MBAs, MCAs

If @27, you have a 4–wheeler; or @35, a 4-wheeler and a house; OR @35, a 4-wheeler, a house and your kids are studying in a big brand school; OR @35, a 4-wheeler, a house, your kids are studying in a big brand school, you visit a sprawling hospital every fortnight; OR @35, a 4-wheeler, a house, your kids are studying in a big brand school, you visit a sprawling hospital every fortnight, and you can afford a leisure trip every quarter; OR @50, a 4-wheeler, a house, your kids are studying in a big brand school, you visit a sprawling hospital every fortnight, and you can afford a leisure trip every quarter, you are in a position of an early retirement to pursue your interests, then it’s the opportune moment to say a big ‘Thanks’ to the then Finance Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh and country’s then premier, Mr. P V Narsimha Rao. I believe that the duo were the game changers in India’s stupendous rise to prosperity and power in the international arena. A brief ‘Retro’- Are you an MBA? Are you an MCA? Rajesh is pursuing his MBA from IIM; After finishing off her engineering, Anu is planning to do an MBA? These lines were considered to be the propriety of a select few and those who owned were seen as Knowledge Gods and their family a lucky pot.   I remember in 1990s, when one of our neighbor’s son, Rahul, got into IIMB, my father while breaking the news to my mother kept glancing at me. He was trying to say that he also expected the same from me for us to be considered more esteemed in the society. Rahul bhaiya’s father distributed sweets to the entire fraternity and we bid him goodbye as tears flowing through his mother’s eyes didn’t cease. CAT, MAT…The three letters in each were the ‘Trinity’ in the era of GLP (Globalization, Liberalization and Privatization). Microeconomics’ demand and supply dynamics were in play, which further pushed the government to allow setting up management schools with optimum infrastructure. India is now a home for Education. There are over 300 Universities and 45,000 Colleges of various types in the country. At that time, it didn’t matter which college pass out from, but you should be an MBA graduate. The institutions were sending unsolicited letters of admission to almost all the students who appeared for MAT, and those willing took the admission. I remember my sister receiving a letter and brochure from NIIT to pursue an IT course. Firms stood in the campus like a crane in a pond awaiting a fish. HRM was in an upcoming arena of assay. Induction, HR Games, Simulations, Trainings, were extremely popular. The firms planned of shaping the new recruits via these tools. The scenario has changed drastically in the recent past. Firms that used the HR tools to sow the seed of the preferred skills, now demand for the saplings so that they can provide the fertilizers and manures to assist it grow further. Soft skills, have become imperative to be a part of professional’s attire while entering the portcullis. Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's “EQ” (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities. Another important dimension, Spiritual quotient (SQ) is also a pressing requirement in these times. It is described as a measure that looks at a person's spiritual intelligence in the same way as intelligence quotient (IQ) looks at cognitive intelligence A trillion-rupee (now we have a symbol) question is how fresh MBAs, MCAs should prepare themselves for the challenge. Well, watch ‘3 Idiots’ for the soft skills and ‘Rocket Singh’ for the hard ones.