Term V commenced with placements being the immediate focus. The Core course was designed to allow for placement activities to be attended to with minimal impact on classes. Again many electives were on offer of which I chose Managing Energy Business (MEB), Business Leadership and Law (BLL), Financial Statement Analysis (FSA), Contemporary Film Industry - a Business Perspective and Managing Commercial Contracts. FSA was very useful and the faculty was fantastic.
The core course included Quality Management, Tracking Organizational performance, Corporate Governance and Capstone (a business game). Most core courses, according to me, were fillers (considering that the average experience of the PGOX group was about 10+ years). Corporate Governance and TOP had some additional insights for the PGPX batch.
Term-V was the most enjoyable phase in the entire course. Most batch mates tried to connect for lasting friendships. Of course not to forget collecting useful soft files from the online library and other sources.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Term IV Done
After the IIP of 2 weeks we were looking forward to getting back to the rigor in Terms- IV and V especially since electives were part of these terms.
Term-IV was easier than Terms- I and II probably because we were getting used to the IIMA way and also because depending on the electives, classes were spread all through the day at different slots and that gave some breathers. Most importantly, the surprise quizzes were almost over with Terms-I and II.
Many electives were on offer. I went for Carbon Finance (CAF), Effective Management of Managing Function (EMFF), Strategic Decision Making (SDM), Strategic Business to Business Marketing (SBBM) and Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships (IDPPP). These were in line with my background in EPC, Oil & gas industry + higher management roles that I was looking to move into.
Faculty for some of these electives were superb. Their mastery of the subject and teaching methods were excellent. In the e IDPPP elective we had some case studies that were current (the Delhi Metro related ones and Telecom related ones) and that made it all the more interesting and valuable.
Term-IV was easier than Terms- I and II probably because we were getting used to the IIMA way and also because depending on the electives, classes were spread all through the day at different slots and that gave some breathers. Most importantly, the surprise quizzes were almost over with Terms-I and II.
Many electives were on offer. I went for Carbon Finance (CAF), Effective Management of Managing Function (EMFF), Strategic Decision Making (SDM), Strategic Business to Business Marketing (SBBM) and Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships (IDPPP). These were in line with my background in EPC, Oil & gas industry + higher management roles that I was looking to move into.
Faculty for some of these electives were superb. Their mastery of the subject and teaching methods were excellent. In the e IDPPP elective we had some case studies that were current (the Delhi Metro related ones and Telecom related ones) and that made it all the more interesting and valuable.
The PGPX Course Is Over
The PGPX program got over March 2012. My family – wife and kids witnessed the graduation ceremony.
It brought with itself great relief, pride and a sense of achievement. Along with, it did bring a reflection on the journey, aspirations that led to the plunge into this program and a look ahead into the future. The reality of having been into a student life, a protected environment away from the corporate world that I left behind and the fact that the last paycheck was 12 months ago started to dawn as the program drew to a close.
The placement season had come and gone. There were mixed stories to tell of batchmates. I had not landed into a job when the program came to finish. That wasn’t a big concern since I was sure it would come my way in due course.
Over the next three months after graduation, the poor shape of India’s economy started to show itself in the job scene. Lateral management positions were not being advertised or sought by headhunters in huge numbers. Locational constraints but an additional pressure in my case. I wanted to be in Chennai. The initial optimism gave way to anxiety and some frustration. Funds were exhausted and managing finances was getting very difficult. The situation slowly started to make me look for immediate roles at the cost of underselling myself. I decided that I needed to get back into the corporate world and build a case for myself. The first priority was getting in. I knocked on doors I hadn’t done before. Once I did that, I landed a reasonable job within weeks. The industry remains same through the area within the industry has changed. I have a role that gives me some opportunity to utilize things I learned at IIMA. That gives a sense of satisfaction though this is just a beginning.
I now look forward to building on this experience to leverage the PGPX course in the next three years. It isn’t going to be easy.
Not to mislead with my experience after PGPX, I have posted a blog on expectation management from PGPX which is my take on who, why and what of PGPX.
It brought with itself great relief, pride and a sense of achievement. Along with, it did bring a reflection on the journey, aspirations that led to the plunge into this program and a look ahead into the future. The reality of having been into a student life, a protected environment away from the corporate world that I left behind and the fact that the last paycheck was 12 months ago started to dawn as the program drew to a close.
The placement season had come and gone. There were mixed stories to tell of batchmates. I had not landed into a job when the program came to finish. That wasn’t a big concern since I was sure it would come my way in due course.
Over the next three months after graduation, the poor shape of India’s economy started to show itself in the job scene. Lateral management positions were not being advertised or sought by headhunters in huge numbers. Locational constraints but an additional pressure in my case. I wanted to be in Chennai. The initial optimism gave way to anxiety and some frustration. Funds were exhausted and managing finances was getting very difficult. The situation slowly started to make me look for immediate roles at the cost of underselling myself. I decided that I needed to get back into the corporate world and build a case for myself. The first priority was getting in. I knocked on doors I hadn’t done before. Once I did that, I landed a reasonable job within weeks. The industry remains same through the area within the industry has changed. I have a role that gives me some opportunity to utilize things I learned at IIMA. That gives a sense of satisfaction though this is just a beginning.
I now look forward to building on this experience to leverage the PGPX course in the next three years. It isn’t going to be easy.
Not to mislead with my experience after PGPX, I have posted a blog on expectation management from PGPX which is my take on who, why and what of PGPX.
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