Strategy Wall - 13th Edition-The Strategy & Consulting Club | IIM Rohtak

STRATEGY WALL THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB OF IIM ROHTAK FREELANCING IN A FORMLESS GIG ECONOMY IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE HUMAN RESOURCE SECTOR (HOSPITALITY/HOTEL)

13TH EDITION

You've got to eat while you dream. You've got to deliver on short-range commitments, while you develop a long-range strategy and vision and implement it. The success of doing both. Walking and chewing gum if you will.

Getting it done in the shortrange, and delivering a longrange plan, and executing on that.

Jack Welch

Contents 01

FREELANCING IN A FORMLESS GIG ECONOMY

04

IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE HUMAN RESOURCE SECTOR (HOSPITALITY/HOTEL)

06

UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HR STRATEGIES

08

THE GREAT RECESSION

11

INSURANCE MARKETING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

13

AVOCADOS V MANGOES

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

FREELANCING IN A FORMLESS GIG ECONOMY -- Rajarshee Tribedi (MHRM,IIT Kharagpur) The term “Gig economy” first came into existence a decade back in 2009 during the Great Recession. Journalist Tina Brown coined it to describe a trend of workers post the crash, who were pursuing work in the form of “a bunch of free-floating projects, consultancies” and “part-time bits and pieces” while they transacted in a digital marketplace. In other words, she referred to “Gigs” as temporary work engagement, a skill or need-based task that an individual is willing to take up for a defined period.

Ever since, it has changed the way millennials view and perform work. Along with making the employee-employer relations more flexible, the gig economy challenges existing business models, labour management regulations and creates a new wave of proliferating public interest in this era of Business 4.0.

Consequently, in this wave, technology has driven the advent of gigs further and bridged the gap between jobs and access to jobs. Advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics, have narrowed the distance between people and the goods and services they need or desire. For example, ride-sharing service platforms like Uber, Lyft or freelance labour matching portals like UrbanClap and TaskRabbit provide the ease and speed of delivery of needed services. It also offers flexible income opportunitie

especially for those who cannot confine themselves to the borders of regular employment. Gig workers are essentially skill-traders who are on the lookout for an opportunity to make the best use of their expertise for an enterprise.

The gig economy primarily consists of three major components: · The independent gig (i.e., a task or a project) worker as opposed to a regular salaried employee in a company · The recipient of the good or service, i.e. the consumer · The technology-driven platforms that connect the worker to the consumer.

Companies such as Uber Eats, Swiggy or UrbanClap act as the means through which the gig worker is connected to – and paid by – the consumer These platforms make it easier especially for low skilled workers to find a quick, temporary job (i.e., a gig), which can include any kind of work- from delivering food to fixing a leaky faucet.

Predominantly, this is the primary source of income for such workers. However, freelancers providing highly skilled services like web designing or consulting under the gig category usually have a full-time job elsewhere and as such, gig work constitutes a supplementary source of income for most of them. Freelance work has some essential characteristics which differentiates it from regular employment like - a high level of autonomy in the job; payment per task or assignment; and a short-term engagement b

1

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

etween worker and customer. Nowadays, there are many different job search sites specifically meant for freelancing. For example, Upwork.com offers numerous projects for freelancers to take part in.

One can even track one’s hours and get paid through the site, which streamlines the process when a freelancer is working for multiple companies.

To set the ‘freelance’ equation right, McKinsey Global Institute had carried out a survey of about 8000 participants from the US and Europe and classified freelance independent workers into four categories based on choice vs nature of income.

Although the numbers will vary across regions, the trend suggests that freelancing is a matter of choice for millennials today. Freelancers are most common in industries requiring creative productivity, so one is most likely to find freelance blog writers, designers, consultants or even web developers.

They typically work for multiple clients for various projects and often

simultaneously. Work location is usually from home or own premises. Freelancers also have to manage the business aspect of their work which may include knowledge about tax regulations, marketing their skills and efforts, networking with peer groups and prospective clients, and upscaling their work to meet future needs. A contract worker, on the other hand, works for one client full time for a particular period of time.

Such type of work is most prevalent in the IT industry wherein the employee normally works from the client’s onsite office Coming to the question of contract labour vs freelancing in the gig economy – the choice entirely lies on the individual: on his/her

professional and personal goals, preferred working style, government norms and the region’s economy along with work location, compensation and other extrinsic factors acting as the decider. As more orthodox forms of employment are slowly being augmented by newer, more varied models of work, and as it becomes simpler for independent workers to access alternate insurance facilities, healthcare benefits and retirement plans, many in the job 2

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

market can choose a hybrid between freelance/contract and full-time employment. The shifting nature of the economy also helps break down barriers and silos that often result due to the stigma associated with freelance work in conventional society. One can also swap different avenues before deciding and settling in for one route which suits the individual’s working style. Therefore, freelance or contract work can be a great way to kick-start one’s journey and gain diverse experience in a relatively short spell of time. Most independent workers who have actively chosen their working style also report a high degree of job satisfaction.

However, a lot remains to be done to recognise, appreciate and reward gig workers adequately. Low skilled gig workers are usually plagued with atrocious working hours, meagre wages and inhumane delivery targets. Bill AB5, which has recently become a law in California aims to protect labour rights and benefits for these workers, is definitely a welcome move in the right direction. India, with over 15 million people classified as gig workforce, too needs similar interventions and policy changes to give the gig economy the right kind of push it needs to thrive and flourish.

3

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

Impact of Artificial Intelligence in the Human Resource Sector (Hospitality/Hotel) -- Sneha Mishra (WE School), Mumbai

‘Data is the New Oil’ they say, and with this increasing data one of the largest affected sectors is our human resource sector. The hotel management sector is a sector which is completely based on the customers.

Human resource management is the essential element for this sector, and with an increase in Artificial Intelligence for hiring, let’s see the effect of the same on the hotel sector.

Let us first talk about Artificial Intelligence, AI or artificial intelligence as coined by John McCarthy is “the branch of computer science that aims to create intelligent machines”. It is a way of making a computer does things which require human intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is accomplished by studying how human brain thinks and how humans learn, decide and work while trying to solve a problem. AI also aims at building machines that can take inputs from the environment and change the course of action accordingly.

The best example of AI is the Turing machine, wherein an artificial intelligent computer and a human are put in two separate rooms and are questioned simultaneously with same questions and their answers on comparison turned out to be same. Thus AI has a wide impact on various sectors of the environment.

Hotel management sector needs human resources for different reasons. Skill gaps and shortage of workers is a issue faced by

every sector currently. With the publications of artificial intelligence in hospitality sector, this issue has been targeted. Artificial intelligence, now helps us to eliminate various small issues like language barriers and also helps to remove big issues like hiring techniques using methods like Turing test.

With the development in Artificial Intelligence and increasing availability of data, now a resume is first scanned and the important keywords required for the specific job roles are checked. The percentage of match is identified and according to this a person is recruited. This is usually the initial stage of shortlisting, after this the job applicant is put through a series of questions known as psychometric test. This test basically comprises of questions which are to be answered in a Likert scale. This test helps us to understand how well an individual’s vision and goals match with the goals of our company. After this round, an applicant is put through a personal interview wherein the behavior of the person is studied. This is done using various face recognition techniques where in the confidence and behavior of an individual is mapped. The individuals can be put through language and speech recognition test as the hotel management sector requires excellent verbal ability.

But despite of all this, the one major aspect of hotel management sector requires 4

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

people skilled qualitatively and not quantitatively. For example recruitment of a caterer requires tasting of the food the chef can make. Can this be identified by a machine? As it is correctly said that machines cannot function without human intervention, just as in the above case of recruiting a chef, one cannot completely rely on artificial intelligence.

The people of this very generation are working to provide a more of a technological driven environment, and hence the recruitment processes also have to access the technical skills of a person.

For example, a hotel manager must be at the very least adept with handling a database. This is because he needs to keep a track of allocation of resources, what are the depleting resources, individual customer requirements data and also for providing management and privacy of customer data. Also, with the new system of booking online, a manager needs to assure that no cross allocation of resources is taking place. As customer is the center and the most important stakeholder, any feasible requirement of a customer should

be met, thus an intelligent machine which can imitate a customer that would ask for certain requirements can be developed to analyze quick decision making techniques of the applicant. With the help of AI, now recruiters can also set a particular set of parameters and search for applicants they need for a particular role.

In the current generation of data with high volume, variety and velocity generated every second, the professionals in a hotel management also need an analyst, who can not only help the hotels to keep updated with the current market trends, but also help the organization grow. These analysts can be hired from consultancy but to analyze the best consultancy from the existing lot, one will again need the help of artificial intelligence.

A question has been raised that, whether AI a boon or a bane? But I think the answer to this question is highly subjective. In the sector of hotel for recruitments, AI can be used extensively but to operate these AI’s, we need people proficient with the tools they are using and also proficient with human values associated with the sector.

5

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HR STRATEGIES - Sanjana Jose Varghese (IIM Luckhnow)

Everyone knows employees are the most critical asset of an organization. And so does the fact that an organization cannot succeed without the right set of people. If one were to observe Nike's success, it's easy to see that its employees of the company were the key to overcome its hurdles. Phil Knight, choose the right set of people in each step of the growth of the organization. What an organization is could be figured out by its employees.

Thereby comes the challenges for human resources to find the best fit. Traditionally, recruiters used the below methods to discover candidates. They include: ● Newspaper and classified advertisements: They have always been the simplest way to spread the news around a place. And the same goes for job advertisements. ● Local Employment Office Postings: Many companies have made use of postings at unemployment offices, where different kinds of people apply for jobs. ● Temp employment agencies: They shortlist candidates based on the profiles send by the companies. ● Internal Hiring: One of the successful methods of recruitment so far has been where the company does internal recruitment. Companies still go for it as an employee has already worked for them, and his performance and efficiency is known.

Lo and behold, came the era of technology where the internet changed the way we do jobs or search for jobs. Facts say 29% in the job market turn to social media and networking sites for job hunting. According to Recruiter Nation Report 2016, 87% of the recruiters have come to use Linkedin in finding candidates. The new techniques, to which HR's are tending to have become more transparent and ease of use.

Currently, workshops are held that focuses on what to put and what not to put in your Linkedin profile. The advancements of technology have made access to people's life professionally and personally easy.

Companies like NSR, which are used extensively by IT companies that were built on the premise of "trusted sourcing."

Glassdoor has become very popular, where employees have been posting feedback and reviews on the companies.

Power now lies in the hand of the future candidates to whether or not they choose to join the organization. Reddit, Facebook, Github, Stackoverflow are just some of the websites a recruiter can go through to search for potential recruits. As the number of software-related companies on the rise, sites like Github and StackOverflow help to find good coders with apt skill sets.

Finding, communicating, convincing, and hiring candidates for your employees is just half the battle. If onboarding is not done right, the right candidates found 6

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

after so hard will not stay. Therefore, it's imperative to see onboarding as an extension of the recruitment process. HR needs to make sure the candidates come on board and make the transition smooth for the recruit. Some companies employ a trend called buddy call, where a current employee calls his future colleague inquiring about his interests as well as the talking about the company culture. Buddy call would help the candidate feel relaxed and an opportunity to learn more about the company and also get to interact with his colleagues before the joining.

Company goodies such as T-shirts, flask, bag, bottles, notebooks, etc. are supplied to the candidates to feel welcomed to the new place.

Companies like Google have found that rather than a centralized approach, teamlevel employee onboarding is more effective. At Linkedin, the recruits are welcomed with icebreakers and general

discussion on the culture of the company.

The recruits are asked to write their name and headline that describes them as what makes them professional along with an interesting fact. This is usually followed by a tour and lunch and session called "Investing [In] You" that covers the HR policies etc. Lastly, they are giving a 'NewHire Onboarding Roadmap," which is a week to week guide that assists the recruits to be successful, creative, and productive in their new job.

As discussed, the modern trends and technology have indeed made the world transparent and made jobs easier to execute. HR's are finding the right employees that would enable companies to grow because of these modern advancements. It's clear that the changes are meant to stay for good and would develop into a full-fledged efficient system soon.

7

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

THE GREAT RECESSION - Litika Punjwani (Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi)

Food Stamp recipients didn't cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did. -Barack Obama

This article aims at introducing the long and tumultuous story of the greatest economic crisis in modern history. The period of economic history before the crisis was characterized by growth and development. This phase suddenly and very quickly collapsed into the worst banking crisis the industrial world has ever seen. A lot of people were quick to lay blame on failed institutions and their heads for the crisis but the underlying cause for this breakdown was in the flawed structure of money and banking, something King calls “alchemy” The events preceding the crisis can be understood under 4 heads (although it must be kept in mind that they all occurred together): 1. Excess savings in developing countries 2. Banking Glut 3. Derivatives contracts 4. The US subprime market

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many developing countries started working on pushing up their exports for economic growth. They did this by devaluing their currency with respect to the US dollar.

China is a classic example of such a growth strategy. The success of this policy led to more people in developing countries saving more than what was being invested. Economists have called this the “savings glut”. While developing economies (especially Asian countries) were saving more, the advanced countries were spending more. However, the level of savings went up on a global level. An increase in savings meant that people were more willing to save than to spend, as a result of which interest rates fell. The fall in interest rates increased people’s appetite for risky investments, demand for housing swelled and real estate prices soared.

The second cause, as explained by Princeton professor HS Shin, has its roots in Europe. European banks drew wholesale funding from the United States and then lent it back to US residents.

Although European banks’ presence in the domestic US commercial banking sector was small, their impact on overall credit conditions loomed much larger through the shadow banking system (credit intermediation involving entities outside the regular banking system) in the United States that relies on capital market-based financial intermediaries who intermediate funds through 8

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

securitization of claims. In simpler terms, banks in Europe, incentivized by rising housing prices, borrowed funds from US money markets at low interest rates and used it to purchase mortgage backed securities (mortgage loans made to people demanding houses were pooled together and sold as securities by shadow banks like mortgage and investment companies). Securitization created a moral hazard – banks making the loan no longer had to worry if the mortgage was paid off – giving them incentive to process mortgage transactions but not to ensure their credit quality. This was termed as the banking glut which eventually led to subprime lending.

The third aspect of this crisis is derivative contracts. Derivatives are lucrative debt contracts based on underlying assets as a collateral. They are combinations of various types of debt like bonds“derived” from them. Some examples of derivatives are futures and options.

Derivatives are risky instruments and banks were relying heavily on them in the period before the crisis. Banks were, as aforementioned, borrowing huge amounts of money, thus more dependent on their borrowings rather than the funds of the shareholders i.e. Equity capital (This ratio of borrowings to shareholders’ funds is called Leverage. Leverage levels were as high as 50 before the crisis. Higher the leverage, higher the risk.)

Banks had made large bets on the subprime market in the form of these derivatives. The subprime housing market refers to loans given for housing to those people who required housing but did not have the credit standing to pay back these loans. Banks thought that all these borrowers would not default at the same time. They did. When people did not pay back these loans, banks suddenly found themselves in urgent need of money.

9

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

Large bank balance sheets and disequilibrium in savings had led to a state of instability, like a pile of Jenga blocks ready to tumble down! When banks were unable to get back money, people lost trust in banks and started withdrawing their deposits. Banks found themselves in a solvency crisis. Banks had to rely on Central Banks to act as “lender of last resort� and bail them out.

As lender of last resort, central banks provide financial aid to ailing banks. A 2012 CNBC report values the total amount paid as bailout by the Federal Reserve to be $29 trillion.The 15th of September this year marks 10 years of Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy.

Ten years down the line, the world economy is still healing its wounds

According to forecasts by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the world economy grew at 3.3 percent in 2017- an improvement but not as high as 4 percent in the time before the crisis.

While crises teach us important lessons, no one can predict what the uncertain future holds. Economics does not provide generic solutions to problems. What worked during the Great Depression did not work for the 2008 crisis and what worked for the 2008 crisis will not necessarily work in the future.We can only hope that the world has learnt from the mistakes made in the

10

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

INSURANCE MARKETING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES - Vineet Saxena (National Insurance Academy (NIA), Pune)

A recent survey conducted by Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) shows that only twothirds of Generation Y, called millennials, have any kind of life insurance. And as per survey the main reason behind it the lack of awareness among millennials about the latest insurance product development and its market development. It is the bitter truth that selling insurance is the most challenging task in the world, in my opinion just below to climbing Mount Everest.

Beth Comstock very rightly said that you can't sell anything if you can't tell anything.

So, telling aptly about how insurance will change the life of the customer and solve her problem, is the crucial service of the insurance company. Therefore, insurance marketing becomes of utmost importance.

It is no doubt that traditional ways of insurance marketing like- door knocking, brochures, and old television ads are not going to work anymore because of recent challenges coming from demographic and social trends.

First, this generation is entering the workforce with more challenges as compared to the older generation. The millennials are entering with a significant amount of debt like education loans, home loans, etc. Second, they are also more tech-friendly. They prefer digital channels, less opt for face to face meetings.

Third, the traditional milestones which used to create the need for insurance timely like marriage, having children and purchasing the home, are being delayed.

Next, there is a visible shift in the income and lifestyle of millennials. Last finally, according to some researches the trust over the insurance company is very less even lesser than a bank. All of this posing the challenges for insurance marketing.

Unquestionably, there are so many opportunities available for the insurance companies and that's why they are evolving their marketing strategies. There are following strategies which the insurance company can useAssure Transparency and Build Trust The insurance business is truly based on relationships and strong trust. Companies are building trust among customers through social and digital media. For example, Lemonade Insurance Company significantly uses these new means of media. Its strong thrust on openness and t 11

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

rust has enabled it to insure more than 100,000 homes and earned $10 million in sales in just the second year of its operation. It has a special transparency blog where it publishes all stories of negative feedbacks and failures. The aim is simple- improving customer services and make aware customers that the company knows its weak areas and working on it to become better & better.

Popularize Societal Good- The best marketing strategy ever is- CARE. The motive of insurance is to help people in a tough time. By supporting the societal good, the company can signify how it also gives back to the community. What can be a better example other than the Farmers Insurance Company, which has launched its charity campaign 'Thank America's Teachers'. In this, the company donated charity money to teachers as a recognition for their crucial role in preparing students for the nation-building. Another example is of Lemonade which reported in 2018 that it has distributed $ 1, 62,000 to 15 different

countries through its campaign 'Lemonade Giveback'. The societal marketing helps in inculcating trust and show your customers that you are a company that cares for its community and its well-being.

Endeavor Personalized MarketingAs per 2019 Global Financial Services Consumers Study of Accenture 88% of insurance consumers demand more personalization from providers. Hence, personalized marketing is the future of the company. In it, the company reaches the customer with targeted messaging, offers and pricing. The availability of analytical tools, customer data and technology helps the company to run hundreds of personalized campaigns to improve the selling, cross-selling and return on investment.

Further, personalized approaches help the company to create a lasting relationship with the customer and fight with competitors. As per the Mckinsey&Company report, personal auto insurance carriers in the USA could earn an additional $ 2 billion if they retained just 10% of the $ 19 billion in direct premium paid when people switch from one carrier to another every year. The tools like SPIXII, CRM, and big data can help a company to design a marketing strategy to a personal level.

Embrace TechnologyThe new disruptor in the insurance industry is Insuretech just like Fintech in the banking industry. These tech-led companies are cashing the benefits of modern technology to cover the techfriendly customer base- the millennials. As

12

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

per the data from the Fintech Global database the annual investment in Insuretech has doubled. In 2019, the investment in Insuretech has exceeded $ 1.2 billion. The use of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, robotics and the Internet of Things is in trend in the insurance industry. emarketing- Insurance ads are the most expensive ones. If after showing the advertisement, customer visit to your company website and leave without taking any action, it cost a lot to a company.

Remarketing is the solution, which helps the company to reach people who come to the web but depart

without action. With Remarketing ads, the company can target such people with display ads. These ads have a higher conversion rate and lower cost per customer.

In brief, the insurance companies can't escape from the tough challenges, hence, they need to continuously evolve their marketing strategies. The aim should be to make insurance a basic need just like food, shelter, and clothing.

The personalized marketing, societal marketing and remarketing are outstanding marketing ideas. Using these, the company can capture many opportunities and withstand the attacks of competitors.

13

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

AVOCADOS V MANGOES - EsHeet (Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi)

‘We hire and promote based on merit.”

We’ve been hearing this for over a decade now, and it’s a recurring theme in current policy debates. In fact, it’s a statement we used to believe. Who wouldn’t want to?

The notion that companies are structured to reward the most talented and determined individuals is pervasive in this country.

Irrespective of who you are and where you come from, at one point or the other, in your adult life and the errands of the fastmoving ‘woke and hustle’ culture, you must have, more often than not, found yourself smack dab in the middle of the classic battle of merit and equity. It’s a debacle that has confused candidates and employees alike, for the longest period.

More so, ever since the incorporation of contemporary issues like diversity and inclusion in the mainstream, the limelight on this debate has become even brighter.

If you’ve ever felt embarrassed about pronouncing the name of a dish on a menu card wrong when you go out with your colleagues, or felt out of place in a conversation about which is better – Titlis or Fuji, or upset about not getting that job because this fresh employee of the company got quality education in a metropolitan city then my friends, you’ve all low key been the epicentre of this loggerheads between merit and equity.

ne of the most obvious explanations to this, that people like us use to save ourselves from the impending burden of being labelled a “poor,” “naïve,” or simply “dumb,” is that, “Okay, we come from a place where we didn’t have this sort of exposure.” Even though this statement is a mere facade for a deep-rooted set of issues, some more obvious than others, this “exposure” in and of itself is a magnanimous factor in the abovementioned battle and one way or the other, all of us have been a part of this real-life mockery.

The point is, contrary to popular beliefs, lives in smaller cities aren’t as slow-moving and simplistic as a Bollywood movie would like you to believe. The basic facilities of a big city also exist in these small towns.

However, there is a certain flair about metropolitans which is still out of bounds for a smaller city. It is because of this that those who hail from these towns often find themselves in this unending race of ‘catching up.’ While the Avocados are trying to better themselves from their current state to the next step forward, the Mangoes are still in the run-up to be that one ripe Avocado. One of the most painstaking net results of this elitist fruit divide is access to opportunities. Even when the Mangoes and Avocadoes are brought on the same pedestal by several external efforts, the kind of gateways that Avocadoes have 14

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

is still more enriched than the Mangoes.

The fact that stock market indices are easily understandable to you because you once passed by the NSE building and your mom just casually started explaining about it one day because of her kitty party friends who works there, or that you’ve taken a professional course on Product Marketing because your dad’s friend in San Francisco owns a marketing firm there, are qualitative benefits that Avocadoes won’t even understand in the vaguest of their dreams to be privileges. But, Mangoes know the innate value of these ‘simple favours’ because ever since they were little, favours for them were only of the kind where you were, by default, eternally grateful for whatever thing someone did for them even, if that meant someone getting you a kilo of oranges on your neighbours’ trip to Nagpur and not an iPhone from the States.

In GDs, interviews, meetings and conferences, we know what it is to feel like you don’t belong. But with merit and opportunity, there is more than what meets the eye. The inherent value of an individual may not always be derived from certain palpable factors, but there are so many traits that set them apart as well. The grit, the dedication and the drive that they can show might be four times what the avocadoes are willing to do. Respecting and valuing the opportunity are the two things that create the real difference. All these factors are what corporates look for in their employees. However, their metrics become so blurry when you look at their chosen candidates after a long and hard selection procedure. It somehow becomes obvious that they look for a Buy One-Get One, in terms of selecting the best

candidate from diverse backgrounds. And here’s where the problem worsens.

Imagine having a whisky on the rocks, that’s what the initial horizontal tussle of merit is, now add a touch of bourbon to the mix, your diversity, and you have yourself a deadly drink. In the layering of two of the seemingly exclusive traits, you create a merit battle not just outside of their demographic but also within our demographic.

But in the end, who are we to even talk about “merit?” What do we even know of merit? Given, even the world’s best dictionaries define it as “something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.” Imagine asking your colleague under your breath, “Why did Benjamin get the Project?” and your colleague says, “Something!” would seem quite awkward, right? So, the world just whipped up a fancy term and stuck it to several rulebooks and eligibility clauses and here we find ourselves at this crossroads.

On one hand, we feel that it’s nervewracking to realise that your future in the corporate ladder, your position in the business spectrum and your tendency on the growth scale are all dependent on a metric that even Oxford defines vaguely as “quality of being good.”But on the other hand, it is quite comforting to know that there is a set of virtues or avenues which are quite palpable even by common human intuition, if not higher education, that you can explore to climb up to the top ranks.

15

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB

It’s very hard to draw clear lines between what is better. Honestly, there are times when it’s such a blessing to know that there is an external factor that can give you that magic jump to being like an Avocado, but what hits hardest is that irrespective of where you’ve come from and what you’ve achieved, the dreams you see with your big, brown, beautifully hopeful eyes, is the same that this blue-eyed, silver-spoon-inhis-mouth-yet-wanting-to-prove-his-worth cado also sees. But the path for him is a little easier to accomplish than for you because the race he ran until now has been on a plateau and what you ran, was an uphill race. To reach the same mountain top that Sisyphus can only dream of reaching, would take one much more blood, sweat and tears than that metropolitan counterpart.

We don’t necessarily say that they get things easy, we just say that they get things relatively easier. But then again, all of our opinions come from our perspectives and generalizing them would be nothing short of a sin. For most of us, a simple answer to this battle would be the middle ground of “both.”

However, the question here is, is this a battle of ‘Meritocracy vs Diversity’, ‘Metropolitans vs Small towners’ or the ‘Dreamers vs Do-ers’? Well, we’d never know. But while we pave that path, and delve deep to form this utopian world of ours, just imagine that if these two roads were, in fact, diverging in a yellow wood, and you were to choose one, which path would you choose, moreover, which is the one less travelled by?

19

THE STRATEGY AND CONSULTING CLUB OF IIM ROHTAK snc@iimrohtak.ac.in

ABHINAV TRIPATH KAJAL PATIL KANUJ KHURANA MANOHAR GUPTA PUJA ASHWINI AKANKSHA LAWHALE AMRISH RAI MEDHA WAGH PRITHA BARUA SAURABH AZGAONKAR SUMAN SHARMA TEJASWI NETTAM

DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINION OF THE STAKE HOLDERS OF IIM ROHTAK