GD AT URPERCENTILE : CASE STUDY - MBA / JOB / BUSINESS

Manan : Hello everyone, I am Manan from Ahmedabad. I've done computer engineering and have 15 months of experience.

Ashu2961989: This is Ashish frm surat

Niraj Mall: Hello, I am Niraj Kumar Mall from Kolkata.I am Comp.Sc engr and have 16 months of work-ex.

Gunjan : Hello, I am Gunjan 3 rd yr B Tech frm NIT Bhopal.

www.UrPercentile.com: We welcome KAPIL SACHDEVA .who has been member of urpercentile for many years and currently is pursuing his Management course from SP Jain . He has volunteered to be an observer of this GD . We hope that all MBA aspirants will gain from his comments.

www.UrPercentile.com: Today we will have case study.
There is this guy called MBAspirant, he has following 4 options :
1) He has recently completed his engineering and has got call from IIM-A .
2) At the same time he has a very good job offer with salary almost equal to what an average IIMA student who passed out last year got.
3) His father has a well established garments business and wants to expand the business immediately so has set up an office in another city for this purpose . All his family members are persuading him to join his father and help him in expanding his business.
4) A couple of months back, he had a great idea of setting up his own internet business and approached few banks and venture capitalist in this regards. One of the Venture capitalist is very impressed with his business proposal and is ready to finance the project What should the MBAspirant do ?

Manan: First of all, I shall present the case in front of everyone. There's a guy who's completed his engineering and has got call from IIM-A . Now he's having three more options...
1. To grab an offer which is giving it an equivalent amount of pay as he would get after completing his MBA.
2. To join his father's garment business for which his father has already opened an office in another city.
3. To start his own internet business for which he's having an financer in the form of a venture capitalist.

Ashu2961989:  This is interesting...the first thing is that it depends on the guy and his interest. In whatever he is interested he should do that. Friends we should discuss on each point …Ok friends tell about the 1st point

Gunjan : Though India has developed in many areas...there is advancement in the thinking regarding values and tradition of people but still there remain areas in which they still are stuck with their beliefs one of them is one in which our guy of interest in case study is entangled in. the big question bugging him is should he do what he is interested in or  go by what his family says...the family business....according to me he must do what he is good at. it is said that "choose a job which u love to do..."

Manan: No. I think we shall follow a proper approach…. I think that the first choice that can be ELIMINATED is related to that company's offer. Because if at all he's not going to start his own business or join his father's business, then there's no point in joining another company. Here we can use one ASSUMPTION... that because his father is a businessman and has already opened an office in another city, so we can assume that there's no money shortage in his house and because there's no money shortage, he shall not join that company. So that option can be removed altogether. So now as one option is removed completely, we can discuss what to choose from other options.

Nilanjan :  I think he should grab the job, I want to discuss on 1st point. It is good as it is giving a good money, good experience and future chance to do MBA in foreign.

Manan: I've discussed my point of view in the first point... I think he shall reject that offer (reason given above). Affirmative Soni

Niraj Mall: I think the guy should go about starting his own internet business company. Firstly, he has got an engineering degree. This will help him a great deal besides this he is also able to gather some capital from a VC. This also proves that his idea holds promise.

Ashu2961989: Looking at the other options, if i was in his place, I  would have not joined IIM because IIM does not give us the most practical knowledge of business that a own fathers business can give.The ups and downs in your business makes you more stronger, it teaches you when to make decisions and what  decisions to make, and that too very practically. It makes you mentally strong also.

Gunjan : He has to make a decision job or MBA both getting him the same salary package. mind you it is the starting package ...once you are an MBA your growth rate is much higher if you are  not ..its better to do an MBA  according to me......also there is a golden opportunity for him as a venture capital has agreed to fund his project.

Ankit Soni: Idea of internet business is there with us , business setup by father can be looked after completing his studies also

Nilanjan Choudhury: Don’t you think it will be good for him to go for the job and then do MBA which  has better prospect.If you want to join fathers business I  think the field experience is more important than MBA

Manan: But, to choose among the other three options, we can assume that he will not study while doing HIS or HIS FATHER"S business... and that assumption will help us in deciding that he shall rather go for the MBA degree. The reason is that he can join his father's business or start his own business even after doing MBA. In that case, his MBA degree and the learning will also be useful in running those businesses

Niraj Mall: Well IIM gives you  the tool to work in a business situation .But that does not mean you cannot work without an IIM degree. It's all about having a vision and going about achieving it.

Manan: so he just will not be able to do MBA from IIM-A after joining either of the businesses but he can surely join those businesses after doing MBA

Ankit Soni: The job offer is bound to be got after iim also, so that is not a big deal, money is not going anywhere

Gunjan : according to me he must do what he is good at .....joining his fathers business ...what he is being persuaded for .......rather he must do an MBA and start his own business.

Manan: yes but as it is also a business, the general business theories will surely help and also, the field experience can be obtained while working... and then he'll not be able to do MBA...

Nilanjan Choudhury: Don’t u think work experience is good for MBA

Manan: Work experience can teach you many things and also... MBA can teach you many things

Ankit Soni: Work experience is good for MBA  but  only for admissions, here he has already got offer of iim a

Gunjan : yes work ex is imp and useful but IIMA is one time opportunity as said earlier.

Niraj Mall: While work ex is good for MBA its not essential. Dhirubhai ambani was not an MBA.

Manan: So if you are getting a chance to do MBA from IIM-A, you shall grab that opportunity . He can join the business later also

Ankit Soni: yes, that is the only point I want to convey

Manan: Ya Dhirubhai was not an MBA but who knows where he would have taken his companies if he would have done MBA from IIM-A????

Nilanjan Choudhury: I don’t think work experience is only good for admission, it gives u the real idea of corporate world.

Niraj Mall: Why are we not discussing the 3rd option that of starting an internet company??

Gunjan : Yes, you r right ......he might have done the same thing in a lesser period of time

Nilanjan Choudhury: well its better than to join fathers company

Ankit Soni: yes internet company can also be started after completing his pgdm from iim

Manan: yes I agree nilanjan but work ex can be obtained later also... but as he wont be able to study while doing his Job/business... he just wont be able to study and do MBA

Nilanjan Choudhury: its good for entrepreneurship

Manan: Yes I agree ankit…..he can very well complete his MBA and then decide what he shall do? Start his own company or join his father's business

Niraj Mall: If he has got the idea to start a company he should go about it right now. who knows what might happen in 2 years.in today's world 2 years is a long period --the idea could get obsolete or somebody else might have made it a reality

Gunjan : He can maximise his talent once he is an MBA ...the knowledge gained by this will be invaluable and will help him take matured decisions as I said  earlier

Nilanjan Choudhury: why manan? do u know foreign universities have the criteria of experience to join mba

Manan: yes sir I know that... but here the question is not of foreign universities... but of IIM-A which has already given him a call latter

Gunjan : We are talking about iima ...don’t bring foreign  univ in here

Ankit Soni: Out of the four oppurtunities given, that guy has maximum gain joining his MBA program only... as all other options will get more and more good once he complete his MBA

Manan: if he would not have got a call from IIM-A, then probably he could join that father';s business or start his own business... but as he's having a call... he shall join IIM-A

Ankit Soni: the option of job is not hurdle, as he will get that much money after his completion also

Niraj Mall: an MBA is not the be-all and end-all of life....life goes beyond MBA as well....let him start his internet company ...if he feels handicapped for lack of an MBA degree ,he can always go for an MBA later...

Nilanjan Choudhury: well going for entrepreneurship is also good, but in this case u have to forget about MBA I think

Gunjan : yes you are right,  by doing his MBA he can get a good job also he can start his business ...not forgetting his fathers business he can give in a hand in it also

Manan: Yes ankitt... i also believe this... he surely will get good knowledge about running business and several other aspects of running the business which PERHAPS he could not get from direct Work Ex too…. buyers he can go for MBA later but then he'll have to study harder.... because he just would not be able to study while doing those businesses

sanu282005: the MBA  aspirant should do his MBA.....at first because once his into an entrepreneurship...its difficult for him to do MBA  and once he is into his father's company with such a life I don’t think so he will be interested in MBA....in other words what I am telling is...MBA should be preferred reason being it can be considered as the right time for him to pursue an MBA.

Ankit Soni: The option of fathers business, if he wants to join then why  not after completing his MBA, so he can add more value and

Manan: and even after those hard days of lots of studies... there's no surety of getting an IIM-A call which he's having right now

Kapil Sachdeva: just a suggestion: Keep in mind the end motive? MBA for Learning's or Money Things would itself fall in line. Because most of the education is based on Case study Pattern just a tinkler

Nilanjan Choudhury: well cap don’t u think money and learning are complementing?

Gunjan : his motive must be to learn from mba ....as he already has a good package job offer.......learning and then applying that  in an effective manner in his future ventures

Ankit Soni: the 3rd option of internet business, even though being a great idea, it can wait so that it can get more finishing  touch to it

Manan: I believe that anyone can start his business. l.. whether it is you or me... but then the question comes that whether we'll be able to make it a success? We can also join our father's business but then can we be able to run it as effectively as our father has run it? These things need some prior  knowledge of how the businesses shall be run... and this knowledge can be obtained from an MBA degree

Niraj Mall: I don't agree with ankit...once an idea has come it needs to be executed, who knows within 2 years the idea might be obsolete

Gunjan : You are right  manan knowledge must be given preference ........

Kapil Sachdeva: Quality of Idea's matters, give sound reason just dont say because u have to say

Manan: we can surely get some work ex while running those businesses but  while amassing that work ex, we may also ruin that whole business...

sanu282005: he can setup an internet business at a later stage after the completion of his MBA...his dad's business is always ready for him to get into it...the job its not a good option because  there's always a risk and its not the question of money its the position in the company that matters.....if a graduate is joining a company for eg. he will be given a lower position compared to that of a mba candidate...though the starting salary is same the position makes a large difference in a long time

www.UrPercentile.com: THANKS , SUGGEST EVERYONE TO GIVE ONE CONCULDING STATEMENT ON THE TOPIC .

Nilanjan Choudhury: I think job offer is good ,as it will give u a direct idea about corporate and after that you  can do MBA in India or foreign. so first option is best. My 2nd priority will be starting his own business ,as entrepreneurship gives u a enormous chance to grow

Ankit Soni: In my view 1st priority is to go for IIMA  mba and 2nd priority to opt for internet business as that being an innovative idea will be a good option

Niraj Mall: well the group could not come to any conclusion on what this guy should do. I think his first priority should be
1)to start his own internet company as he has already got VC and this being his passion he could do well in this company &
2)he should go for an MBA as that would add value if he later wishes to join his father's business.

Manan: I think the  best option is to do MBA from IIM-A. He has got a great offer in
hand right now interm of that IIM-A call letter. He can surely join any of the businesses after doing MBA. And that will be better also as he will surely decrease the risk of running those businesses by joining them directly. But yes  to conclude, the group could not come to a particular conclusion.

sanu282005: Considering all the options one by one....the best option which according to me suits the aspirant is..he pursue his MBA from  IIMa at first....its the position and not the starting salary that is important and very few people will be there who will be interested to pursue their MBA after entering into lucrative careers which they feel are very comfortable with in other words his dad's business...and if he is a successful entrepreneur I don’t think so he will look back at MBA which adds knowledge...so he has to opt to do an MBA..

Comments by Urpercentile Members :

www.UrPercentile.com: We thanks KAPIL SACHDEVA .who has been member of urpercentile for many years and currently is pursuing his Management course from SP Jain . He has volunteered to be an observer of this GD . We hope that all MBA aspirants will gain from his comments.

Kapil Sachdeva: According to me every option is fine, he can go with any option provided he has the strong reasons behind that to support.  so there is nothing wrong or right
When you conclude than u have to tell one option not first this second this third this, This shows lack of decision taking capabilities. let me finish shall tell u all when i am finished

Kapil Sachdeva: I would suggest as a whole to the batch :
1. Think logical
2. Read a lot read anything which u come across
3. This GD checks your thought process but there are other things attached to a GD like communication skills how u present, how u behave
4. one more point during GD be calm don’t cut someone when someone is putting his point
5. Don’t say as told be so & so just directly put your point across as the observer for GD knows what others have told last thing which comes to my mind is that content in the discussion is seriously lacking but that can be improved so work hard towards it

There can be many things that could have be added in this topic but what seems that we all people are lacking the real purpose of doing the MBA. My serious advise be sure why u want to do an MBA. : This question is must that is going to be answered It  seems that u people are still not clear why MBA why not?

Kapil Sachdeva: Just few Topics which can be taken for GD's are
1. Can India be world leaders in manufacturing like China?
2. Whats so special about china that lacks in India? or otherwise?
3. Your thoughts about Tata's 1 lac car ?
4. Tata Corus deal?
5. Organized retail Opportunities how real some thing on retail thing

Manan: thanks Kapil

sanu282005: kapil i will be happy if u can answer that question.....what is the purpose of doing MBA? I want your  answer well just to know....I  know it should change person to person but I want your  answer...

Manan: Now please start what we all are dying to read

sanu282005: yes kapil,  I m asking u

Manan: yes Kapil...we're pleading you infact

Nilanjan Choudhury: Please  kapil some feedback.

Kapil Sachdeva: Why MBA?
Kapil Sachdeva: Just say that my sole purpose of doing MBA is Learning because when I enter into the corporate world i want my self to be aware of all the tools /Models. Apart from that i want to have the knowledge of Finance/marketing/operation/Accounting etc . As the MBA education is based on Case Studies, which would be a learning in itself which i can apply when i enter into the corporate world. Apart from that there is a lot of learning from peer to peer interaction which equips oneself to handle & work in teams. Apart from that how to perform under strict deadlines & uncertainties.   

Kapil Sachdeva: Than there can be a question why should we take you, s you don’t have experience,  so prepare yourself for that question also

Manan: Thanks man, the info u gave was awesome

Niraj Mall: Thanks  for that Kapil

Kapil Sachdeva: Just you  do well that’s  what I want & UrPercentile is doing a great job in doing that I an contributing in my own way.