But you dont want to know how much of an ass I'm going to become, and you dont want me to waste a single line, leave alone a whole paragraph on it. So, why dont I just save my breath/keypresses and introduce you to the topics.
OperMan - Yes, I'm calling it OperMan even though the Operations prof asked us to say "OM". We had met this prof before, so we were quite comfortable around him. He brought in a balance of humour, discipline and candor. He started the first day saying we should read the required articles of the day, prepare a presentation and specifically mentioned that he didnt want a summary of the case in it, he wanted our insight. You'd think it was obvious, but considering how we'd like to think that "If you didnt say it, we ain't doing it", this put the writing in stone. He is also the first prof to bring in debate in our class. If someone makes a point, and someone else has a conflicting view, he gets them to talk to each other... right in class. Definitely interesting. The second session, we studied about processes and how we put them in place, what's the point of one etc. I'm not too big a fan of processes, let's see if he can convert my view like some of the other profs we've seen.
CorpFin - It's not my fault that this *somewhat* sounds like "coffin". This prof is a no-nonsense guy. Comes with simple black-and-white bulleted slides, says he isnt going to do a funny class since his sense of humour is almost dead, and says working too much with money can do that to you. Pretty much tells us that we better pay attention, this class needs a good amount of preparation and then with a deadpan expression, says something that was actually pretty darn funny. Reminds me of our Law prof. This prof talks a lot. In jargon. This was the first time I really understood where all these MBAs learn to talk in "keywords". (cool jargon) here, (cool jargon) there... if you lost track of what he was saying, you might as well give up and learn a foreign language. So everyone had their eyes on this guy (atleast the ones who werent sleeping) as he spoke to us about the role of a Financial Manager, what is the work involved, and then went on to something related to Net Present Values and Discounted Cash Flows. Yes, I know. My brain felt empty too.
MPPO - Not a very pretty name. But a pretty subject. Seemed to deal a lot more with "feelings" unlike the other subjects we've studied so far. The first session was an introduction to the subject, and some discussion on how people find it hard to make the turns from being an individual contributer to a manager, to a manager of managers etc. till an enterprise leader. Interesting sessions, with a few interesting stories. It seems that people actually find it hard to change from being an IC to a manager, purely because they dont understand that their job is not to DO, but to ENABLE. Takes time. The next day we discussed how people's personalities are shaped, and questions were raised (due to the topic of course) about why evidence points to the fact that people's personality traits seem inborn. The reading was about how twins raised apart, in very different environments, still exhibit similar likes and dislikes. The prof agreed that people CAN change, but that it requires a great deal of effort. We've even filled out some questionnaires that tell us what kind of people we are, and so on, so forth. Looks like it will be a discussion-oriented and practical-approach-based class.
All these subjects together have more books than any of the last quarters. Let's hope we're able to read everything up. In time. I, in any case,look forward to exploring another part of this "holistic" jungle. :)
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"If you didnt say it, we ain't doing it"
ReplyDeleteWell said and nailed it! :)
Thanks.. :)
ReplyDelete