Setting the Basic Expectations from Hughes IIM-C International Business Program

Setting the Basic Expectations from Hughes IIM-C International Business Program

As we gear-up for super-exciting executive programs from marquee institutes, guess it’s worthwhile to set some ground rules to set the tone for such sessions. Each one of us will have clear-cut objectives for participating in such programs. Programs that take substantial investment from us – both in terms of hard-earned moolah and time. Some of us could be pursuing such programs for getting the privileged brand (IIM-C in this case) on our resumes, some for immediate professional advancement and of course, a majority of us for pure learning.

After having paid the price, all of us are bonafide customers (stakeholders J) and have all the rights to want the most from such products/programs. All of us have all the rights to ask any question and demand to know any information during our sessions.  However, going by a few questions during the initial few sessions, I feel that we tend to deviate from our core objectives. The core objectives of –

1.       Making the most of the experience of some of the best faculty in business

2.       Making the most of the intelligence of a high-performing peer group

3.       Trying to focus more on real-world case studies, business applications and global best practices and strategies.

Of course, I am no authority to put forth the collective objectives of the entire group.  But please correct me if I am way off the mark on the same.

Here are some questions, which (being customers) we can continue to ask during our sessions. But I strongly believe, that they’ll dilute the impact of our sessions and won’t yield much value –

·         Attendance

In our workplaces, do we ask the IT to fix the AC? Do we complain to Admin about unfair appraisals? Or do we reach out to Finance for a virus in our PC? 

Let’s get it right friends. Nothing more futile than pestering the esteemed IIM profs for attendance. It’s a Hughes question and better to seek help from our centre coordinators. If that doesn’t work, just call up our program manager and follow-up with him/her.

 

·         Bad link/connection errors/ audio-video issues

Once again Hughes issues and best to inform the Centre coordinators sitting right next to you.

 

·         How will this course help me Professionally? Personally? Financially? Spiritually?

Face it - The only way this course will help us is opening our grey cells to some global concepts and refreshing some business principles we’ve always known about. No job guarantees, no minimum hike that you could expect, no assurance of moving up in the management hierarchy, no superman status in the job market. The biggest way it could help us is in providing the IIM C credentials on our resumes. Probably, a very effective filter in separating out our resumes amongst zillion others. Beyond this, it’s for us to apply our learning and FLY! We could get the certificate and still move nowhere professionally - if we choose not to apply the learnings in our existing jobs, in our approach to situations or in the way we deal with our clients and stakeholders (oh, looks like I still have this ‘stakeholder’ hangover! J)

·         Will the family members of an employee be the stakeholders in a company?

Honestly, these are the type of questions, we would bring up during our college years to sound over-smart and irritate our professors. It has to end somewhere friends, right? Will my mother-in-law be the stakeholder in my current company? My dog consumes ‘Pedigree’ dog food, so is he a stakeholder in the Pedigree Company?

Friends, let’s get a hang of the concepts and move on. It would be extremely beneficial if we make the most of these critical hours during our weekends and after-office hours. It’s a huge sacrifice for most of us. So, I am sure most of us wouldn’t want to waste critical hours in such futile questions. We have paid through our respective noses, not to understand the key differences between MD, Chairman, CEO, Executive director, etc. These are huge topics to be discussed during web-sessions and as a matter of fact, such information is readily available on the internet. Why would we want to waste critical resources (faculty time, our time) in asking redundant information which is otherwise easily Google-able?

·         A flurry of questions on the chat window

Hope all of us are aware – there is no special prize for the student who asks the most questions. There are times, when we hound our professors with a flurry of questions (like media channels). Frankly, do we expect him/her to keep scrolling up/down and answer each of our questions? And then, we have the discourtesy to repeat the same question with “Sir, you haven’t yet answered my question. Can I please expect a response?” Guys, let’s show some respect to ourselves, to our profs and have the courtesy to ask questions one at a time. Allow the Prof to answer an existing question before raising the next one. Simple etiquettes, no?

Friends, it’s a premium program – elite institute, high-profile faculty, premium price. And we are the premium customers. It’s essential that we set some premium standards of our questions and discussions.

It’s more like a premium restaurant. The best of chefs whipping up the best of cuisines. It’s on us – Either browse through the elegant menu and ask to be informed about the exotic dishes. Or ask the baffled steward to “AC zara idhar ghumana and aisa kuch laa, jo ang pe lage!” (remember Aamir Khan in Rangeela?)

 

Think about it.