My Comprehensive Exam experience

My Comprehensive Exam Experience - March 25, 2009
Room G1

Panel: Ajit Parulekar, Divya Singhal, V. Sukhtankar

Oh what a comprehensive it’s been…..I was torn to shreds….

Q1. (Ajit) “How do you predict the demand (forecasting) for your product?” – Sailed through the question somehow.

Q2. (Ajit) “Do you know about the new Sony Vaio ultra portable? It is a revolutionary product, how will you price it?” – Knew just two theories – (a.)See the competition’s pricing (b.) Charge premium rates as this is a revolutionary product along with Sony brand name.

Q3. (Ajit) Out of the blue he asks “What is Target Costing?” – Easy one, I guess to let me have at least one correct answer.

Q3. (Ajit) “Any other pricing methods?” – Sorry Sir, I don’t remember any at the moment.

Q4. (Divya) “OK you are an independent research agency and have been asked to find out the reason why there is attrition in GIM? How will go about the whole study?” – Told her everything I could possibly remember, then she asks – “Will ex-GIM teachers be included in the study?” – I replied they have already left the college and their reasons for leaving could be entirely different from what situation exists today.Plus we have been hired by the college to find out reasons for attrition and to retain our current employees.I am quite sure this would be the nail in my coffin!

Q5. (Sukhtankar) “Have you studied network models?” – I ask, Sir in MIS or any other subject? He says “In OR?” – I said no sir, but we did study Transportation problems and for network models I gave him some of my IT gyan regarding CPM and PERT and Traveling Salesman Problem.(Later I came to know those were all Network Analysis problems!)

Q6. (Sukhtankar) “OK I have a hypothesis that GIM teachers leave bcoz of low salaries.There are 20 teachers in GIM.How do I test this hypothesis?” – I royally screw up and say FACTOR ANALYSIS!!Parulekar is in splits! Then he says do you even understand IV and DV (Independent and Dependent Variables) I tell him the correct thing and he heaves a sigh of relief and says Thank God you know something.Then again Sukhtankar asks the same question, and then light bulb moment and I say T –TEST! And they say hmmm….then Sukhu asks “What confidence interval would you choose?”I say 95% he says “Why?” I tell him all kinds of theories and stuff, he’s kinda convinced.

Q7. (Sukhtankar) “Why does MIS implementation fail in many cases?” – I am stuck for say 10 secs then I give him some real tech global shit.

In the end, Parulekar motions to Sukhtankar “Sir, you want to ask something?”Sukhu moves Divya who is holding her head maybe reeling from the impact of the FACTOR ANALYSIS.She says”No questions.”
Parulekar motions me out of the room.

P.S. Not to worry my friends, you won’t repeat these mistakes and I’d be coming tomorrow also.I’m pretty sure of that.

P.S. I passed..I dunno how