Summer Internship Stories ’19

Summer Internship is an integral part of a two year MBA program. The experience exposes students to the corporate environment and work culture. It is also an opportunity to network with the peers and seniors working in the industry. Most students in Great Lakes Gurgaon PGDM batch are freshers and summer internship gives them a sneak peek in to the lives of working professionals.

In this series our students from the PGDM batch of 2018-2020 share their experience of interning with different organizations.

Let’s read Simaran Priya’s story talking about her stint at Reliance Retail Ltd. as described by her in her own words.

Consumer behavior was the core area of focus for my internship project at one of the largest retailers in the country, Reliance Retail Limited. As a marketing research intern, I had to study the consumers’ behavior and experience at various Reliance Retail outlets.

The Experience

This research involved direct interaction with over 1000 customers. I had to do everything from working out a questionnaire, to interviewing customers, to gathering and collating all relevant information, to drawing insights. This showed me the true side of a customer’s overall shopping experience – what problems they face while purchasing, how satisfied they were with the availability and variety of products, the quality of the products, their interaction with the store staff, their checkout experience, and so on. Marketing begins with understanding the pain points of the customers. And this is exactly what I was looking for. It was my responsibility to understand the problems faced by clients, what went wrong, what went right. And basis this, I had to suggest viable solutions to tackle those problems.

The Learning

Interacting with customers at a retail store, especially during peak hours, is a herculean task. It’s very difficult to find respondents who would be willing to spare their time for a questionnaire-based survey. Patience is the key to succeeding in such a job, especially when respondents behave in an unwelcoming manner. But there have been some pleasant experiences as well. And you never know who you might be fortunate enough to meet and talk to. My most memorable interactions were with a couple of humble and down-to-earth people I met when they were shopping for jewelry at Reliance Jewels on the occasion of Akshay Tritya. They were the directors of American Express and Housing.com. It was absolutely a delight talking to them and understanding their shopping experience.

The Takeaway

Marketing classes have always taught us to put customers first. Understanding consumer behavior is of utmost importance to any business. The internship experience only reinforced these learnings. When you’re out there, on the field, interacting with your customers, you realize that there is often a stark difference between what the customer wants and what he is sold. Companies cognizant of this fact take all steps necessary to understand their customers first, just like Reliance Retail does. And as an aspiring marketer, understanding consumer behavior has already become the cornerstone of any marketing job that I would take up in my life.

Summer Internship Stories ’19

Summer Internship is an integral part of a two year MBA program. The experience exposes students to the corporate environment and work culture. It is also an opportunity to network with the peers and seniors working in the industry. Most students in Great Lakes Gurgaon PGDM batch are freshers and the summer internship gives them a sneak peek in to the lives of working professionals.

In this series our students from the PGDM batch of 2018-2020 share their experience of interning with different organizations.

Let’s read Emmanuel Swain’s story talking about his stint at S&P Global Inc. as described by him in his own words.

My internship with S&P Global Market Intelligence, Gurgaon (SPGMI) for 9 weeks was one of the most memorable part of my MBA journey.

SPGMI is known to provide actionable insights about the Market to Clients to help them take decisions with convictions. SPGMI was named the 2019 Best Overall Data Provider by Inside Market Data. S&P Global’s India Offices received certification for “Great Place to Work” in 2019. So, I was lucky to grab the opportunity to be a part of the organization as an intern.

The Experience

The internship with S&P Global was exciting, enjoyable and a great learning experience. During the tenure, I got to work on some Challenging and fascinating projects like Building Multiple Predictive Models to find the probability of having a data point in a transaction, Time Series Forecasting for Data Inflow, Python script to use OCR and extract texts from Scanned PDFs. Each of the projects was either to automate the workflow or implementing LEAN on the workflow. Apart from the projects, working along with a group of extremely energetic, creative and talented people was a great experience. The award of “Great Place to Work” was clearly justified.

The Learning

I learnt to use a new tool i.e. Blue Prism (RPA) to create digital workforce for the Organization. Apart from that I learnt how to deal with huge volume of data, Categorical Variables with Multiple Levels, treat missing values, Random sampling, finding the correlation between Categorical Variables using Cramer’s V to build Predictive Model. I got to learn Time Series Analysis algorithm – ARIMA. I got to develop Predictive Models which had a lot of challenges in it. Given a chance to go back to SPGMI as Full time employee, I would love to accept the offer.

The Takeaway

I have always aimed to leverage the power of Data to predict the future. Data Analytics has always been fascinating for me. The projects related to predictive analytics, report building, analysis of data, extraction of data, etc. which S&P Global provided me during my Summer Internship really interests me as I find my aim of joining MBA getting fulfilled.

“True learning experiences lie beyond your comfort zone”, says Stuti Gandotra who manages Market Development for Middle East, Asia and Australia at Wärtsilä

Stuti Gandotra,
Market Development Manager – Middle East, Asia & Australia, Wärtsilä
MBA’13
 

Read out her interview below where she talks about her MBA journey and how working on classroom projects taught her the power of teamwork.

Questionnaire

Q) What does your role as Market Development Manager – Middle East, Asia and Australia entail?

I lead and provide analysis towards the development of policy and strategies for energy sector including issues on gas based generation, renewable energy & energy efficiency. My role involves working on different electricity markets, examine the trends in power industry,and work towards the business development efforts to provide reliable, stable & flexible grid.

Q)  How has been your experience of working at Wärtsilä?

Working with Wärtsilä has provided me with a rich and challenging experience. There are a lot of things that required me to get out of my comfort zone and all this has greatly boosted my self-belief and confidence. I got the opportunity to work with people of different nationalities. It gave me a wide exposure and opened my mind to so many new perspectives, which seem different at the onset, but when they come together, they create something beautiful. Overall, it’s been an exhilarating experience!

Q) What are the life-long learning lessons you learnt at Great Lakes Gurgaon?

Studying at Great Lakes was an enriching experience. It was for the first time that I had to pack my bags and stay away from home. This coupled with our college projects and assignments seemed like a daunting task initially. But, with the support of faculty and fellow students, I was not just able to overcome the obstacles but actually glide through it all smoothly. It also made me understand the power of teamwork at a deeper level. It truly taught me to be independent and prepared me well for the road ahead.

Q) What are the key takeaways from your professional journey?

My professional journey has been a roller coaster ride. There have been moments of triumph and failure. But, today when I look at these six years that I’ve spent at Wärtsilä, I feel truly humbled and fortunate. In every project I’ve been working, we try to make sure that our work benefits everyone. Not only Wärtsilä but our customers, stakeholders and society as a whole. Also I want to mention that the culture of trust on the employees in Wärtsilä is very strong and is the most important part of any successful business.

Q) What advices would you give to Great Lakers?

I would advise each and every one to just let themselves be a part of the experience. Network with everyone. Be a team player. Develop your people skills. Invest in yourself. I feel learning never stops and no one is an expert. And, while you’re here, just soak it all in.

Q)  What do you like to do in your free time?

I like spending my free time with friends and family. Going for short trips with them is something I enjoy during weekends and would pursue my dreams to be a travel blogger. I absolutely enjoy cooking, it helps my mind stay healthy, calm and relax

Understanding Analytics and Data Science in the IT Consulting Landscape

Mr. Arindam Mukhopadhyay,
Vice President & Global Head of Consulting COE, Gartner

Studying at Great lakes, Gurgaon brings unique experiences for Jaguars every day. Adding further to our enriching experience, we recently had a very exciting session with the Team Gartner. The speakers including Mr. Arindam Mukhopadhyay, VP & Global Head of Consulting COE, Mr. Sushant Mondal , Sr. Consultant and Mr. Ravi Anand, Campus Recruiter explained the topic and also spoke on  how Gartner functions for providing consultation to the IT Companies.

Beginning the session, a student introduced our guests to the audience stating their achievements, which left us Great Lakers in awe. Excited at the opportunity to learn from the best, the students welcomed our guests with a huge round of applause. Kicking off the talk for the day, Mr. Ravi gave a brief outline of the talk. He then handed over the mic to Mr. Arindam who introduced the students to Gartner and the ideals and ethics the company was built around. He then elaborated upon the various industries that Gartner provided its consulting to, customer service and support, finance, marketing and sales, research and development, etc. being a few of them. The consulting prowess of Gartner was made clear and it was welcomed as such by the eager audience.

“Trusted insights, strategic advice and practical solutions, is what Gartner offers its clientele.”, said Mr. Arindam. “Who do we serve? And “What do we do?” were the questions that flashed on the projector screen, the answers to which were extensive and exhaustive in nature. Leaving no bits out, Mr. Arindam helped create a mental image about Gartner, about what they do and how they go about doing it and finally he addressed what being an employee at Gartner entails. With this he ended his talk and called upon Mr. Sushant to take over the talk.

Mr. Sushant Mondal,
Senior Consultant, Gartner

Mr. Sushant,senior consultant at Gartner immediately won over the crowd with his smiling face and sweet demeanour. He began his part of the lecture with a question,“What is AI?”, to which he got numerous answers from the informed crowd. Welcoming all the responses, he added “The bare bones definition of AI could be,automation of something that a human can do.” The talk then briefly ventured into what AI can be in the future and how and when it will surpass the intelligence of humans. Coming back to the present, our jolly guest explained to the students the hows’ and whats’ of data. “Data is generated in huge amounts but the inferences that can and should come through the data are absent. This is where Gartner comes in. We analyse the data, provide actionable insights to the clients and help solve their business problems”, said Mr. Sushant. Adding to it he continued, “Most consultants end their work here, but at Gartner we also help with the execution of these strategies if the company desires it.”

Moving forward, Mr. Sushant gave intricate details about the processes that are followed by Gartner to provide the best possible consultation to their clientele. He then gave a few real-life examples of how Gartner had helped companies from different industries like healthcare, pension fund and manufacturing. An impromptu case was presented to the students from them to work upon in a way similar to how Gartner would, the solutions to which were then discussed.

This was indeed an extremely informative and detailed lecture by Gartner, the likes of which our Jaguars had not experienced. We are thankful to Gartner for dedicating their resources for our students, who left the auditorium which was beaming with gratitude.

Authored by Indrajeet Vadgama, PGDM ’20, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon

The Joy of Giving: Karma Yoga Session 1

July 7^th, 2018

“Don’t give to get. Give to inspire others to give.”

~ Simon Sinek

One such choice we made is to explore the side of our personality which allows us to be generous in giving, without expecting anything in return.

We, the students of PGPM 2019 – NINJAS, started our journey on 7th July 2018 with the same mission in mind. Red walls, lush green compound, enthusiastic students in the uniforms planting trees, joyful teachers; these are the visuals which welcomed us to the Primary Government School of Fazalwas, Haryana. It was euphoria all around; innocent faces, wide smiles, genuine conversations. We were elated by seeing the school kids deeply involved with themselves and maybe this is what it is called “being in present” or “mindfulness”.

After a quick introduction, we were pleased to witness various performances by students such as dancing, singing, and mimicry. Post the icebreaking session, we were quick in executing our plans for the day. Teaching tables through Vedic mathematics technique, unleashing the talent hidden in the students by asking different questions about their likes and interests, engaging them by playing games with them. We clapped, danced and laughed along with them and got lost in the moment forgetting all the worries, assignments or projects. There was a sense of belonging and blissfulness in those tiny classrooms with minimum facilities. It gave us immense pleasure to have connected with these kids when they were over the moon sharing with us their fantasies, friends, and little playful fights they had amidst strong bonding. At that moment, we felt there is a lot of selfishness in giving back to society which is the immense satisfaction and happiness you experience in the process.

Giving back to society not only makes us generous, it also adds purpose to our life and happiness in doing something for others who need it more. Giving back to society is de-stressing too, it helps us to realize our own self and manage our inner relationships to make us live a more balanced life, allowing us to keep a balance between our daily chaos and our need to become a more responsible citizen and an individual.

Seeing the sheer joy and happiness on the kids’ face and knowing that we have been a small reason behind those smiles has been an unparalleled experience. And we are forever in debt to the Karma Yoga initiative of Great Lakes, Gurgaon for introducing us to such joy.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or what you’ve accomplished. It’s all about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”

~ Denzel Washington

Author: Urvi Sehrawat

PGPM, Class of 2019, Great Lakes, Gurgaon

4th International Yoga Day Celebrations @ Great Lakes, Gurgaon

It was just another Thursday morning at an ultra-modern B-school campus, but something was different about it. Students were seen marching out of their hostel rooms in pyjamas and t-shirts at dawn. Such enthusiasm wasn’t a daily occurrence for these future managers when it came to waking up early. So, what was the occasion?

This was how Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon celebrated the 4th International Yoga Day on 21^st June 2018. The event, spearheaded by Prof. S K Palhan, provided a glimpse of how traditional Indian values and practices still play an important role in our modern education system. Students gathered in numbers to attempt various Aasanas and realised the importance of a healthy body along with a healthy mind. Prof. S K Palhan addressed the students on how yoga can be instrumental in inculcating discipline in one’s life and how it could substantially improve individual productivity.

The initiative that started with Mr Narendra Modi delivering a speech at the United Nations General Assembly back in 2014, has become a revolution now. To quote Mr Modi, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies the unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not just a form of exercise but a lifestyle pattern to discover the sense of oneness with oneself, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help in our well-being. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day”. It garnered support from all around the globe and created history when a total of 177 nations co-sponsored the resolution, which is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any United Nations proposition of such nature.

What does Yoga mean? It comes from a Sanskrit word ‘Yuja’, which means to bind and unify. Yoga embodies the concept of a consolidated entity. It suggests that one’s body and mind need to work in coordination to attain paramount intellect and spiritual strength. Scientific studies have further supported it by stating its effectiveness in curing diseases and ailments like cancer and arthritis. 21^st June is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many other parts of the world, hence it was termed apt to be named as something so important and symbolic to Indian tradition.

International Yoga Day every year is no less than a festival. We have witnessed people and leaders gathering in masses to uphold the movement and represent our ingenious values on an international platform. Educational Institutions, alike, have contributed to creating awareness amongst our youth who are going to be future leaders, hence it becomes even more important to include them in this movement. Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, is amongst those institutions that believe in ‘holding on tight to your core values in the pursuit of excellence’ and hence, the institute never fails to make a valuable contribution to such indigenous initiatives.

The Yoga session was very well received by everyone. Students collectively agreed that they found the experience quite rejuvenating. Many students shared their experiences. Some of the students, who attempted Yoga for the first time exclaimed gleefully “Yoga se hi hoga”.  Provided the hectic college schedule, others admitted it as being the most peaceful experience in their last 1 month. Prof. Palhan seemed happy looking at the students sharing their exhilarating experiences. He said that yoga should be a part of everyone’s routine and not just a one-time thing. He called for students to imbibe it in their habit and witness the difference for themselves.

Author: Prateek Gupta

PGPM, Class of 2019, Great Lakes, Gurgaon

Alumni Speak: “Switching from IT to Consultancy was a crucial step for my career, but making this transition wouldn’t have been possible without a formal business education.”

 

Freshly recruited by KPMG India as a Consultant in the IGH (Infrastructure, Government & Healthcare) domain, Sayan Chaudhuri (PGPM 2017-18), is experiencing a major shift in his career and enjoying the challenging new role. We got in touch with him recently to discuss his MBA experience. Here are a few excerpts from the interview.

Q1. Tell me about your professional background before joining Great Lakes, Gurgaon, and why did you decide to pursue an MBA?

Before joining Great Lakes, I was working as a Systems Engineer at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for more than 3 years. Even with a promising career trajectory at one of the highly acclaimed MNCs, I believed the time had come where I needed to upgrade my skills for moving up the corporate ladder and explore the strategical side of the business so that I could make a direct impact instead of just following orders. Acquiring an MBA degree from a tier I institute seemed like the right way to facilitate the career switch and Great Lakes, Gurgaon gave me the perfect platform to make it possible.

Q2. How did the one year at Great Lakes help you transform into the professional that you are today?

The journey from a hardcore IT profile of a Systems Engineer to a Strategy Consultant at one of the Big 4s was not an easy one, but Great Lakes ensured that I completed it with perfection. There was a lot to learn and the unwavering support of the acclaimed faculty at GL ensured thorough preparation for the corporate challenges that lie ahead. Most importantly, the ample practical learning opportunities that I received in the form of interactions with renowned industry experts helped me understand the day-to-day business challenges and prepared me for the job that I’m in today.

Q3. Mention three key highlights of your Great Lakes experience.

• Inspiring & Esteemed Faculty
• Unparalleled Exposure in the form of Corporate Lecture Series and Live Projects
• The Ice Breaking trip to Rishikesh

Q4. Which faculty member/guest lecturer impacted your education the most?

Choosing one faculty member from a pool of such gifted mentors is next to impossible, to say the least. All the skills that I acquired in the last one year are a result of the collective effort of all the faculty members at Great Lakes, combined with all the esteemed corporate mentors and CXOs who took the time out of their busy schedules to interact and educate our young and eager minds. Therefore, selecting any one of them would be an unfair assessment on the same.

Q5. Tell me about your current organization and job role. How do you think going to a B-school has helped you in your career?

I’m currently working with KPMG India as a Consultant, tasked with catering to the needs of the IGH (Infrastructure, Government & Healthcare) clients of the firm.

As I mentioned earlier, switching from IT to Consultancy was a crucial step for my career, but it was the right one and without the help of a formal business education it would have been next to impossible to achieve the same.

Q6. What advice would you like to give to the future Great Lakers?

The one year at Great Lakes is filled with omnipresent learning opportunities. More than anything, your peer group is an untapped reservoir of knowledge. All your batch mates have come from diverse occupational backgrounds with a combined experience of 100+ years. So, use that. Learn from their experience, form lifelong bonds and as this is going to be your last academic year (most probably) don’t forget to have fun.

 

Life @ Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon

“Memories are the Timeless Treasures of the Heart….”

The Initiation

It seems as if it was just yesterday when I received an offer letter from Great Lakes and now, in just a blink of an eye, this beautiful journey has come to an end. The Gladiators (PGPM 2017-18 batch) are now well equipped with paramount insights and knowledge to enter the corporate life again with a new and improved outlook. I remember the day when I anxiously stepped into the campus for the first time, feeling like a pond fish that has crossed rivers to land up in a mighty ocean, wondering how I will adjust to this new environment.

Offsite – Rishikesh

The thought of living in a hostel at an entirely alien place with 120 unfamiliar faces gave me jitters. But the ice-breaking offsite trip to Rishikesh, organized by the institute along with Prof. S.K. Palhan, completely erased all my inhibitions. In a matter of just three days, the entire batch of 120 strangers formed an indestructible bond of friendship. All due credits to white water rafting, rappelling and various other team building exercises of which we all were a part of during our trip.

The Fabulous Faculty

Entering a classroom after working for 3+ years was a grilling experience, to say the least, but with less than 365 days on our Great Lakes calendar, there was no rest for the wicked. And thankfully, the faculty did a brilliant job at educating us with their extremely innovative and interactive teaching methods and techniques.

From Professor Umashankar’s quirky and witty marketing classes to learning the concepts of balance sheets and P&L statements with Dr Preeti, the months just flew by. Dr Poornima made the HR classes fascinating by adding a gaming element with lifelines and it was mandatory to go through pre-reads before entering Dr Jones’ classes which coupled with countless other assignments and projects felt exhausting at that time but helped grasp the key concepts in an effortless manner.

Lectures

Being from a software development background, I never imagined I’ll have anything to do with economics in my entire life but our esteemed Dr VP Singh made its concepts clear as a crystal by helping us create a small start-up and run the same in college for 20 days. The exercise turned the entire campus into a carnival. Everyone had their businesses up and running ranging from serving Nimbu-Pani and Bhel-Puri to Gaming zones and grocery delivery units. Later on, we analysed the revenue generated, break-even points etc.

Walking with the Giants

There was more than just classroom learning to Great Lakes as the industry interactions and CXO talks kept us busy throughout the weekends as well. People with extensive industry experience visited the campus and a lot of synergy took place. Being in the same room and interacting with some of the most celebrated names of the corporate world was like a dream come true for us.

Mr Pramod Sadarjoshi – Senior Director, HCM Strategy & Transformation, Asia- Pacific, ORACLE

Though inside the campus but never separated from the business world, we got ample opportunities to discuss the latest upcoming technologies and changes in the global framework of organizations. We participated in various conclaves related to SMAC, Human Resource, Marketing, operations and Finance where we had panel discussions among CXOs of different organizations to get an in-depth knowledge of the industry.

Committees, Clubs & Chaos

During the committee interviews, the entire campus was in chaos. We were all trying to find our strengths and decide where we fit in. Whether we’ll be a good fit for guiding prospective students for admissions or strengthening the brand of our institute? Whether organizing events was our cup of tea or assisting the institute with placements?

Admissions and BPR Committee

With a lot of preparation and cracking a grilling interview, I ended up in the Admissions and BPR committee. I was actively involved in the branding of the institute, writing blogs, handling the social media channels, volunteering for the admission process, answering queries of prospective students on Quora, guiding new admits under the flagship of Buddy Program and travelling to different locations for the same. This has given me a lot of exposure, and today, I am a completely changed and confident personality altogether.

Annual Events

We, as students, were responsible for organizing the events like TEDx, Crest (annual management fest), Sapience (annual management conclave), Foundation Day, Alumni Meet, and Dr Bala’s Birthday etc. Moreover, as a part of the Great lakes family, we also celebrated all the festivals from Onam, Lohri and Ganesh Chaturthi to Independence Day, Christmas and Holi with the same zeal and enthusiasm. Moreover, there were DJ nights, Fresher’s party, Halloween and a lot more parties which were organized to perfection by our student council.

TEDx GLIM Gurgaon

The Endgame

Lastly, not to forget, the point we all were here for – The Placement Process. The CCS team along with Placecom put in a lot of efforts in terms of interview preparation, GDs, resume review etc. Personal effectiveness sessions were conducted and mentors were allocated to students to have a smooth process. The proud feeling of getting placed and celebrating the placements of our friends was priceless.

This journey has been fantabulous and completely phenomenal amidst sleepless nights, group projects, assignments, exams, co-curricular activities and much more. The guidance and mentorship provided by faculty members and the staff paved our way for a better tomorrow. All of us have made friends, who will last a lifetime. The beautiful impressions will stay in our hearts forever. I would sum up this beautiful journey by saying,

“I’m really gonna miss this place, I am gonna miss my college days”

 

Author: Sakshi Khurana

PGPM, Class of 2018, Great Lakes, Gurgaon

What does Great Lakes Institute of Management look for in a Candidate

“Do I possess the qualities required to get into a top B-School?”

This is the question that goes through the minds of all professionals a few years into their careers. Great Lakes Institute of Management goes through thousands of applications each year and only a select few get accepted.

So, what differentiates the selected applicants from the rejected ones?

Before answering this question, one must understand the fact that entrance exams like CAT, XAT, GMAT, etc. are just the tools for primary filtration. If a good test score is the only weapon in your arsenal then you’re in for a surprise as the final selection depends on a candidate’s performance in the subsequent stages that include PI, essays, group discussions etc. The basic idea behind such a rigorous admission process is that a candidate must be able to justify his/her test score with something more substantial.

The Great Lakes admissions committee is always on the lookout for that one factor in the applicants which makes them stand out from the crowd and if you possess even one of the following qualities, you’ll gain a significant advantage over rest of the applicants.

Potential to drive Business Impact through Leadership

Leadership potential is the top box to check when you apply to Great Lakes. We want to invest in an applicant who’ll go out and make an actual difference in the real world. Therefore, you will have to demonstrate that you possess what it takes to be a leader either in your work experience, academic life, extracurricular activities or elsewhere.

Demonstrated Track Record of Achievement

We keenly seek applicants who have a demonstrable record of achievement. We truly believe that achievement can manifest in many forms, from academic excellence to college extracurricular activities to professional accomplishments, to personal wins.

We value demonstrated achievement irrespective of its scale and sphere; whether you’ve started up a company, headed a project at work, captained a sports team or organized a relief fund, we consider all these as examples of achievement.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

As an MBA Grad, you’d be expected to not just be good at what you do but also effectively portray that you are good. You need to be able to market yourself and effective communication and interpersonal skills are the key to do that. If you are a brilliant professional but can’t make a pitch for your ideas and opinions or can’t convince others about your potential, then you probably aren’t ready for the big leagues. The essays and personal interviews are the stages of the admission process where you can showcase your communication skills.

Relevant Work Experience

Work experience of minimum 24 months is a mandatory eligibility criterion for applying to the PGPM program. But more than your career choice, you’ll be assessed on the basis of the progress you made professionally vis-a-vis your earlier self. The factors that make you stand out are the consistent upward movement of our career graph, roles & responsibilities on the job, team-building, managerial tasks and proactive approach.

Thought Clarity & Career Aspirations

When you’re applying to Great Lakes, you must have a few choices to help you lay down a foundation. Whether you wish to achieve a leadership role or switch careers or become an entrepreneur post your graduation, you must be able to clearly communicate it to the Admissions Committee. Remember, it’s not just about securing a place in a B-school, it is more about what difference you want to make in the real world and neither is possible without aspirations and ambitions.

Right Fit with the Program

All MBA programs have a personality. For example, the PGPM at Great Lakes is best suited for professionals who have proved their mettle in the industry and are now looking for an accelerated growth. The PGDM, on the other hand, has a completely different approach as it prepares the individuals to face the real world business challenges for the first time. In order to secure a place in Great Lakes or any other B-School, you’ll have to effectively justify that you’re not just compatible with the program but with the culture of the school as well.

We at Great Lakes are looking forward to meeting you. So, Good Luck and May the odds be ever in your favour.

 

Team Admissions

XAT 2018 – Last Minute Tips and Strategies

With less than 72 hours to go for Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT 2018), you must be well prepared for one of the most coveted B-School entrance exams held in the country. In these crucial last few hours, there is no point in cramming up new things. What you need to do now is work towards revising and retaining what you have already studied in the past months.

Now that XAT is just around the corner, here are a few last minute tips that will keep you calm and help you do better on the D-day.

Get Acquainted with the New Test Pattern

XAT 2018 is going online for the first time in the history of XAT and therefore, it will be wise to get acquainted with the new pattern. This will help in saving crucial minutes when you sit for the actual test. You can get familiarised with the new XAT test pattern on www.xatonline.in. The link for the mock test is available on the tickr at the top of the home page.

Revision

This is the time when you need to focus heavily on revisions and treat your short notes as The Bible. Revise all important concepts, facts, dates and formulae. Don’t waste your time in starting new topics at this stage. Instead, devote your time on clearing confusions and strengthening what you have already prepared.

Speed & Accuracy

Your performance in the upcoming XAT 2018 is highly dependent on what you have prepared and how good your command is over the topics you consider to be your strengths. Remember the fact that speed and accuracy matter more than anything else. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer and a penalty of 0.05 marks per question if you skip more than 12 questions. But XAT is a low scoring exam, so focus on accuracy is extremely important to ensure that you don’t lose hard earned marks. If you can’t answer a question, it is better to lose 0.05 marks for not attempting as compared to losing 0.25 marks for a wrong answer.

Formulate an Exam Strategy

Entering the exam centre without a sound strategy is like going to a gunfight with a wooden sword. If you want to score well on the exam, you need to finalise a strategy and then stick to it during the test. It is advisable that you set aside 45 minutes for each section of Part 1 of the exam and use the remaining 35 minutes to revisit tricky questions from each section. While working on Part 2 of XAT, get done with the General Awareness section in the initial 10 minutes and then focus on the essay for the remainder of the time.

Don’t be in a Hurry with RCs

Reading Comprehensions are the trickiest part of the paper and hence, take your time with them. Read the paragraphs carefully and follow an elimination approach while attempting the questions. Do not over attempt the questions and revise topics like Active Passive, Direct Indirect, Jumbled Sentences and Figures of Speech before entering the test centre.

Decision Making

Decision Making is a unique section of XAT. But, if you are weak in Quantitative Ability, then you can make up for that in this section. Questions in DM can be a little mind boggling and you might feel that all the options sound like the right one. Hence, be careful, read the questions wisely, and practice a lot of examples. Also, revise all the tips and tricks religiously to keep them fresh in your head while taking the exam.

Don’t worry too much about General Awareness

General Awareness section’s marks are not a part of your XAT percentile calculation and your performance in this section doesn’t matter if you are aspiring for any B-school other than XLRI. Even for XLRI, scoring 5-6 marks here will be enough to counter any negative perception.

Stay Composed and Determined but most of all, DON’T PANIC

If you have prepared well and have given your 100 per cent till now, then there is no reason to fret. Stay calm and confident during the exam. Don’t panic even if you are unable to answer the first couple of questions. Remember that you’ve got this, you’ve prepared well for it!!

Good Luck!!

The Success Mantra for Start-Ups: Great Lakes Guest Lecture Series

GREAT LAKES GUEST LECTURE SERIES – Mr DEEPAK GOEL

CEO – KARMACIRCLES

“Do. Or Do Not. There is no try” – Yoda, Jedi Master

Understanding of the above quote is an important pre-requisite for an entrepreneur to be successful. The path of Entrepreneurship is the one that is filled with utmost uncertainties that one can face compared to the other naturally progressing career options.

Being an aspiring entrepreneur, Great Lakes, offered me ample opportunities to interact and learn directly from the masters of this trade. As the campus is located in the corporate hub of the country, Great Lakes, Gurgaon enables extensive industry engagement with entrepreneurs, CXOs and industry experts as they visit the campus regularly to share their perspectives with the future business leaders of the nation. That’s how our batch (PGDM 2017-19) got to meet Mr Deepak Goel, CEO & Founder Karmacircles.

Mr Deepak Goel’s Guest Lecture at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon was a compilation of his life and thought processes that aimed at providing the students with a more Entrepreneurial viewpoint of life rather than just living in terms of pay packages. An IIT-Delhi educated techie who went on to live the “American Dream” with his job at Microsoft to pursuing his MBA at UC, Berkeley to working at multiple companies from scratch with an entrepreneurial spirit and making them grow to where they are today, he has worn multiple hats because of his multi-faceted skill sets. This is what differentiates him from the other bunch of entrepreneurs, at least in the Indian context. He truly learnt the art of Entrepreneurship in and out, theoretically and practically to be able to follow his life calling of creating Karmacircles.

The lecture was a mix of Startup Organizational Culture, Valuation of Startups, General Principles of Success and quite an insightful bunch of advice to the multiple questions asked by the Students.

At the start of the lecture, he laid a very simple formula for a successful startup involving just four steps. (1) Identify the problem you want to solve, (2) Solve the problem, (3) Monetize the Solution created and then (4) go for more money to scale up the solution. A rather simple algorithm which in reality is really difficult to follow as even developing/handling that one simple product/solution is quite complex. This is what calls for the Product Management Concept. Explaining his understanding and experiences in Product Management, he expressed dissatisfaction of how Product Management is done or pursued by organizations in India as it still remains to be a highly misunderstood concept in the country. Being a seasoned professional in the field, he emphasized how the concept can help in building successful products within a company, going on to creating multiple successful companies within a big company, like Google. Working at Microsoft, he knew much more about Google and its processes than Microsoft which earned him the name of “The Google Guy.” He then shared some insights as to how Google managed its Product Line and has grown from a Search Engine to the huge yet entrepreneurial tech-conglomerate it is today.

He then went on to share his learning experiences under the guidance of Eric Ries of the Lean Startup fame and even Eric Ries’ Guru Steve Blank. The two major concepts he learnt were The Value Hypothesis and Growth Hypothesis. When these philosophies are incorporated in a company in its ideation phase, it significantly enhances its probability of achieving long-term success, thereby, ensuring value and growth creation.

Explaining Value Hypothesis, Mr. Goel talked in detail how companies can create value. Not just in monetary terms, but value that customers can relate to. But for doing so, the companies must have an eagle eye vision of the solution of the problem that they set out to tackle. Giving real examples from the start-up and corporate world, he differentiated how certain companies create value straight away to companies that create value over time.

Constantly comparing his Valley experience to his Indian experience, he stated that Indian start-ups and new-age companies mainly focus only on creating monetary value but not the intangible value and many of those companies go on to create initial momentum, to a great extent monetize it, but keep pushing their goalposts for the value creation. One of the main questions he raised during the lecture was whether these companies will be able to continue the momentum once the cash inflow slows down.

Explaining Growth Hypothesis, he talked about continuously doing what you do best and create personal and home-ground advantage in areas as such to create a true product that can grow sustainably over time.

Commenting on the Indian attitude of approaching jobs, he shared his story further and explained how he took several pay cuts in order to expand his learning curve, something he finds lacking in the Indian scenario. Linking the topic, he shared the factors one should consider while taking up a new job and said that the person you are going to work for, is the most important factor. Not being completely driven by package but rather through the group one is going to work with and the learning outcome one has out of the job as other major factors. He advised students to be ethical and act professionally when it comes to working in organizations.

In the last few minutes of the lecture, he gave a brief glimpse of his passions which include, Social Networks, Mentoring, and creating valuable products that solve problems. Being an aspiring entrepreneur myself, I found this session to be the most illuminating.

Such interactions with industry stalwarts prepare the students for the challenges of the business world and Great Lakes gives utmost importance to these guest lectures as they are the most crucial ingredient for developing business ready managers. The importance of these interactions is evident with the fact that 150 plus industry leaders, entrepreneurs and CXOs have visited Great Lakes last year and shared their valuable insights with the students to prepare them for what’s to come.

Author: S SnehanshN

PGDM, Class of 2019, Great Lakes, Gurgaon

Droom B-Plan: Great Lakes, Gurgaon, Students grab the 1st Runner-Up Spot

Droom is recognised as India’s first and only online market place for buying and selling new and used automobiles. The founder, Sandeep Aggarwal, a strong believer and implementer of his own mantra, “Companies may fail, but entrepreneurs never fail”, is one of the mentors in what is itself is India’s first startup reality show, ‘MTV Dropout’.

Great Lakes, Gurgaon, Students – Rupali Jain, Tejveer Singh Kalsi & Tushar Singh grabbed the 1st Runner-up spot at the prestigious national level B-Plan competition organized by Droom.

We met with the team to know more about their overall experience

Q. What exactly is the Droom B-Plan Competition? 

The basic idea of Droom B-Plan Competition is that the participants are required to come up with the ideas regarding the expansion of Droom in C2C market and submit a Business Plan for the same.

Q. What was the Business Plan your team came up with?

As per the problem statement, we were supposed to carry out a market research that comprised of three components i.e. competitor, product and consumer research. Based on the market potential that was analysed, we came up with a disruptive Go-to-market strategy that would help Droom in garnering maximum market share in C2C space.

Q. How tough would you describe this competition?

This competition expected to recognize the brightest business minds across the country by assessing them on their strategic response to real business situations experienced by Droom. It was open for all and saw an overwhelming participation from a huge number of colleges and corporates including IITs and IIMs of the country.

Q. How would you describe the overall experience of your outstanding performance on this platform? 

It was an immensely enriching experience for us to have been part of such an event which not only helped us in putting all the learnings acquired from GLIM into practical implementation but also provided us with credible wings so that we can fly in the direction we coveted the most. Moreover, the honour of being associated with one of the stalwarts of the business world is in itself a feeling that is hard to depict in words.

 

Random B-School Musings

Even as term 4 for PGPM 2018 is underway, it seems like yesterday when I entered the campus of Great lakes institute of management, Gurgaon. I think it will be fair for me to say that by now our learning curve has grown exponentially (I was actually looking for an even more superlative word) for having studied twenty two courses in these four and a half months. In the aftermath, however, we have sixteen ‘not so frequently opened’ yet bulky pillow sized books for our perusal (I honestly don’t know when and how these will actually be used.)

But as I recount the seemingly short experience here, I struggle to describe how awesome this journey is panning out to be. I am unable to elucidate that feeling where, on a Friday night – 11:53 PM to be exact – you are still in the Academic block and ceaselessly trying not to miss the midnight deadline for a class group project and at the same time keeping your subconscious mind alert about the pre-reads you have for next day’s schedule that has an early morning lecture on Statistical methods for decision making and Financial accounting.

TGIF? Nah, not for a B-schools student. (Now I know why corporates crave for Fridays)

But all this seems lame and off-centre without the most important ingredient in this recipe for what I call the ‘B-school Khichdi’ – “The almost ready future Manager”.  Yes, the My B-school herd has been the most entertaining and the most Heteroscedastic (Prof. Bharadwaj, please forgive me for the usage) bunch of individuals. Ok, a quick recap – Heteroscedasticity refers to the circumstance in which the variability of a variable is unequal across the range of values of a second variable that predicts it. Thank me later.

These people have made life interesting and I would be irreverent if I don’t mention the kind of people I have encountered here. So, in no particular order, let me first introduce you to:

• The Future CEO. No, the batch’s current CEO. PGPM batch of 2018 knows who that is. This person is extremely good at everything without being the best at anything. We all know the phrase – “Jack of all trades and Mas…” (Just kidding. Or am I?) Talking of class participation, this person speaks regularly and intelligently in class without ever saying anything remotely controversial. Diplomacy is the word!
• Ok sorry. I am getting ahead of myself – In economic theory, and also in lay man’s opinion, there is a notion that whatever goods and services are provided, they must be paid for by someone – that is, you don’t get something for nothing. As Prof. Himadri would say, “There ain’t no such thing as free lunch”. Or as I abbreviate it, Tanstafl.
  But we sure have “Free- wait for it-loaders”. These are the clever ones. They know the knack of delegating responsibility without giving the slightest notion that part of the onus is on them too. But we all sure have a lot of things to learn.
• Moving on, we have the ‘Friend-setters’ who have continued their trendsetting attitude of being jovial and cordial with everyone. But there are also people from the exact bipolar end.
• The Solitary Reaper – No, that is too optimistic a phrase for this person who thinks the world is an illusion and human interaction is a mystery. William Wordsworth would never want me to tag such a person with his beautifully written metaphor of a nightingale. The lone wolf would be a suitable phrase, yes. But who knows. Although termed aloof, they are the fiercest of friends and they have their own little world. They are focussed with full intent on one goal. Ok, too much philosophy. Apologies.

By the way, this ‘One goal’ theory brings me to the most important subject of discussion that any B-school has to offer – Placements.

Needless to say, even as I am drafting this, the Pre-Placement preparation scenario is in full swing and it never ceases to give jitters as soon as a JD from a firm that is offering jobs is released. But the most dominant part of this preparation has to be the “Group discussion” prep and it is hilarious at times.

I hope the PlaceComm doesn’t throw me as an outcast when I talk about the observations I have made in these sessions. The observations are actually on the participants. So I think I am safe.

Every group discussion (I’ve observed) has these. And I am one among them (so much for modesty). Here’s a broad categorization of the four typical characters I have encountered in GDs so far:

• The “Know it all” sort – The genuinely, just, ridiculously smart person of the batch who often brings up unusual and weird (yet relevant) opinions on the table during a discussion. This person sure has a way of getting noticed, for the right reasons. Sadly, all we can do is look up to him/her.
• The “I agree with you” sort – Always finishes the other person’s sentences and adds the aforementioned phrase. Seldom has unique points but vehemently participates nonetheless.
• The “Search engine optimist” – This person has gone through that One link on the internet (Invariably the first link that pops up on a basic google search. No matter how remotely irrelevant the current topic of discussion is, this genius will try to bring in some fact or figure from that One link
• The “Silencer” – The loudest noise this person makes is from his pen when he is scribbling stuff during the initial two minutes that are given to gather ones thoughts. This person has all the right points to discuss, but fails to bring them out in speech. Definitely noticeable when the group discussion is a fish market.

There are innumerable memories that are etched on our minds since the past four and a half months and I am sure a lot more is in store for us as we head on to the placement season with vigour and zeal.

Godspeed!

Author: Samuel Johnson

PGPM, Class of 2018, Great Lakes, Gurgaon

Celebrating the 80 Years of Dr Bala V. Balachandran

It was the day of Guru Purnima when we were to meet the founder of our prestigious institute, Dr Bala V. Balachandran and it was an honour to be with him to celebrate his 80th Birthday on this auspicious day. All 270 students on campus were extremely excited to be the first ones to welcome him here in India. The campus was bussing with hyperactivity, students were preparing for the cultural event in every corner of the campus with never seen before passion, and kaleidoscopic colours of ethnic dresses could be seen everywhere. The entire aura of the campus was exuding enthusiasm as we were looking forward to celebrating our Guru’s birthday on the eve of Guru Purnima.

The amphitheatre had massive arrangements to make the upcoming evening etched in our hearts forever. A great stage was setup with a potpourri of decorations, lights and cameras, and each one of us was instilled with delight to welcome our founder with sparkling energy and zest.

Everyone was spellbound when he finally arrived. The energy that he has even at the age of 80 is something you’ll have to see to believe.

The evening started with birthday greetings given by great dignitaries and our dear faculty members. The heart touching poem on the journey of Dr. Bala written and recited by our very own professor, Dr. V.P. Singh awestruck everyone present in the amphitheatre. This poem was all about struggle and challenges faced by Uncle Bala and how he managed to overcome all the challenges to shine bright like a star. In the words of Uncle Bala, “A great aptitude with a good attitude takes us to a higher altitude” and he has gone way beyond the extra mile to prove it.

Next, it was time for students to showcase their talents for which they had put in a lot of effort, taking out time from their busy schedules and practising rigorously to greet Uncle Bala. There were some fabulously mesmerising performances comprising of dance, drama, singing and the stage was completely on fire. The energy of the Great Lakers didn’t end here, we had a spectacular flash mob where all the students joined and performed an amazing random act.  We also had an electrifying power-packed dance performance which was a mix of Bollywood, Bhangra and Fusion. I really enjoyed being part of the flash mob and the group dance performance. Not only did we had relentless practise sessions (helped me lose some weight as well :P), but also learnt so much from peers, made great friends and had the most memorable time of our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

Uncle Bala was fascinated and spell bound by the amount of energy and creative young talent we have at our institute. He gave us his blessings and sang a beautiful song for all of us. It was an unforgettable moment for everyone in attendance. All his teachings and inspirational words have motivated us to move ahead and achieve great heights with a positive attitude. The heart-felt memories of this day would be cherished by us forever.

Last but not the least, we all wish that you keep on climbing the ladder of success and keep on inspiring us for many more years to come. Wish you an amazing year ahead, Uncle Bala.

Author: Sakshi Khurana

PGPM, Class of 2018, Great Lakes, Gurgaon

The Great Lakes Approach to Learning Microeconomics

The concepts of microeconomics are the driving force behind the key personal and business financial decisions that we make in our daily lives. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the core fundamentals of microeconomics via experimentation rather than through mere theoretical observation. Coming from a technical background, my concepts of economics were, let’s just say, a bit blurry. But, I and many of my classmates who share the same academic and industry background learnt the entire concept of Microeconomics in a matter of days through experimentation.

The Micro-Economics project of Term-I at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon was very different. As part of this project, the batch of 120 students was divided into groups of six and every group had to start a business inside the college campus. The business could be anything from product manufacturing and home & personal care to food delivery and miscellaneous services. Our investment cap for the business was established at INR 500 and initially it seemed impossible to start a business under that amount. But all the groups then started analyzing the market, needs and demand of their target customers. Everyone did extensive market research before starting the businesses to understand the requirements and needs of their target market. Market research was done through questionnaires, by conducting interviews, taking suggestions etc. Every group collected the primary data about their prospective customers before starting the business. After the research was over, it was time to put it to use and execute the business idea. There were twenty groups and hence, twenty businesses. Some of these were SantaKaBanta (a soda point corner), Fortune Coffee (a small scale coffee house and coffee delivery service), IceExpress, DeliverIt, a Bhelpuri corner etc.

Our group started a business named “Need2Home.” It was a delivery business in which we delivered anything and everything that is required by the students on a daily basis and could be bought from the nearby areas. On day 1 we designed our team’s pamphlet and distributed those among the students and staff members. We then started taking orders. Initially, we didn’t get many orders and most of the orders that we did get were from immediate friends. But, slowly our business started picking pace and after 2-3 days of providing impeccable services, we became quite famous among the students. We enjoyed managing all the important aspects of running a business like marketing, operations and maintaining balance sheets. Although it was a project of Microeconomics, we applied the knowledge of all the subjects that we had learnt in Term-1 of our course.

We had quite a free hand when it came to experimenting with our business. We (i) fluctuated the price of the services depending upon the market conditions (ii) reduced the profit margin (iii) made demand forecasts etc. Initially, we had kept a higher profit margin but due to severe competition from another team, we had to lower our margins. However, due to this, we managed to secure a large number of orders and as a result also managed to increase our sales figures substantially. And yes, we had a competitor in this small business space. We also felt threat from Amazon, Flipkart and other e-commerce entities because, as a small scale business, we did not plan on entering the online marketplace.

The Happy Customers!

Altogether, it felt like having a real business. By the time the project got over we earned more than INR 5000 in revenue. Considering the fact that we invested about 100 bucks in the venture, it was a tremendous achievement.

Finally, we had to prepare a report based on the data collected from our business. We used all the basic concepts such as demand equations, curve, cost function, profit maximization, regression analysis and demand forecasting techniques to prepare the business report.

This project helped us in the following ways: (i) It broadened our vision towards the various business dimensions, (ii) It helped us understand the concepts of Microeconomics, and, (iii) it gave us the ability to realize and overcome the challenges in business world.

It was truly an extensive and amazing learning experience and we enjoyed every bit of it. I believe such projects help a lot in practical understanding of the theoretical concepts and we are extremely grateful to our faculty, Dr V.P Singh Sir, and the college for providing us such wonderful opportunities to learn in a practical manner.

Authors: Akhilesh Tripathi & Shubham Singh

PGPM, Class of 2018, Great Lakes, Gurgaon