3 grueling months (!!)
9 cruel (ahem –ahem) papers
2 days of Industry Integration (??)
Happy Diwali!! (The last time we would be homebound for some time)
KIAMS Batch IX – Term I is history; (We have been morphed from ordinary mortals to 16.67% MBA’s already… How was that!!?)
My entire batch agrees to all the points mentioned above, especially the interrogation marks after the industry integration. Our institution’s method of sending first year students to the various K-Group companies in Maharashtra, to get a taste of the “Real Thing”, was looked as by almost all of us as a two-day escapade to the erstwhile ‘sleepy city’ before we get back and cure our heavy bouts of homesickness.
Little did we realize that all this was about to change. And how!!!
Even before stepping out, and before these prejudices about the whole purpose of the integration could seep into our heads, we had an exhaustive session on the CII-EXIM Policy and the RKQP (Ravi Kirloskar Quality Process) Model explained to us; which actually cleared quite a few cobwebs in most of our heads about the expectations from the program per se.
The one thing which we were very clear about was that we would try and focus more ‘How’ instead of ‘Who’, ‘What’, ‘Where’, ‘When’, ‘Why’.
The D-Day arrived and we reached our destination- Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. (KOEL) In Pune and were greeted by the amazing infrastructure that they had. After getting in and meeting the HOD’s of KOEL, who were kind enough to take time out for us, we couldn’t help getting a feeling that we were actually in for something bigger than what we had presumed. As laymen,– well, most of us – just interacting with these biggies of a 1500 crore organization, people who actually get these nos. for the company, itself was a huge learning experience. Repeat: It was huge.
Getting to know about the actual functions of a Marketing, HR, Finance and Operations departments itself, getting to know about the decision making procedure at work there, and how these policies, procedures and plans were actually being implemented on Ground-Zero right up to the Ivory Tower of the organization itself opened quite a few eyes; and it was then, at that very moment, that we actually realized that management is more than just contriving, regulating and utilizing the resources available in hand, but how effectively & efficiently you are able to connect these jargons to actual practice.
Now, a point, which deserves a special mention out here, is the learning that we gained out of our interaction with the Blue-Collared workers and the shop floor employees deployed at the manufacturing plant at KOEL by just observing them engrossed in their own duties – some bone inside you shakes your gray matter up and reminds you how hard it is to make I on your own steam in life and that success is always an aggregation of small steps and seldom a giant leap.
After these two days passed off, and after getting back home, many rambling thoughts crossed my mind and, but the best thing about this whole exercise was something which our dir. sir always stresses on – Practicing in reality, what you have learned in theory; and his unbeatable jargon, that, practice is lame without theory and theory is blind without practice.
We were happy that we got this opportunity to visit an Industrial house and learn so much. Honestly speaking, all the cobwebs that were there have been cleared for keeps and we are eagerly looking forward to the Service-industry Integration after the completion of our Term II.
After which we would be 33.33% MBA’s.
The names are getting heavier, and we are loving it.
KNOWLEDGE, as they say, IS POWER.
