IIM A - GD/PI

Date – 27/02/06
Venue – IIMB – M Block
Background – CA, M.Com
Verdict – Screwed up big time.

One from panel collected forms. Asked me why I had not pasted identical photograph. Apologised.

GD – 5 min to read. 20 min to discuss. 5 min to write summary. Case study abt a new HR manager who finds that attrition rate has gone up but is unable to pinpoint the reason. GD was peaceful. No fish. Lots of points thrown up in first 15 min. Got repetitive in last 5 min. Put in decent participation coming in 5-6 times. Wrote a decent summary with the panel specifically asking us not to write bullet points and in paragraphs. Panel asked us to write name and xxxxx number along with the summary. Didn’t get the number part first time around and I decided to ask after writing summary. Panelist gave rather cold stare when I asked while submitting the summary and told nothing could be done now. Hope its not held against me.

PI – Panelists – BP (Bearded Prof), CP (Clean shaven prof), LP (Lady Prof), BM (Bakra Me) Guy before me assured that the 2 gents were mech engineers while the lady seemed to be HR types. He got the idea when they drilled him abt CAD/CAM and other assorted mech stuff. Next 30 min would tell how wrong he was!! Lady came out, called me, let me in and shut the door.

BP – OK BM, give me the variance used to analyze overheads?
BM – Tried to give some gas abt material variance, got cut short.
CP – Give me your certis.
BP – So give me theoretical name of the variance.
BM – Absorption variance.
BP – Are you sure?
BM – No. However I do know how to calculate it.
BP – So, you don’t know?
BM – I am not able recollect it right now.
BP – You should have told this earlier. What do you know abt Efficiency variance?
BM – Yes, It is used to measure Overhead Variance. Told him how it is calculated on the basis of labor hours.
BP – Don’t you think it will result in labor variance.
BM – Clarified that overhead could be measured on both per unit of production and labour hour (with labour hours tied to unit of production) basis.
BP – So what other methods can be used for cost control and reduction?
BM – Standard costing, ABC….
BP – Ha ABC! So tell me the disadvantage of using ABC?
BM – Inability to break any process to clearly defined activities
BP – What if it is taken care of?
BM – Inability to logically allocate indirect costs to all activities.
BP - What if it is taken care of?
BM – I use ABC for cost reduction and standard costing for cost control…
BP – So there is a difference between cost control and cost reduction …
BM – If I employ ABC for cost reduction, I will need a target cost which ABC may not provide in the first place….
BP - What if it is taken care of?
BM – Not able to recollect any specific disadvantage.
BP – What are relevant costs?
BM – Wrt to decision making, costs that matter
BP – Are past costs relevant?
BM - Nope
CP who was going through my certis till then took over.
CP – So BM, you have been talking abt variances all the time. Do you know abt variances in mathematics?
BM – Yes, in statistics.
CP – Explain.
BM – Asked if I could write the formula. CP agreed and I wrote and showed it.
CP – What is it used for?
BM – Measurement of dispersion.
CP – Any other measures used?
BM – Std deviation.
CP – How it calculated?
BM – sqrt of variance.
CP – Then why STD Dev better over variance?
BM – Explained funda using example.
CP – Any other measures of dispersion?
BM – Not able to recollect…
CP – Range?
BM – Yes, Explained. Also told it does not give true idea in case of skewing values.
CP – Gimme a skewed distribution.
BM – Drew and explained.
CP – Types?
BM – Told
CP – Gimme a distribution that is always skewed?
BM – Abt to give him an example…
CP – You have so many types of distributions …Poisson. binomial etc. So tell me?
BM – Dang…er…stats studied more than 2 years back and not in touch with it.
CP – What is kurtosis?
BM – Showed with diagram…
CP – Not satisfied, said I had drawn 3 normal distributions.
BM – Was abt to tell him that 2 curves were not normal and the diff in peak is kurtosis but decided keeping mum is better. Bleated again that stat I studied was pretty elementary to which BP replied that he was sure all this formed a part of the syllabus.
CP – OK, so what is Jambudweepa?
BM – Initially confounded. I mean, after getting grilled on stats, the last q u expect is abt jambudweepa!! Then told abt ancient name given to Indian subcontinent.
CP – Now tell me 5 such regions and their old names.
BM – Tamilnadu – Tamilnadu, Kalinga – Orissa, Magadha – Bihar, Gandhar – Afghanistan, Asom – Assam, Dwaraka – Gujarat (last 2 - crap)
CP – Assam funda is wrong.
BM – Me agrees.
CP – OK what abt kurupanchal?
BM – Kuru – Kurukshetra – Haryana. Panchal – Dunno.
CP – Draupadi was called Panchali, right?
BM – Yup, still don’t know.
CP – What abt Vidarbha?
BM – Maharashtra.
LP takes over –
LP – Raised a point abt the absence of my M.Com marksheet.
BM – Clarified.
LP – So, you have studied HR as a part of M.Com. Can I ask you abt it?
BM – Don’t remember much. Will try to answer with reference to what I do at place of work. Also M.Com for me was more of a fall back. So did not pay much attention to it.
LP – What is strategic HR, HRIS?
BM – Dang in both cases.
LP – Who is an entrepreneur and you don’t have to tell me the classical definition in the books?
BM – Told her. Also entrepreneurs in true sense of the word not strictly applicable in today’s corporate sector as shareholders take risk and managers run the show.
LP – Are managers entrepreneurs?
BM – In a way, yes.
LP – Who are intrapreneurs?
BM – Explained.
LP – So why do companies encourage them?
BM – Retention of bright employees. Also gets to make money out of good business idea.
LP – And who gets all the money made?
BM – Depends on the shareholding pattern of the enterprise.
LP – Gimme 5 companies that you admire of Indian origin?
BM – TATAs, Infy, Reliance, TVS and my current employer.
LP – Is your current employer of Indian origin?
BM – Nope, but included as it is one company that I admire a lot.
LP – Why Reliance at third place?
BM – No ranking. Just mentioned them in the order they occurred to me. Admire Reliance because of focus on shareholder enrichment. IMHO prime reason for any co.’s existence is shareholder enrichment.
LP – Don’t you think it’s the employees who are the reason?
BM – Reason for existence is shareholder enrichment. Employees work hard with specific objective of shareholder enrichment
LP – OK that’s it. Take a toffee.
BM – Look for a tuft of grass to graze upon. Not finding any settle for a Coffee Bite and bleat out.

Thus ended my tryst with IIM A. Hope they call me even after this. Am totally down after reading the dazzling PIs posted on PG.