A reflection on cette semaine

What a week it has been! This has been one of the most astonishing weeks so far and, for once, it had nothing to do with exams. It was India Week and we had a great party last night which included an opening fashion show by HEC 'models', fine Indian food and the climax was the moment when professional Bhangra dancers arrived to energise the ambience, and got everyone to balle balle on their feet. And, as a volunteer helper, I spent nearly four hours limping around Hall d'Honneur setting tables up (whether it is the weather or not, my foot has been playing up!).

This week was also election week, as I mentioned in one of my previous blogs. We formed a team, as this is how we compete, and came up with some good ideas to start promoting the brand that HEC is, and on ways to improve the career services offered to MBA students. We felt these were the two major issues that needed the most attention and seemed most tangible because, if elected, we would only have about six months to materialise our goals and objectives. But, fate had other plans and we lost today! So, it is not 'El Presidente' but 'Rashtrapati Ji' and we also found out that our opposing team had around 20 members which, out of a class of 67, is a force to reckon with. Perhaps, we should have offered a position to half of the class and betted on getting one extra vote to get a majority! :-) But, the new president remains a friend and I wish him and his team the very best. At least, one thing I found out during the election campaign was the true identity of a unqiue visitor from HEC campus who has been often visiting my blog. Oh yes, I do keep track of anyone and everyone who comes to this site, including you! :-) As I am pretty keen to keep this blog anonymous, I have not mentioned one bit of it to my class. But, when one writes about the classes and life on campus in such great detail with a wide variety of unique identifiers, it is easy to guess. Not to worry...

So, now that I have said enough about fun and politics on campus, let me turn my attention towards my lectures. It has been a while since I last enjoyed a class thoroughly and I was not anticipating anything when I sat down for a three-hour lecture on accounting, the last in the series. We analysed the financial statements of GE using various ratios that we had previously discussed in class and analysed why GE is such a good company, so good that investors are willing to fund USD172bn that it needs. GE is of special interest to me as well because they once offered me the possibility of working in Geneva and, ever since, I have tried to keep track of what's happening to the company. I have also read a few of the management books written by Jack Welch and often had discussions with one or two of its employees whom I knew in my previous role. Coming back to the analyses, we managed to find out what the value for some of the key ratios of GE are and I will discuss more in greater detail in my next post. As we have an exam next week, I am going to practice on this by trying it out on the company that's sponsoring me and one of its major competitors!

Finally, on the way back from school, I listened to Dame Sandra Dawson's Podcast on 'Management and leadership in the global economy' and thought I should mention a few of the key points she highlighted. According to her, the global business future is full of opportunities but managers and leaders need to pay particular attention to:

* being vigilant about competition
* innovation
* collaborative approach
* participation in developing infrastructure, and
* being responsible.

Alright, I will stop here as I need to go up to watch a movie and need a good rest as we are viewing about a million properties tomorrow.

Marketing Exams Over, and is Negotiation an Art?

We had our last Marketing exam this week and so we have one more subject down! The only thing left for this course is the project on which we are currently working.

Things are also beginning to churn regarding the MBA student council elections. A good friend wants to run for it and we have thought about putting in a team together but it does not help that another good friend wants to run too! I think it would be a fun thing to do to work in the council and I think HEC has a lot to show to the world about why it is a great school to go to. The course is hard, tough and demanding but it is also very flexible which suits a student looking for change. Moreover, people are generally very cooperative and HEC needs to do more to advertise all these good qualities. Also, the career service group is evolving rapidly and we should see the fruits of their labour in a year or so. But, I still say that career is self-driven. The question is, what can the student council do to proactively promote HEC...I wonder!

Last week, just when I was beginning to think that all of my groups are working as fluidly as water meandering on its own course with great ease, a situation that reminded me of a book I had read a while ago popped up. I guess such a situation, where one diasagrees strongly with what has been suggested or, in this case, I felt imposed, is bound to come up at least once when one is working with a diverse set of individuals and in so many groups. I believe HEC does this on purpose so that we all learn something about working in teams. Coming back to the book, it is called "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" and, as the aforementioned situation was developing, I was desperately trying to remember one point from this book which was not to take a stand and stay glued to it - the solution is to be understanding, logical, and to come up with an agreement that is a winner for both sides. But, when pushed to a corner, especially when one is running out of time, it is very hard to not take a stand to get things going. And, this can be bitter! At least, we seem to have come out of it wiser and I bet the group will benefit from this in the long run. Time to have a drink together, I think! And, you ask why we have not been to the bar already!?!?!?! :-) If you have not read the book, do read as it is not only interesting but also useful.

Today is Friday and the last day of the week. And, there are no classes as everyone was supposed to be in London for a career fair which got postponed so, for those of us not going to London for a tour of the city, it is a day off. Actually, some students are going to visit BCG on a day-long fact finding mission. As for me, I am going to take my son on a tour of HEC and for lunch in our fabulous student canteen. Take this last part of the sentence with a pince of salt! :-) I am also going to meet my friend who wants to be 'El Presidente'! ;-)