Executive MBA class in Bangalore

“The next 50 years will see major changes in country shares in world GDP…India is projected to surpass Japan in the next year or two and the Euro area in about 20 years” quoted from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. India is a country with much growth and business opportunities. In the 10 day visit in Bangalore, the Executive MBA class had an opportunity to learn about India from the Indian perspectives. We had lectures about India’s historical development, political system, economy, and creative leadership at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. We also visited Titan and Infosys to learn about the Indian management practice and operation. The directors from those companies were very open-minded to share with us about their company’s background, strategy, growth and the challenges they have had.

The companies that we visited both have a very green campus. I think even developed cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong need to learn from them!

Apart from the business knowledge, we also had traditional musical and dance performance. The performance is not just an entertainment but a way to express the art of life, the Indian philosophy. Photo on the left shows the fire ritual we had before the learning journey began. The five angles represent five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wood and Air. 

In this trip not only did I gain much knowledge and insights about doing business in India, but also I was amazed with Indian’s culture and philosophy. Indians are serious about work but at the same time they don’t take it so seriously. They have the mindset to handle much complexity not only at work but also in their daily life, traffic is a good example. They use not only rationality to think but also their intuition to feel. Compared to the school and company visits I had before, Indian professors and managers seem to be much more relaxed in their presentation. They are very charismatic and humorous. One can feel that there is an up-close and personal ideas exchange instead of a PR show.