I do not feel proud.....do you?

I do not feel proud.....do you?

It's been more than 9 months since I have been in U.S and I am disappointed to see that the image of India has not changed much in the eyes of outsiders and this time it is for worse. I would be happier to be known as a poor guy rather being called a thief or a corrupt individual.

Above mentioned statement describes the state of my country as of now. People all over the world know that India is progressing and standard of living is getting better, but mismanaged political system and corrupt bureaucratic system are not changing.

The topic of white envelope culture in India has come up more than once in my MBA School and I cannot do anything other than to look down and stare at my blank notebook. I can feel the rush of blood when I hear such stories from non-Indians and yes, I am embarrassed with the current state of my country. But instead of getting defensive once again and pointing to other countries that are more corrupt than India, I want to take a stand. I want my house to be clean and I am no more OK living in filth and dirt and under an umbrella of disgrace like my neighbours, I want to improve and yes few people have shown me the support that I as a patriot need.
Yes, change is taking place; people are joining hands in India. Great leaders like
Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and many others are showing India the way and preparing a vision for clean and uncorrupted India. They just want us to stand beside them so they feel they are not alone.

I know for many of us who plan to stay in U.S it might look like a waste of another 5 minutes but remember that when our kids will ask us about our motherland we might feel ashamed in telling them about the country called INDIA.

I am not asking you the world, I just want all of us to be informed about the initiatives and pains that people are taking to make our lives better. Please take out some time and keep yourself informed about the Lokpal bill and support the ongoing movement in India in whatever way you can. Below link summarizes the lokpal bill briefly.....

http://234511.myvideotalkstudio.com/streaming/pages

Other pages:
http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/

Interpersonal Influence

Actually this is a piece from my Organization Behavior assignment. Although boring :)it makes me think about my decision making and how companies are using these influences in marketing their products.

Cialdini’s claim's following as the major influencing characteristics...
Reciprocity
Social validation
Commitment/Consistency
Friendship/Liking
Scarcity
Authority

I agree and I will share my experience or thoughts on each of these as seen by me until now.

Reciprocity: In shopping malls I had a new experience, when I was checking out the different flavors of an Ice-cream at one of the parlours. I could not see my favourite one on the shelf but then vendor offered me a sample of another ice-cream. It was definitely not the best but after having the sample I felt as if I owe a favour to the vendor and though a small one I did buy an Ice cream.

Social validation: This is a characteristic that I think individuals follow most, knowingly or unknowingly. I tend to buy a product (eg. Washing liquid) that I see most of my friends using , although I don’t know how TIDE is better than GAIN but still I prefer using Tide as it is used most.

Commitment/Consistency: Back in India I was using Blackberry as my personal phone. When I came to U.S, I had options in terms of I-phone and Blackberry. For a student like me a smart phone like Apple I-phone makes more sense because of its features and applications but I chose Blackberry over I-phone. I guess commitment and consistency influenced my decision. My family and friends associate me with a Blackberry phone and by being committed to same technology I avoided unexpected reactions.

Friendship/Liking: There is no question about this fact. That is why companies like Amway are promoting their products through their own customers and who would be the contact for an individual? Undoubtedly his/her family or friends. Back in India Individuals take Insurance plan from relatives who work for an Insurance company, as they feel more secured and trust the individual.

Scarcity: What can be a better example than a Diamond itself? Rising demands on the face of lower output or scarcity is a fundamental principle of economics. This principal has been inculcated by compliance practitioners in their selling strategies. In India whenever we know that Gas stations are going to be closed over the weekend or fuel prices are going to rise, we tend to get our car tanks full. Moreover possessing something that is scarce also supplements the individual with a sense of authority and uniqueness.

Authority: Consulting is a big business, and why do companies spend mega bucks in taking the advice of individuals whom they do not know? Because they are experts and can make decisions with greater authority. When a commercial tells me about a doctor’s recommendation about using a particular toothpaste I take it more seriously than otherwise. Definitely an authoritative advice influences our decision in making a specific choice.

Vision....

Today was a great day . I talked to Mark B. Mitskovski. He is an expert in the field of Renewable and Wind power energy. I heard that he is a visionary.

I always wanted to know how visionaries are?
what do they sound like?
what are their thoughts?
How they explain and convince their vision to their audience?
How they connect their vision to a greater purpose ?

I got most of these answers when I talked to him for over 40 minutes. I realized that he is not only a visionary but an individual with a coaching style who believes in sharing knowledge.He works mostly with renewable energy sector, and understands the problem that 60% of this country is facing in terms of old infrastructure, cables, towers, transformers.

Computer industry has been revolutionized and everyday so many people work on improving the efficiency of a chip which is 1/6th size of our cell phones, wireless industry has seen great development in last decade, better food products (or should I say unhealthy?) are out and at least they are easy to cook and mostly ready to eat and yes Infrastructure - We have so much of it that 30% of it lies vacant in cities like Buffalo( It is the 2nd largest city in New York !!!!). Note that I am talking about the commodities without which we can not think of living another day.What is missing????


Yeah you got it right..electricity!!! U.S still has the infrastructure that was raised 50 years back, cable lines are becoming more and more inefficient, renewable sources like windmills are evolving and growing but still account for only 11.4% of the U.S electricity consumption.This is where Mark sees loss and equal opportunity. As per him a snow storm in 2007 led to power shut down in Western New york for couple of days. It was because of the leached old power lines and the towers that can not withstand wind of moderate magnitude.Ummmm yeah it sounds like a problem ....and that is where Mark's vision lies. Another snow storm or a climatic disaster of higher magnitude can completely ruin the power infrastructure , and do harm beyond repair. In these poor economic times no one is sure when government will allocate budget for the up gradation of electricity and power resources but yes if left unattended it can prove to be disastrous.

Note: Above article reflects my understanding of Mark's thought.

Fall in Buffalo....

I am writing this one after a long time. I am not sure if blogs are becoming less popular because of face book and twitter effect.We get to know " What's on your mind" every other second.

I have seen people updating their status message on Face book as many as 6-7 times in a day. There should be a survey that tells if popularity of blogs have gone down!! But I still believe blogs tell you much more than "what is on your mind", it tell about individuals perspective and about their views.

Finally I have joined my MBA School ( It started 2 months back and it's been busy 2 months). Till now buffalo has treated me nicely, fall is indeed beautiful and you fall in love with the UB campus when you take a walk under the red sky , with cold breeze touching your face and you see maple leaves colorfully decorated on your pavement. As i move toward my house in South Campus I realize we have so much to accomplish in a matter of two years. It makes me doubtful about my self-efficacy,if I will be available to absorb all the knowledge that school is throwing at me, but than I realize that this is what I always wanted and I have no option but to fight and prove that I am not going down without a fight.

Bye Accenture

Finally it seems that I am ready for the journey I have long awaited.......I am lucky and thankful to divine for he made my plans work, it started when I was in 3rd year of my B.tech when like most of the Indian parents my parents too started getting worried about my future. Yeah of course they told me that B.tech would be the last place where I will need to dig my head in to the books , but of-course I am used to this now, after placement offers from 3 reputed IT firms, I knew I have more work to do. I decided that I would do an MBA as I very well knew my limits as an engineer. Now with MBA came two options CAT and GMAT. Somehow what I have seen on various research articles and heard from people around I too felt that getting an MBA from U.S is worth the pains and expenses and more over i always knew that in U.S I can bang on some new innovation or something that might give a push to my entrepreneurial motives.It was not an easy journey from preparing for GMAT to getting my VISA. Yeah Visa guarantees you of a ticket to the land of opportunities . Although I did not find the Visa part difficult but I had heard all those monstrous stories of Visa Rejections, and so it was only after I got Visa last Friday I was sure of doing my MBA From UB.

I have noticed that Indians have a different perception about GMAT. I can not compare the CAT of late years to the GMAT exam but as we have all seen CAT is remoulding itself in to the patterns of GMAT. When we discuss about GMAT among CAT takers they normally dismiss GMAT as an easier cousin of CAT but I do not agree with it.I can say so because I committed this mistake and resulted in taking GMAT twice. I feel GMAT is a more result oriented exam and definitely needs guided and streamlined efforts. Moreover preparing for an exam while you are working in a competitive software industry is never easy.

As I was in Accenture I really never enjoyed my time as my heart was never in there but I knew that brand name is always important and so I chose to join Accenture(Of-course I never knew Tiger Woods had such an testosterone driven emotions!!!!!) rather than going for Infosys or Torry harris. Although latter never even sent any joining letter.

Finally here I am preparing to leave for my MBA. Everything looks to be smooth and sweet and God wants me to celebrate somehow in last 2 weeks of my stay in Accenture we had record number of parties and of-course I didn't miss even one of them even if it was on a night before my Visa interview. Journey was never easy but I had promised myself not to go down without a fight.

Two years I did something that never interested me but I am happy that I utilized those two years in something that I always wanted and here I am a happy soul and I really thank all the people who have been with me though out this journey.