Google and Kubla Khan

There is a lot of cry specially in France about googlization of information. The other day Financial Express read: Is Google imposing selective American ideas? Leaving that discussion to les français, I’ve another question...apparently google is students’ best friend, but is it not harming their growth in the long run?

When I've an assignment to do, my starting point is typically the same: www.google.com and the end result (the report) is a potpourri of matter from different sites which sometimes makes sense and sometimes does not.

But today something happened to me...something that happened to Samuel Taylor Coleridge way back in 1798 when he conceived Kubla Khan from Xanadu in his dream (where do you think I got this date from...of course google:) I had a dream...a dream full of ideas...I woke up and tried to scribble them on paper...now I expect something somewhat original somewhere...

The point I’m trying to make is if we give it a thought and don’t mindlessly start googling (as I do), we sure can come up with original ideas..and then may be some day..

We would build that dome in air,

That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

Weave a circle round the world thrice,

And drink the milk of Paradise.

On the case study approach

Ambrish Bajaj on his blog asks...
"Most B-schools follow a case solving approach. But in real life most of the energies...go into identifying the problems...Managers just see symptoms or effects of some cause or problem that they are unaware of...How do these Harvard case studies help them by giving the problem on a platter?"

I suggest...
An effort could be made to encourage students write case studies. It would serve in more ways than one as it will:

• make students approach real life as a class room with learning at every step;
• help them identify and, may I say, 'crystallize' the problem;
• of course employ their problem solving skills and management concepts to figure out a solution; and
• help the corporate world by highlighting their problems and encouraging the best practices thus initiating this virtuous cycle.

As a bonus, these case studies can be an alternative source of revenue for the publishing institute. And to top it with icing, the case studies will be a resource to teach management in our B-schools through local (Indian) cases...of which, one would agree, there is a genuine need but an oxymoronic 'big dearth'.

Is it not a win-win situation?

Fraxing...

I have a feeling that xlri might just top the list for the number of associations per capita. Though a small campus, it boasts of myriad associations ranging from formal to informal to totally arbit. Some cross all boundaries of sanity. Among them fraxi occupies a unique place; fraxi is an acronym for free riders’ association at xlri. Free riding is a phenomenon that cuts across all B-schools and even organizations…but never has it taken such delightful usage!

I had a realization. I tend to frax in a group if there are people willing to take on the responsibility. But when I see that my group members are not very keen on taking the responsibility…I somehow gather this steam in me to get the work done. Probably, I work only when I've my back against the wall. Don’t know if it’s true with other fraxers also. If so, then is fraxing contextual?

Gas stations

I was 200 miles down on the highway when suddenly I realized that I do not have…well, I am not talking about that gas station..

Changing gears and direction…Why this charm for pseude profile i-banking and consultancy jobs? Why so much antipathy against real economy? Where are the genuine managers…those who will turn the plants around or nurture new companies? Why all this talk about making money and none about making a difference?

How to wrap some obvious and commonsensical stuff in a sophisticated way by throwing a lot of jargon on jazzy ppts with 2-dimensional matrices in between…This is what I see all over the place…Are we all becoming gasbags? If so..it’s time we start calling our B-schools gas stations.