Day 1 in India

Day 1

    Traveling to India took almost 24 Hours.  The flights on Etihad were very nice.  During the first 12 hour flight I was able to catch up on some movies on the private screen built into the seat in front of me.  I watched both ENOUGH SAID and PRISONERS the whole way through before discovering they had 5 episodes of my new Fall favorite TV show BROOKLYN NINE NINE on demand.

     Abu Dhabi Airport was rather big & I didn't have enough time to explore it.  On the return trip I will have more of a layover to wander around and look at the luxuries offered there.

     After taking off 30 minutes late, the flight finally arrived in Bangalore, India at 3:55am (Bangalore Time).  Clearing customs went very quickly and after getting my luggage, I met up with the other class members who were on the same flight & we looked for our drivers who were scheduled to take us to our host, XIME (Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship).

    Along the way we saw the very unusual highway system and some of the rougher poverty stricken sections of Bangalore.  Then as we were about 1 kilometer away from our host, the car I was riding in overheated, which led to a twenty minute period of time blocking one of the lanes of a busy Bangalore street during the beginning of rush hour.

    Finally we arrived at XIME after 6am.

    In order to get adjusted to the time difference, we were told not rest.  Instead, we had a private breakfast on XIME's main campus followed by morning speaking engagement by Professor J. Philip, President & Director-Emeritus of XIME.  Before listening to Mr. Philip speak, we received some details about the story of XIME's creation.  Mr. Philip's daughter Maria, had a dream for her father to create "a model management school for India’s youth."  Maria was killed in a tragic accident, but her father and a few "kindred spirits" brought her dream to reality when XIME opened in 1991.

     Prof. Philip created the Institute to offer a post graduate program in Management. The mission of the school involves offering  "world class" business education and management programs at affordable costs.
Across the globe, post graduate degrees from institutions like XIME come with a high degree of prestige.  One thing that sets XIME apart from many of the similar schools in India is that fact that 45% of the student enrollment is female.  In a male dominated culture, XIME founders wanted to provide opportunities to females like Prof. Philip wanted his daughter to have.

    During our course, our Professor Dr. Kanti Srikantaiah, wanted to start off the first few days with an introduction to India and its culture.  Prof. Philip did a wonderful job painting a picture of India in the modern era.

     Here were some facts that I learned
by listening to him:

•  India is very high in contradictions
•  While 20% of India's population live below the poverty line (missing at least one meal a day), there are more that live well. 
• 10% of population (120,000,000) are in the highest income bracket
• 20% are considered middle class 
• 30% are either high or middle class (360,000,000). This figure is equivalent to the middle class of the US & Europe combined. 
• The poverty level in India has been falling in recent years.
• In the US's West Coast region, Indian workers make up 20-30%  of the workforce of major companies including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc.  
• India has the 3rd largest Military force in the world.  Only behind, US & China.
• India recently launched a rocket that is exploring Mars.
• Passed recent legislation to look out for its citizens, including a Right to Food Law, a Right to Education Act, and a Right to Information Act.
• India is the largest democracy in the world

Since we visiting guests, we have private meals prepared daily by cooks at XIME.   We are being introduced to traditional Southern Indian dishes which are usually very spicy!









 
 Prof. Philip and the Executive Staff off XIME hosted us for a lunch in the lawn.  After the special lunch we attended a leadership seminar hosted by Prof. S.D. Tyagaraj or "Sam" for short.  

    His characteristics of a quality leader are very similar to ones we value in the US.   Some of his basic points were, Leadership is:

•  "Influencing others to achieve a goal" in a positive manner
•  doing right things, while management is doing things right
•  always associated with a goal
•  the art of convincing other what you think should be done 

• dealing with a long term vision, a manager is worried with the immediate future.
• planning for the future of the organization when he/she will likely not be there.

     Sam also pointed out some challenges that face future leaders.   Leaders will have issues: Coping with technology changes; Coping with changes in people's aspirations; Meeting increasing demands from customers; Adhering to increasing tough environmental and safety regulations; and Ensuring continuous  improvement.

   Then as group we brainstormed & came up with some characteristics needed to be an effective leader.  

A leader needs:

• Vision 
• Charisma
• Effective Communication Skills
• Passion
• Determination/Perseverance
• Positive Outlook/Attitude
• Diligence
• Intelligence

    Finally, after a long journey and a day's worth of activities.  We were allowed to sleep.  :)  Hoping to add more pics on Facebook & catch up on Day 2 & Day 3's entries by nighttime.