Here Comes Another Bubble

Amazingly well done light take on the so called Web2.0 bubble. Njoy !

Online Forums -The Power Of Information Exchange

There was a time- and there is this time. Its amazing how much technology can improve and assist in making life easier for users !

Am refferring to world of internet in general and the concept of online forums in specific.

There are a few i personally am hooked on to

MBA Aspirants Forum
Reliance Mobile Forum
Ahmedabad City Forum
HR FORUM
SEO Forum

You must have visited many, been part of few and got hooked on to one or two.Its everywhere and it amazes me how it facilitates free flow of information and knowledge and breaks down barriers to communication.

You no longer need to wait till u catch hold of a friend's friend to get the information you were seeking. You no longer need to make your critical decisons based on half baked knowledge and rumours

Well i was so hooked on to this concept that i myself initiated one for ICFAI -my MBA institute and its roaring with 2000 members with amazing flow of highly classified informations already !


All you need to do , is to login to the relevant online forum and ASK ! soon u shift mode from just asking to sharing , and join the world of online communities !

Which ones do u visit regularly?

EarthQuake Rocks Delhi/NCR-26th Nov 4am

My midnight sleep was broken by surprise earthquake tonite !

Yes ! I thought it was a bad dream, but seems its news !

26th Nov early morning at 4am , there was an earhtquake of light intensity, which was also experienced by the occupants in/around Gurgaon.

Dont Worry , everything is as Normal here as much in rest of India.

btw = any chances of this one being spill over of recently reported Indonesian earthquake?

Rocker's League - Rock on IBS !

IbsRocks is a Community for students and alumni of IBS across all centers.

History is in making with launch of Rocker's Cricket League – a first of its kind in IBS fraternity.

With the placements season for the Senior batch reaching its penultimate phase, there is a festive mood on the campus. We observed everyone playing gully cricket at their backyards. So we thought its time now for some real action! It's time now for the boys to be Men !

Registrations closed on 15th Nov and we are all set for the event to be held on 25th Nov & 2nd Dec 2008 at Chiranjeev Ground , Gurgaon.

This event would witness drama and fun of the highest order, but would also be a great opportunity for the Junior batches to get close to their seniors and counterpart from other campuses.

Hail The Consumer !

Exceeding customer's expectations and deleighting the customer are some of the constituents of Customer Satisfaction. Its a much hyped and well leveraged marketing terminology.

Yeah i woudnt call it a management terminology , coz its more of words than substance.India deserves a special mention when we speak of customer satisfaction - simply as an example of what not is customer satisfaction ! Companies like Starbucks , Dell and Carrefour have proved that if implemented honestly and effectively customer satisfaction can be a vital weapon in any marketer's armour - a diffrentiation tool which cuts across the clutter of being "better" - and makes the service "Different" and "Delightful".

With globalisation and influx of foreign brands in India , we witness Indian companies making a shift from the Selling Concept to the Marketing Concept. However little do they realise that customer service is an atitude rather than a process. Processes are important , but it's the atitude towards the consumer , the sensitivity which the support staff show and the understanding of the importance of the Customer that they posses - is what results in a good customer service. Few weeks of ocnditioned brainwashing through highly structured training modules , does not help improve customer service. It rather frusturates the customer more , since the service metted out becomes moe mechanical and insensitive. The processes become the end goal rather than the actual goal of the process design !

Flexibility and senstivity is something that Indian customer service propents certainly lack. Unless the atitude can be changed or conditioned - no amount of training or processes can lead to a "Delighted Consumer" .

Hail the Consumer !

In Defence of IBS-Gurgaon, AICTE Fiasco

Background- The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) — the body that regulates technical
education in India — has decided to approach state governments and ask them to
close unapproved institutions, including several premier B-schools and technical training institutes, operating in their regions. http://www.ibsrocks.com/forum/ibs-g-on-aicte-s-hit-list-t480.html

This article brings to fore the great Indian MBA Dilema once again (notably just at the time students start filling Mba forms.

The Issue - Institutes like ISB,Gr8 Lakes, ICFAI. IIPM , CHRIST , not having AICTE approval to run their MBA courses. AICTE thus is unhappy that they are not getting the due ego boost and respect, so they go ahead to ask state governments to close down such institutes.

Now thats something really uncalled for. Id once again like to clarify few things wrt this issue

1. AICTE approval is voluntary and not mandotory

2. Universities or deemed universities DO NOT require AICTE approval in the first place as they fall under UGC which offers DEGREES. AICTE is meant for approving DIPLOMA's equal to degrees. So while an IIM needs AICTE , a SYMBI or NMIMS or ICFAI for that matter DOES NOT SEEK AICTE approval , as they are under UGC

3. ISB or gr8 lakes offer 1 yr diploma courses , which AICTE cannot approve anyways , as they cover only 2 year course.So its actually doesnt make sense for AICTE to ask them to close down. Do they mean to say 1 year courses are not relevant? thats a separate issue and they better leave it on INDUSTRY forces to decide that !

4. AICTE has 800+ approved institutes under it , most of which are so poor in terms of infrastructure , faculty base or student quality , that AICTE would do much better regulating them rather than creating just baseless outrageous claims !

5. At end of the day MBA is about INDUSTRY....no piece of paper (wether AICTE or UGC for tht matter) can gurantee one a place in the industry. So if the industry accepts an ISB or an IBS as a top notch institute - the students shoudl really not be a worried lot

Hope this helps. Aspirants are advised not to press the panic button, dont loose focuss from preparations.... !

Adsense Refferals- It Pays !

Google Adsense Referrals now has host of advertisers in various categories instead of just the google products(which nvr was a money spinner).

One advertiser i have used is by blackbooks2.com, under the business category - which is paying alomst $ 4 per referral (user has to signup for the website).

Now this beats the traditional adsense products like adsense for content/links or search. Makes them look peanuts ;-)

Hope other publishers too take advantage of this new product. Adsense beats all once again !

Within Me - Kathleen Sheppard

Scarlet lips as red as a rose,

perfect hips in a seductive pose.

On the outside this is what I may be,

but what about looking at the heart within me.

Long black hair, surrounding my face,

baby blue eyes and full of grace.

This is what most men chase,but my soul and feeling cannot be erased.

Long, untouched legs with a snug fitting skirt,

a short and sexy tube top shirt,

I take my looks with little pride,

for what I care about is what's inside.

They say that these looks are a sensation,

that I am one of God's best creations,

But all I really want is for you to see,all the good that is within me.

Handle with Care !

This could be a rumour or may be applicable to few ATM's of SBI - bt take this as a note of caution

ICICI ATM / Debit cards can be used at SBI ATMs to withdraw money andmost shocking thing is, it does not ask for your PIN**.

Even if it asks for pin and if u cancel it, it goes on to the next screen and enablesyou to withdraw cash. This security vulnerability was shown live on TV-9 news channel at SBI ATM in Bangalore

So please take utmost care ofyour ICICI ATM / Debit cards to avoid any such misuse.

IbsRocks Books Service - Coming Soon

Our online community portal www.IbsRocks.com is pleased to introduce books service soon. We plan to source MBA textbooks and provide them at highly discounted price to our student members (across 21 centres of IBS).

This comes out of our experience and observation of the tedious process of procurring these books as students - travell long distances , negotiatewith bookstores and search for the books. Here is where we feel we could derive synergines out of IbsRocks.com . A win-win proposition.

We are in talks with several national book distributors as well as online bookstores for a tieup for the same and we hope we can get the best deal on behalf of our student community

Cheers to Brand IBS , IbsRocks !

Wah Taj ! - Wonder or Marketing Gimmick

So the results of the New 7 Wonders of the world global contest are finally out - and our own Taj Mahal is on the list ! Party time folks? Hold on.... did you get it wrong? Who is behind this global accceridation? In the presence of a beaming Bipasha Basu, Emperor Shah Jahan's Taj Mahal was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World - on the basis of a global poll attracting nearly 100 million voters - at a glittering ceremony in Lisbon on Saturday. The catch;the poll,verdict and organisers have no official standing - UNSCO has distanced itself from the entire process

The real winner of the campaign arguably is New 7 Wonders, a not for profit organisation started in 2000 by Swiss author filmmaker Bernerd Weber. Besides the massive publicity it generated, it also netted millions of dollars through SMSes and phone calls as well as sale of merchandise (as high as $23 for a t-shirt). It also earned heft revenuesfrom sponsors around the globe.

Now that's what one calls a true blue marketer ! A scam or a boon to the travell industry - the jury is still out

The Toyota Way !

Background - Toyota overtakes GM, now world No. 1.

Tokyo, June 12: Toyota Motor Corp. edged past
General Motors Corp. to become the world`s biggest automaker by sales volume in
2006, reports said.

The Toyota Vs GM battle reflects a classical example of how it’s business strategy rather than the actual business activity that determines the winner in the battle of champions.

GM being the world’s leading car marker for decades lost out to Toyota – a one time underdog which emerged from the woods to put brakes on GM dream run and re write history – using business strategy and efficient operations management to beat GM at its own game.

It all can be traced back to a critical strategic decision by GM to discontinue it’s focus on hybrid electric cars, taking into account the low demand, huge overheads and lack of visible profits. Toyota on the other hand played the long term game-realizing that this hybrid car segment was where the future lies. Toyota aggressively pushed Prius, which not only went on to be a super seller as well as created a environment friendly and technologically savvy image of Toyota – but more importantly beat GM at its own turf – the U.S.A. It was this strategically diverse paths adopted which symbolizes why Toyota has become profitable in the United States while GM has been loosing its shirt in its home market!

GM in the process has not only lost out market share, but also market reputation. It is seen as a technologically laggard, a short term quick fix seeker, while Toyota has proven itself to not only be environmentally friendly and operationally efficient – but also a market savvy risk taker and a true champion.


While GM was shutting down its plants in the states in favor or other low cost manufacturing destinations – Toyota chose to setup a huge plant in the heart of Texas. This again was more of a strategic decision than a purely operational one – setting up camp at the heart of the consumer’s territory helps them relate to the brand and connect to it.

While Toyota was always focusing on its Toyota Production System, GM was busy finding quick fixes or imitating best practices – this reflects in the cost advantage of $ 1800 per car that Toyota enjoys over GM

While GM gave away almost $73 Billion as benefits to its workers over the last decade – Toyota invested its resources into R&D – resulting in Toyota having the trendiest and most up to date portfolio of cars, while GM struggles to come out with any innovation in the last decade. Toyota’s recently launched pickup truck Tundra helps Toyota shed the image of a toy carmaker – and pull’s in the Ford and GM loyalist!

GM’s game plan of dumping cars at airport car rentals just to keep production moving, Resulted in after sales value of the GM cars going down drastically as they retain only 43% of their initial value vis-à-vis 52% of Toyota cars.


It’s GM’s quick fix approach and flawed strategic direction that resulted it in loosing out to Toyota. Toyota has a stock market value of $200 Billion, almost 12 times that of GM. Its proposed acquisition of the money losing Chrysler would probably be another flawed strategic decision – as it would lead to critical issues in driving synergies between the two culturally diverse automakers. Such an acquisition rather seems to be another quick fix desperate bid by GM to retain it’s world’ leading car maker status.

The one time leader now finds itself in an uncomfortable position as an underdog. As rightly said, now GM can now afford taking higher risks and being more aggressive. However it’s no surprise if GM fails to ever regain its lost glory.

Habits Of Highly Effective People

From childhood i have always been in awe of highly successful people in any field of life and have always wondered what is that differentiates these people from the others who remain average throughout their life.

Is it just about being at the right place at the right time?is it all inborn?what is it that makes such people turn every adversity into an opportunity. i have been lucky to have closely observe my own brother who is a grad from FMS and i have tried to observe what is that the 2 years have taught him.I was amazed as to much changes there were in him. well i haven't read the 7 habits of highly effective people book as i don't believe in them.But i am sure life teaches us more than books and if we can consciously inculcate even a fraction of its learnings into our day-day life-we can never fail.

I would start with what i have observed:

Passion which drives u to achieve heights in your field and hence is absolutely most most most necessary

A very clear Vision-know what u wanna do in life-the bigger picture

Very strong common sense and understanding of people and situations-and when to react how.

Core beliefs,principles and Values - u live by

Smart Hard work-nothing comes without it-there is no shortcut

A Lender and not a borrower-never give ur problems to others - do something for others if u can rather.

Commitment to excellence-whatever u do-do it like there is no tomorrow

Humility - A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and denominator is what he thinks he is-the higher the denominator the lower the fraction

Positive attitude-down but never out - impossible is nothing Face problems head on--- if one faces problems and address them-it will be easier in the long run.

Self Honesty and Respect for each and every thing in life.

Balanced life-health money spirit mind

So guys please pitch in and lets discuss whats that element which make average people over perform !

Ebay bans Google Checkout !

eBay has banned sellers from using Google Checkout on eBay.
In a bid to protect PayPal, eBay has banned sellers from using Google Checkout, Google's payment service, on its site.

eBay has also changed the name of its Safe Payments Policy to Accepted Payments Policy, to serve as a lame excuse.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html

It is mentioned in eBay's Safe Payments policy, that a payment service must have a “substantial historical track record of providing safe and reliable financial and/or banking related services.” According to eBay, sellers may not accept banned services on their eBay checkout systems.

It's ironic they would do this here, and in the same breath go to Congress and fight the Net Neutrality battle.
You can't fight for an open internet one day and then implement policies that close the walled garden the next.
Coffee - eBay please wake up and smell it. Trust and Safety is running (and ruining) your company.

Mginger - Get paid to recieve SMS !!!

New Concept started By ISB HYDBD guys

Earn money for reading ads on your mobile
Get SMS ads of only those products that you want to buy
Get ads at your convenience
Save money through discount coupons and offers
Earn much more money by inviting family and friends.
by reffering 10 joinees u make arnd 2k pm !

Join by clicking here join

Google Chekout - the Paypal & CCAvenues Killer !

Being an avid online shopper , i regularly use paypal to make my online payments . I also use Indian Payment gateways like Payseal or CC Avenues. Now google checout is a similar service from the big online services giant Google itself. www.chekout.google.com

The best part from the vendors perspective is that as of 2008 , its completely free - payment gateways normally charge a % of transation(3-7%) as fee from the vendor apart from one time setup fee(Rs 20-50k) Now small vendors can shift to Google Checkout and offer online payments to their customers - no setup fee , no transaction fee ! Morever as usual the buyer does not need to pay anything extra apart from purchase price :-)http://checkout.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=29062&ctx=sibling

The relevant news is this service is available in India too. Now that is a major issue with paypal as it doesnt have operations in India , making the process more tedious. http://checkout.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=48115

Seems like Google Checkout is the Paypal and other payment platform killer ! Going by Google's reputation and resources - it shoudnt be very difficult too ;-)

The icing on the cake? Yes $10 sign up bonus offer is there - so hurry up ;-)

Now a Meeting ground for Bloggers !

I came across www.imparas.com/forum which turned out to be a platform for all of us bloggers to interact and share our experiences , discuss blogging and learn the tricks of the trade !

good going , finally bloggers have their own forum too !

Who is your Inspiration?

Some of the most important people in my life would be shocked to learn that they were role models. They weren't celebrities, or even particularly accomplished. But they had some quality that I admired, that made me want to be like them.”

I had no role model as such till i was a teenager...i was too occupied with myself. but as i grew up i started admiring people around me and tried to imbibe their qualities. i was on search of excellence

My biggest role model is no celebrity , its my own elder brother. He has been such an inspiration , and even if i can be 10% of what he is , id be a satisfied man.

My latest crush is on Sam Walton and our own Pantaloon's Mr Biyani. i can relate to them , i am a maverick by nature like them and i dream big with open eyes too.

However i believe its circumstances which make/break a man, and i am certainly waiting for my day ! and yes i will make it happen soon !

1st year of my MBA - Experiences and learnings

I was pretty clear that id make a difference to whichever institute i went -whether it be IIM or IIPM...i have such internal locus of controll. I have tried to walk the talk - its for u to decide if i have been able to make a difference or not.

Well i had my brother who did an MBA before me , so i had got some solid gyaan about an MBA experience from him.At that point i could not fully gasp or relate to what he said , but now i think he was perfectly on dot He said that 1st year is the phaze when you think you are right , while in 2nd yr you realise that u r not always right or rather there can be more than one rights to a single situation. During 2nd year u learn to accept other side of the view - he coined a term - U learn to AGREE TO DISAGREE Secondly he said that your close friends list will keep on changing from semester to semester. the one u didnt get along with in 1st sem would soon b a close buddy in 2nd sem and by 3rd sem it would go back to be a less friendly relationship....like a vicious circle. i thought this was absurd....but now i can vouch for this .MBA basically opens up ones ability to agree to disagree

my 1st year was unlike any typical MBA student. i did everything that i wanted to do and never cared for what others think should be done. I never ran after CGPA , i participated in various b school competitions , started a guest lecture club called Atithi2008 , bunked classes a lot , never "makhanofied" the faculties....in short i was a rebel. in the way i gave wrong impressions to lot of people about my arrogance. it was just that i knew what i wanted to do and my confidence was mistaken for arrogance (specially by those who could not be like me !)

The best part is inspite of all of this i always managed to score well , alas better than most of my peers and this made me loose a few more friends.... all in all i did exactly the opposite of a normal MBA student and in 2nd year i plan to be studious and study as now it would be only marketing subjects...which again would be hard to digest for most people who would not care much about CGPA anymore since the placements would already be over but i never came here for placements and i know right from the beginning that CGPA would not dictate my career . I am just too good for any recruiter to miss anyways

Indian Education System

India is typicall in the way education is approached in this country. Right from when we are born we are stressed upon with importance of marks. Weare forced to sacrifice our dreams and we mug up all the textbooks. The topper is not the most intelligent guy , its just the most hard working guy - one who can mug up faster and retain it longer !

Why only schooling , look at evn MBA courses. Studetns are mostly freshers and interested more in marks and CGPA than anything related to practicall management learnings.

I asked a kid what do u wanna be - i expected an engineer or pilot or actor as an answer but pat came the reply - MBA. On being asked why MBA?, declared than MBA's have good jobs and thy are rich !!!

MBA institutes in our country take advantage of this and treat applicants like lesser mortals. One needs to apply separately to all institutes , give 100 different entrance tests and play according to whims and facies of the administration.

Even in corporate world one will find interiewer stressing on the candidates 10 yr old 12th standard marksheets !

Look at Indian Entrepreneurs. The reason we dont think big enough is coz of the Preserver's atitude our education and family system inbibes in us. We dont wanna think big and take risks. we just wanna keep wht we have intact.

Great that India has the brightest brains but till we realise that education is just a means to the end and not the end in itself - we will continue to work for countries like United States , and continue to be a third world country. Till then any1 who reffers India as a superpower definately needs to introspect a bit more and look behind all the hype.

Wish i was born a Techie

Pat few weeks have been challenging and frustrating experience for me as i went about creating www.ibsrocks.com (IBS community) as well as working on the Foody portal. Coding is beyond my understanding thanks to my commerce background.

But i found small roads within this confusing jungle , lost my way most of times. I just wish i was born a techie !

I am excited about this journey and am ready for it. I M LOVING IT ! ;-)

Mission Possible - ICFAI Business School Community !

As posted earlier we are glad to present our own exclusive community for Icfai Business School stundets/alumni/aspirants. We already have over 100 members and 80 quality posts and the fun has not evn begun !

www.ibsrocks.com

So lets get it started and make it rock !

:-)

KNOWLEDGE -What is knowledge! - BY SANITHA

check this short poem out.its an eye opener

Knowledge is something in life to treasure,
It has a deep value which you can never measure,
It can be gained through experience and leisure,
Its a valuable asset when life exerts pressure.

Its something which last forever,
Which will desert us never,
Even when the ground beneath you starts to tremor,
You are a lucky lad if you are clever.

Even if you forget it,it will be embedded in your mind,
To remember it all you have to do is wind,
Your memory and experience will help you bind,
Your daily life will teach you things which you didnt know how to find.

There is something your life can teach,
Which will not be there in any of the books you reach,
After you have learnt it,dont try to preach,
Let people discover the meaning of life after their eternal search.

Exclusive Discussion Forum for Icfai Business School

We are pleased to bring to you an exlcusive forum for all of us from Icfai Business School - including aspirants/students/alumuni or any1 else associated with IBS.

We are still working on it and it would be live within a week or so - just ripe time for our junior batches !

Wether it be projects or campus tits - we hope to create this as a common platform for all the 18 centres to come together and leverage our alumni strength and build onIBS brand rather than just focussing on individual centres.

more to come on it.keep watching this space !

Atithi @ IBS-G We Can , We Will !

What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand. - Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius)

Atithi is a small step is to bring more industry interface @ IBS gurgaon. Batch of 2008 intends to turn a new leaf in the history of Icfai and we believe we can make a difference ! We want to lay a foundation whereby our junior batches get exposure to industry starlwets , learn from them and be more up to date with real business dynamics. Books as they say Never Made A Man ! Have close look at the logo.It speaks a lot about the initiative

Athiti is a small step in this direction taken entirely by a small team of young, imaginative and vibrant students – who have a vision of making a difference to the learning process at the institute by bringing in greater industry interaction to enable them to get better industry understanding, exposure and networking. One of its main objectives is also to propel a culture of student initiatives at IBS-G. Our juniors should look upon batch 2008 as a initiator of change , an inspiration and a benchmark.

By now we have had three Industry Guest Lectures including an investment banker , a head of creative , of an Advertising agency as well as head of strategic operations of IOCL.

Once our college re-opens in June we have series of such industry interactions lined up. We also look up to our incoming junior batch to take this initiative forward !

It took a lot for us to implement this. It was a live project management experience for us one can say - convincing authorites , going to each section and giving presentations , netwroking with industry contacts to get good speakers .....it was fun and stress.Hope this will propel our future batches to quit obsession with marks and realise MBA is about a lot more learnings than mere books can provide.....

A CHILD'S CRY - BY Sanitha

This poem is written for the innocent lives swallowed by a monster called child labour.If you want to do something for these children please visit www.cry.org.

Papa ,papa "I want to go to school",
Papa said "Shut your mouth you little fool",
Now go to work with your lunch and tool,
Before the sun melts the dawn's cool.

So I start my lonely walk,
Keeping my thoughts private with no one to talk
I can hear the song of a skylark,
As I gaze longingly at the childrens Park

After my long stroll, I reach the mine,
Where I have to slog till night nine,
I pretend everything is fine,
And start to work, Else I wont have anything to dine.


My heart is broken, coz my friend Ted is dead,
Some say it was coz he inhaled the poisonous lead
Whatever it is, his face was red,
And he fell sick and died in bed.

This job in mine,God,do I hate...
My mother says Dear Tom, this is our fate
My Father says go to work, if you want a full plate.
I'm sure I'll fall sick and die, if I work at this rate.

My greatest dream is to learn,
And to get a job by it and earn,
When I see other school going boys,My heart burns,
With desire to study, alas my heart can only yearn.

SimplyFoody

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; there is where they should be. Now put foundations under them”

SimplyFoody.com is India's first dedicated complete food portal. Right now it would start as a forum for foodies as part of the bigtger picture. But over time simplyfoody will be to foodies what Amazon is to book lovers. Yes you are witnessing hostory in making.So tigeten up you seat belts and get ready to share the whole myrid journey along with me !

A Beginning to my bloglife !

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”