ISME-Bangalore Hosts Guest Lecture on Managerial Decision Making

ISME-Bangalore Hosts Guest Lecture on Managerial Decision Making

In the last week of December 2006, ISME-Bangalore had its first guest lecture for the third term. Mr. Rakesh Duggirala, incidentally ISME Director's past room-mate, was kind enough to find time from his busy schedule and meet the students.

Mr. Rakesh has done his MBA from University of Chicago and has been in management and technical consultancy for the last nine years with companies like Deloitte and Ariba. He is currently a Manager at Bearing Point and is based in Chicago.

Everyone eagerly awaited his arrival, as he was the first practicing manager from the field of Business Consulting to visit the college.

Mr. Nitin Garg, Director-ISME, set the mood by introducing 'his room-mate', and post customary introductions, the session commenced. The focus of the gathering was "Managing Decision Making" and Mr. Duggirala, in his inimitable style set the ball rolling by explaining the process of decision-making and the intricacies involved in it.

Speaking of various pre-conceived notions, he cautioned the students against taking rash and irrational decisions. Availability, Confirmation and Anchoring were a few of many biases plaguing the human mind which affect decision-making. All the students became aware of their ingrained inefficiencies while choosing alternatives and acting on them. Exemplifying each of them, Mr. Duggirala made sure that the whole session was both informative as well as participative.

Besides the information sharing, the students got a taste of the American way of presentation. The guest impressed all with the easy-going yet effective approach of putting things across. It wasn't just the para-language but the body language, which came out glaringly throughout the presentation.

The session concluded with the usual Q&A session wherein doubts on consulting as a career option were taken up. Mr. Duggirala, being a successful professional in this field, enlightened the students on various skills necessary for initiating a career in this elite field.

One of the most important aspects was communication skill, which would go a long way in defining a young manager in consulting. Besides analytical skills, a thriving consultant needs a sound mind on the shoulder, which can think at the speed of light.

Considering the placement sessions and the one-on-one meeting in college, this talk went a long way in benefiting students in developing a lot of aspects of their personality. Hats-off indeed to the management who managed to get such a professional for the students.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Academic Club,
ISME, Bangalore.

MBA Alumni \| MBA Students \| MBA Aspirants \| MBA Forums