What were the key lessons you learnt during the stint? In your view if you had studied in India versus in China, what would have been the advantages/disadvantages? What's the key differentiator at CEIBS?

That business relationships hold the key to success in China and one has to be very patient and work really hard at nurturing relationships

In CEIBS, my classmates came from over 25 countries with diverse functional and industrial background. Quite a few were entrepreneurs and over 30% constituted women. So, class discussions and group meetings were dynamic and multi dimensional. For instance, I became aware as to how life and business goes on in Denmark, Japan and Ireland through my classmates. In fact, one of my classmates was instrumental in helping me appoint a business partner in Denmark for our start up venture, ScanCorner.com. Another dimension is the diversity and international nature of CEIBS faculty and they take us through the Chinese and international case studies enriching our classroom experience. I personally benefited immensely from CEIBS network as I participated in several international competitions and symposiums. 

The disadvantage from the perspective of Indians is on the employment front. In India, jobs are almost assured months before graduation as recruiters come with predefined job profiles. In CEIBS as in any top business school abroad, the students have to engage with companies to decide upon the responsibilities and career path as each person has different work experience. The school brings enough opportunities but students has to take initiative to measure up to the recruiter's expectations. In my case, I convinced the company to create a custom role based on my previous work experience and career objectives.

The academic standard of CEIBS and top Indian MBA schools are probably the same, but Indian business schools do not offer diverse student body and international faculty. Besides, for us Indians, it will be a great value add to gain rich exposure in China as I see the two nations prepare for more economic and political engagement. So, CEIBS differentiates in 3 aspects v/s Indian B schools: a) China business exposure b) More diversity and international immersion c) Cultural enrichment of living and studying in China

3)  Can you share some anecdotes from your term at CEIBS --  (also do specify which course you went for - the EMBA or the MBA?).  Was language an issue?

I opted for MBA program. Language was not a major barrier inside CEIBS and in my workplace. English is understood by many people in major cities. However, learning Chinese is highly recommended as it helps better communication and boosts employability immensely. I have shared an interesting experience of CEIBS mentoring program here. http://www.ceibs.edu/mba/mentor/28894_20.shtml

back after long time....

I'd infact forgot about the blogging stuff till my friend reminded today! hope to update the exciting happenings....and there are plenty of those!

New beginnings!

3 months into my new journey, and it has not yet daunted my enthusiasm a bit....china continues to amaze and challenge my wits, over and again....

Have I succeeded in learning mandarin? The plain and simple answer is no....
My boss always used 3 months as a thumb rule for evaluating progress on a new initiative. He used to jokingly say that if we can't bring about a change in 3 months, we probably will never....

Have I made any progress? This is debatable. I can atleast say that now I have a clear idea of how to go about learning this language and blessed with all resources amassed over the last 3 months.

The discussion with my mentor Henrik (who's become a CEO of an MNC at Shenzhen) has renewed my determination to learn mandarin. As my aim is to jump into the business bandwagon revolving around china, it's more critical to learn the language. It was quite motivating to find him talking in mandarin so fluently (for a European, its nothing short of magic).

It's been quite a long time away from the blog, hope to write more often, maybe even on a daily basis.

adios

Every good thing comes to an end!

Holidays ended finally! missed the marketing and statistics classes today as I skipped sleep yesterday and successfully submitted innovation challenge business plan. now keeping fingers crossed! now need to put efforts in infocomm and gap case study! and need to mug up lot of materials before we head for 'Confluence' in India. need to cut down the parties and chats which is taking much of the time! also need to allocate significant time resources for social venture club, inherited a great legacy, need to build on that and pass on the baton to my successor of MBA07 with great elan.

I found a wonderful book to read: Individualized Corporation by Sumantra Ghoshal and Christopher Bartlett. As with other activities, reading a number of books at a time has become a norm nowadays. Other books in my study are 75 Greatest Management Decisions and Blue Ocean Strategy. The first one is really interesting, it provides glimpses of great decisions which impacted great corporations such as Sears, Mckinsey, Ford, Apple, Microsoft, Toyota and many more. Also talks about interesting incidents such as Marlboro friday. Highly recommended for business school students and managers.