Is management affecting technology?

CONGRATULATIONS TO the IIM graduates getting the gigantic start-up salary package! This attractive package and benefits have fascinated people so much in India that a management storm has started. Now undergraduates from various fields want to pursue their post graduation only in management. Not only commerce undergraduates but engineers, science graduates also seem to be eager to flow with the management stream.

I myself am an engineer. The placement record of the college is excellent with various multinationals as well as PSUs visiting the college. But in spite of having more than one job in top global companies the students are still inclined towards management.

The increasing deviation of engineers towards management is affecting the level of technology and research in the country. The records show that most of the students getting through the premier management institutes are engineers because of their good aptitude and mathematics.
Although they may argue that by acquiring the knowledge of both technology and management they can function in a much better way, in reality their technological knowledge is hardly utilised.

Knowledge hardly utilised

It is ironical to know that these students are also amongst the top students of their respective technical streams. They not only have good aptitude but good technical knowledge also.
This is evident from the fact that during interviews of the MBA entrance exams the technical knowledge of the applicants is also taken into account. But this knowledge is not utilised in a proper fashion and is not explored for carrying out any research work during their technical course.

The MBA aspiring students start their preparation one or two years before the exams. Many even join the various coaching classes. After that starts the time of bunking classes and devoting most of their time for the preparation for CAT and other MBA exams. The engineering course is studied only during the exam time. As a result no extra technical work or project is carried out. The ubiquitous reach of Internet has further solved their problem for the compulsory project work. The projects can be easily copied from the Internet.

The growing craze for management has led to the decline of the value of engineering. The engineering degree is becoming just an undergraduate course for the students so that they can have a good base for the postgraduate management course.

Only students who are not considered good enough for industry or B-Schools (although there are a few exceptions) opt for M. Tech. or M Sc. As a result not only engineering but also the quality of teaching has declined to a large extent. This is because teaching as a profession is considered the last option now.

The Indian economy is now growing at a rate of around 8 per cent in which industrial growth is playing a vital role. But the facts are that this growth is mainly in the service sector. The core sectors of manufacturing, electronics, R&D, etc., are not growing on a par with the IT sector. A large part of this problem stems from the management mania.

India is producing world-class managers but our engineers are not globally competitive in the core sectors. That is why we do not have even a single chip manufacturing company in the country. If India were to become a developed country this sectional imbalance has to be corrected which is possible by improving the quality of technical education and making engineering and teaching more attractive.

If a question arose "what will happen when all the engineers will become managers," the answer would be "managers will lose their value."

Real depiction of working people appearing for CAT

You have to read this. It’s a real depiction of working people appearing for CAT.

Preface

Dale Carnegie once said “If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade out of it”. Disastrous CAT exams have become an annual ritual for me. This time was no better. Rummaging through the debris for something good, all I could come up with is this narrative that brings out the lighter side of this insanely competitive exam.
So here goes the lemonade……

Act I : 15 happy days

As I opened my eyes on Saturday morning, I stole a glance at the wall clock. It showed half past seven. A moment later I realized that my 15 day leave for CAT had begun. I had vowed the previous night to be up at 7:30 every morning and study. My Saturday morning habits will have to change, I told myself. No getting up at ten and lazing around till noon. Unfortunately, I could never sit with a book all day long and study. I felt a sense of déjà vu as I reminisced the torturous PLs during Engineering days. So what started as “trying to study”, soon became “pretending to study” and before I knew it, “to hell with study”. Within a week of the “study leave”, I had packed up – all done and dusted. I felt a burden lifting from my shoulders and a sense of peace… akin to what Buddha must have felt when he attained Nirvana. I then proceeded to lead a blissful existence. I watched TV, caught up with old friends, read a few novels and slept a lot. I reveled in Lara`s and Mohd. Yousouf`s stunning stroke play. The bliss was occasionally marred by programs like “CAT Scan” ( on NDTV ). But it wouldn’t be long before I changed to Channel [v] for something more pleasurable. Days sped by.

Act II : The build up

A day prior to the CAT exam, the peace and bliss was shattered. A deluge of SMSes came forth. “Bell the CAT. Crack the CAT” they proclaimed. Some innocent souls even went on to say that I would get into IIM. I agreed with them as long as IIM meant “Indira Institute of Management”. I also felt a tinge of regret at the colossal waste of 15 days.
But a little later I was back to my shameless self. I imparted finishing touches to my “study leave” by watching Dhoni`s interview, followed by a couple of item numbers. Not a bad way to sign off, I thought. I dreamt of cats that night. But strangely, the bell was nowhere to be seen….

Act III : The MBA reality show

As I arrived at the test venue, I found myself in the midst of an assortment of characters. There were anxious faces, tense and nervous, a few pretty faces , and lo behold !! – a score of carefree and merry faces. I was in the majority !!
As you all know, ten minutes prior to any exam, toilets become the most valuable pieces of real estate. It so happened that the gents toilet was a bit “out of sight” , at the far end of the campus while the ladies toilet was at the ground floor of the building. Not sighting the gents toilet, some of “future MBA guys” trooped into the ladies toilet which was empty at that time. What started out as a small group, turned into a crowd of guys morbidly luxuriating in the ladies toilet. The girls dared not go anywhere near, and just looked on disgustedly and helplessly. I happened to spot a college official and told him about all the drama. Understandably, he was furious. He yelled at the guys and cleared them out in no time. The guys complained that the toilet was “too far away” and “out of sight” etc etc. They would make good MBAs, I reflected. If you can’t find your own toilet, use somebody else’s , and when it’s all over, blame the architect, the civil engineer and every damn thing under the sun except themselves.

Act IV : The exam

One of the worst things about this exam is the grueling “wait” . You have to be seated by 9:45. The OMR answer sheet is given out at 10:00. You then fill up your personal details. Then the question paper is given at 10:15. The actual exam then begins at 10:30. All through this 45 minute wait, all kinds of thoughts swirl inside your head. Will the paper be easy? Will it be sly and tricky ? or will it be disastrously outlandish that will leave me high and dry ? I hoped it would be the first, suspected it would be the second and prayed that it wouldn’t be the third . As I opened the seal on the question paper, I discovered it to be the second, but with my kind of preparation, it went far beyond the third.

The Aftermath

I returned home to a prolonged siesta and mulled over the reality of going back to office with the worst kind of Monday morning blues. It is said that cats have nine lives. I may need as many to crack it. I hope to be an MBA someday, if not a “Master in Business Administration” ,then at least “Married but Available”.

So ....... Was it close guys ????

Contrary Proverbs

Contrary Proverbs

1) All good things come to those who wait BUT Time and tide wait for no man.

2) The pen is mightier than the sword BUT Actions speak louder than words.

3) Wise men think alike. BUT Fools seldom differ.

4) The best things in life are free . BUT There's no such thing as a free lunch .

5) Slow and steady wins the race . BUT Time waits for no man .

6) Look before you leap . BUT Strike while the iron is hot .

7) Do it well, or not at all. BUT Half a loaf is better than none.

8) Birds of a feather flock together. BUT Opposites attract.

9) Don't cross your bridges before BUT Forewarned is forearmed.

10) Doubt is the beginning of wisdom. BUT Faith will move mountains.

11) Great starts make great finishes. BUT It ain't over 'till it's over.

12) Practice makes perfect. BUT All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

13) Silence is golden. BUT The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

14) You're never too old to learn. BUT You can't teach an old dog new tricks

15) What's good for the goose is good for the gander. BUT One man's meat is another man's poison.

16) Absence makes the heart grow fonder. BUT Out of sight, out of mind.

17) Too many cooks spoil the broth. BUT Many hands make light work.

18) Hold fast to the words of your ancestors. BUT Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat them.