Is OneYear MBA a disruptive innovation ?

“Disruptive innovation, a term of art coined by Clayton Christensen, describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves ‘up market’, eventually displacing established competitors.”

To put out simply, a disruptive innovation is cheaper, dumber, and unattractive to the existing set of customers. Rather it attracts a new segment of customers. Lets evaluate the 1year MBA program being offered in India by IIMs, ISB and few other premium management institutes on the same scale of disruptive innovation.

a    Unattractive to a typical MBA aspirant – In India we are taught to learn and then earn contrary to the western philosophy of earn and learn. Learning, in India, for few doesn’t stop after graduation as they chose to complete their masters in business management before they take on the corporate world. Many students chose an MBA early on (read just after the college or when they have 1-2 years of experience) as they think that a two-year program from IIMs is a sure shot way to success in life. For many of them “Placements” is the biggest attraction, probably higher than the learning part. Then there are few who are so nostalgic about their graduation days that they are driven towards another college stint. Similarly many other reasons do exist for young people to choose a regular MBA program.

This mindset has created a flux of young, mostly fresh out of college, aspirants, who compete vigorously to secure a seat in the prestigious two year MBA programs in IIMs and other reputed institutes. Data corroborates this hypothesis, as 80% of the two year MBA class at IIM comprises of people with 0-2 years of experience.  For these folks time is an abundantly available resource as they try to take mileage out of their MBA. And mileage is important, as placement is the key driver for their MBA. For them a one-year capsule course is not attractive, as it doesn’t have the mass placement muscle that a two-year program enjoys.

b.   Dumber: Compare 860 contact hours of a two year full time MBA (IIM-C data) with a 800 hours one year full time program.  Holy Cow! You may wonder. That’s the reality! The course design for a one-year MBA program is no different. The same knowledge capsules designed for a two-year participant are shrunk slightly and made available to a one year MBA participant. The teachers, the courses, the structure, the workload, the assignments, the methodology everything remains the same. So from outside (well from inside as well) it appears to be a dumber course. It appears that not much intelligent thought has been put in the course design and execution making it dumber and unattractive for many. Also many wonder if one year is good enough to transform an individual, which they think a two-year program does help in achieving.

c.      Cheaper – I know many would be inching to grab me by my scuff reading this absurd statement that one year MBA is cheaper.  Lets look at it objectively. Two year MBA at IIMs will roughly cost 12 Lacs or so for two years. Plus the living expenses would constitute another 8 Lacs or so. So one can expect to dish out a total of 20 Lacs in two years. Is that it? No way. One needs to add the opportunity cost of two year of job forgone to calculate the total expense. So suppose a guy with 6-8 years of experience earning 10-12 Lacs of yearly income goes for a two year MBA, his total expense would be:

Two year MBA – 12 (tuition fees) + 8 (living exp) + 2*10 (opportunity cost)  = 40 Lacs for two years.

Plus he only starts earning after two years. In contrast a one-year MBA student spends 14 (IIM-C) -20 Lacs (other IIMs) as tuition fee and then 5 Lacs as living expense for a year. After adding opportunity cost of job it comes to:

One year MBA  - 20 + 5 + 1*10 = 35

So total comes to 35 or so for a year. Hardly a difference of 5 Lacs one may wonder. Not exactly! One saves a year of employment, which can give around 18-20 Lacs in return, which is 50% on average more than what a two year program can fetch for a fresher, and that too a year early. So by the time the clock his two years the situation is:

Two year MBA – 12 + 8 + 2*10 =40 + a 12 Lacs job (on average)

One year MBA  - 20 + 5 + 1*10 = 35 – 18 =17 + 18 Lacs job (on average)

 Now see which one is cheaper for a person with 6-8 years of experience? The scene is entirely different for a person who has 0-2 years of experience.  For him the two years expense would be around 25-26 Lacs as his forgone salary would be in the range of 2-4 Lacs. He would need the backing of a more renowned course (read 2 year PGP) for securing a good job. Plus he (in general as exceptions do exist) wouldn’t be able to command an 18-20 Lacs job right after a one year MBA.

So it doesn’t make sense for a less experienced guy to go for a one year MBA right now. In other words one year MBA attracts those 20% of students who are not interested (or can’t afford) in a two year MBA. Thus the argument that it attracts a new set of consumers in the market holds good as it brings in those students who otherwise would not have pursued MBA.

To give credit to Mr. Christensen – a one year MBA does fit the bill for a disruptive innovation. As it has picked up and become popular in Europe, it has the potential to become the preferred course in India well. As the popularity will grow, as the alumni base increases and does well, these one year programs would start attracting folks with the 3-5 years of experience. And time may not be far away when these courses may become equally popular if not more. 

However, the focus of the institutes should be on making the course more relevant than just re-packaging the same two-year course. That would take the proverbial dumbness out of these one-year programs. 

kutch din or....

coffee de kappan'ch ,dostan diyan gappan'ch

nikliya jo sama, ho chaleya oh fanna

7 term main pad dale poore 48 course,

aab lagta hai ki jaise ho gayen hain spent force

bade bade dhurandaron ke pade yahan chote chote naam,

class main na aya kutch samajh or exams main huye bahut baar badnaam.

professors main hai yahan padaane ka bahut he passion,

par ab retrospect main lagta hai ki hamare liye padai to thee jaise out of fashion.

yahan aane se pehle doston ne tha bahut samjhaya,

kar laina padai kyonki badi mushkil se yeh mauka hai aya.

pehli term main tha hum main bhe kutch josh,

par aisa chada FRA ka bhoot ki urra diye saare hosh.

aise huye hamari cycle pehle term se derail,

ki final grade sheet dekh kar ho jayenge hamari tangien frail.

kaafi liye aise subject jinka kutch nahi tha ata jata,

lekin fer bhe huye pass, courtesy PGPEX office wali Sarswati Mata!!

mille kutch aise dost jinka bana rahe saari umar sath,

class main chahe kutch na samajh aya lekin seekhe bahut se paath.

11 mahinon main banaye jheel ke is paar apani choti se ek basti,

thodi ki padai, par jamm kar ki masti.

                                       "Quick ! We can't pose like this for longer.. ."

Bird frames

Another bunch of birds in frame.

..

Nature watch

On Sunday I had a chance encounter with a team from forest department doing one of their periodic survey of birds and flora within IIM C campus. My curiosity got the better of me and I barged into their taking notes/discussion to understand how our campus was doing in terms of bird population. Everyday I could see multiple birds, but the forest department person answered quite disappointedly that they managed to see just 46 species this day and that they usually see much more. I was bit taken back by this number as it sounded wow for me. They talked about the migratory birds etc. As I continued on my path, I was thinking of the bird that I had seen..surely there were more to see...

Here goes some of the photos snapped within campus... If you interested about birds and that too in Joka (IIM C nesting place) check this link http://www.kolkatabirds.com/joka.htm

Yaadien...

Socha tha MBA ki padai main macha dainge tod fod or laga dainge jee jaan,

Par is term ka to haal aisa hai ki abhi tak nahi kar paye hain kitabon se jaan pehchaan!!

Maar rakhi hai placements ne or professor laite hain classes yahan saton din,

Yaad bahut aata hai woh salary ka sms or ab kya bataien ki kaise kat rahe hain bina salary ke yeh haseen din!!

Kha kha kar mess ka khana, tastebuds ka ho gaya hai kaam tamaam,

Aab to bas de rahe hain sahara Mocambo ka stuffed tandori or Peter Cat ka dum raan!!

Bache hain do mahine, fer sabhi wapis apani apani jail main jayenge,

Ek issi baat ka hai afsos ki in ramneek lamhon ki bas yadien he bacha payenge!!

Fourth Term....

class lagate din nikle or tension main nikle raat,

lakhon dekar itna torture aab nahi hota bardasht.

50 page ki reading, 20 page ka case or 10 page ke exhibit,

dheere dheere ho raha hai saaf ki main hoon yahan ke liye misfit.

6 hafte main 9 courses or beech main ek hafte ka break,

kash pad laite us ik hafte main to nahi lagta aab itna sek.

CP ke naam par log daite hain kutch bhe gyan,

likhni padegi ek or kavita agar karna hai CP ka poora wyakhyan.

innovation or strategy ke naam par macha rakhi hai dhoom,

sunn sunn itni jargon jata hai mera maatha ghoom.

Eco ki class lagti hai BBC ka koi comedy show,

or Fin ki class main i am flowing against the flow.

BF ki padai ka to bas ik he hai forecast,

Hone wala hai end term main ik or blast.

BE ke naam par hoti hai class main poori bakar,

Lekin hamare chairman saab ko hai apane dept par poora fakar.

grades na aane ka dard ab main gaya hoon pee,

bache hain chand mahine yeh bhe kissi taran lainge jee.

Chill Pill

Tired, sleepy faces are my target customers,

And I help them against in-lecture dozing off fears.

I entered this niche market in a dry-white colour,

With few great souls making me this market’s winner.

Wary of boredom and monotony,

I realised its time-to-market variety - if any.

To bring zesty environs and pep-up lives,

A repositioned I came in trendy hues and anew types.

This repositioning helped me increase my market share,

And very soon I became an indispensable player!

Now, if you wonder as to who am I,

And how I managed to increase my pie?

For your information, I am a minty candy,

Which PGPEX front-benchers find so yummy.

Availability in flavours of lemony green, sweet strawberry and tangy orange,

Helps me serve an array of taste range.

So friends, in your next class if you feel lethargic or drowsy

Have nothing else but this multicoloured, well-known MENTOS candy!

4 Colleges Meet – yet another perspective

Having heard from our senior batches on the rivalry between IIMC and XLRI, I waited in anticipation for the 4 college meet that was to be held. I had seen videos on the welcome that was dished out to each other. “Well, this falls right in my alley” I thought since I had spent a considerable amount of time over the years honing my skills in refining my dictionary of the “doosra” variety. Here was a noble cause that would let me use my skills to the fullest.

India’s inflation problem: A novice’s perspective of understanding the shortcomings of the policies and measures implemented by RBI and Govt of India

India's headline annual rate of inflation, based on the monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), rose to 9.44 per cent for June 2011 as compared to 9.06 per cent for the previous month and 10.25 per cent in the corresponding month of last year. Provisional data released by the government showed that India's food inflation rate had risen to 8.31 per cent for the week ended July 2, 2011 from 7.61 per cent for the previous week. The inflation rate for fuel and power, however, eased further to 11.89 per cent from the previous week's level of 12.67 per cent.

Can microfinance be used as a macroeconomic tool to control inflation?

What is microfinance?

Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services such as credit, savings, insurance, and fund transfers.

Relevance of microfinance in Indian Context

RBI statistics show that 41 per cent of the adult population in the country is unbanked; that is, do not have a bank account.

kya karoge tum aakhir IIM Cal main aakar....

kya karoge tum aakhir IIM Cal main aakar

jab itefaakan MBA karne ke baat dimaag main aaye thi

ab yaad aa raha hain shayad woh janwary thi

fer GMAT ki tyari shuru ki humien maahe farwary mein

Life of a Backbencher

After all these years of back-to-back meetings and conference calls, reaching a place on the nick of time is something that I’ve made into a fine art. Continuing with the same tradition, I reached my classroom at 10.15 in the morning only to find that all the prime seats have been taken up and that the only ones left are in the back of the class. That started my journey as a back bencher.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum....

Kabhi 0 kabhi 1 dekho ram pam pam

Kabhi is se bhe kamm

Kabhi A bhe to laaya karo

Kabhi khushi kabhi gum tara ram pam pam

Kabhi ache number to laya karo

Learning

As I walk down the narrow lane towards the class room yet another morning, I cannot help but be mesmerised by the beauty of the lakes on either side of the road. As the gentle zephyr balms my face, I am yet again fascinated by the countless unblemished beauty growing from the dark watery mire. Born in the muck of earthly platitude, its base gently sits on the water withering with the ripples created by the soothing breeze. Its grace and aplomb structure reminds me of the pride with which it has been held as the national symbol since time immemorial. As I take a closer look at some of them which are in full blossom, I could see the stern stem giving strength to the plethora of petals around it.

Green Effect

Green color brings with itself a soothing , balmy effect .Imagine an exotic location with vivid hues , and I am sure the first few colors in one’s mind would be blue and green. Turning insipid environs to bouncy and lively ones, making listless souls feel high-spirited ; such is the effect of green surroundings and environments .And we ,PGPEX students, are fortunate enough to have one year to ourselves to stay away from polluted hustle-bustles in a lovely, green campus at IIMC .This life, though, comes at a cost(apart from the huge programme fee and other implicit costs) , which is nothing but living with more insects ,more lizards ,more chameleons(which also turn to green color many a times),some snake encounters , and so on and so forth .Nonetheless , realising that despite all these, benefits outweigh costs we have learned to live with these local inhabitants .

Back To Exams!!!

A one year MBA is like a treadmill with its speed turned to maximum and having its stop button jammed. You have to keep running in the hope that someone manages to get the stop button to work. In an odd kind of way, that’s what makes the one year MBA interesting too and got us all here together.

It seems like ages since I’ve reached Joka but it’s been just six weeks. Terms last for six weeks followed by the much feared end-terms. The terms itself are hectic enough with a full load of classes and complex assignments to boot. Well, how could I forget the quizzes where my marks could probably be better represented on the binary scale?

itni shakti humien daina data....

itni shakti hamein daina data IIM kaa vishvaas kamzor ho naa,
hum chalein nek raaste pe hum main se bhulakar bhi koi fail ho naa.

har taraf zulm hai bebasi hai, sahamaa-sahamaa-saa har aadami hai,
padai kaa bojh badhta hii jaaye jaane kaise ye degree thami hai.
bojh mba kaa tu ye uthaa le teri rachanaa ka ye ant ho naa,
duur assignment ke ho andhere, tu hamein management ki raushani de.
har end/mid term se bach ke rahen hum, jaise bhi de, bhali naukri de.
clash ho naa kisi kaa kisi se, bhavanaa mann main competition ki ho naa.
ham chale nek raste pey, hum se bhool kar bhe koi fail ho na.

hum na sochen hamein kyaa milaa hai ,hum ye sochein 14lac kiya sab ne arpan.
phool naukari ke baantien sabhi ko, sab ka jevan hi ban jaaye madhuban.
apani karunaa ko jab tu baha de, karade paavan har ik mann kaa kona.

Did Tendulkar really nick it?

Till this moment both Abhishek and I are not sure whether Tendulkar really nicked that out swinger from Aquib Javed. It was somewhere in early nineties and India was playing Pakistan in a one day series.  India was chasing a 250 odd score and was already two wickets down. Tendulkar was facing ominous Javed when that fateful delivery was delivered – the delivery that decided the future of my relationship with Abhishek. As soon as the ball passed Tendulkar’s bat, there was a huge appeal.  Tendulkar didn’t move an inch but the ball did after passing his bat; And Pakistani’s sensed the edge. They all went up for the appeal only to realize that the umpire was not amused.  He denied that appeal only to start a perennial cold war between us - two best friends.

Confessions of a 'Non-Engineer'

Being the only humanities graduate in the PGPEX Class of 2012 feels like having come dressed in Bermudas and sandals to a formal, black-suit gathering. And that’s just the beginning.


Each time a professor walks into the class for the first time, he/she politely enquires if there are any ‘non-engineers’ in the class. When my solitary hand goes up, they give a small, kind smile and ask me not to worry -- which, of course, terrifies me. My experience of life so far tells me that if someone needs to tell you not to worry, you need to be very, very worried indeed.


Then the fun starts. The good professor mentions Matrix, and the first thing that comes to my mind is Keanu Reeves. What’s worse is that at the end of the class, I can still relate matrices only to Keanu Reeves! The endless torrent of Pascal’s triangles, derivatives, integrals and the like serve only to remind me of several unrelated things like the hieroglyphics (which only specialists can decipher) and the Harappan script (which remains stubbornly un-deciphered to date).


Nevertheless, by the end of the class, I begin to see the faint light of a mathematical day. This is usually the combined effect of a frantic mental scramble to dig deep into my schooldays, a lot of helpful prompting by my concerned friend sitting adjacent and the sheer quality of instruction. I end the day with a reassuring feeling that I’ve been given a footing on the ladder; now I just have to pull myself up and scale it.