Coming to an end...

The MBA program at ISB has come to a close (congratulations to all the grads!), and it's suddenly time to leave Hyderabad, the beautiful ISB campus, and the many incredible friends we've met here during the past 2.5 months. It's strange to think that in 24 hours, Ty and I will be on to the next phase of our adventure in the region, including exploring northern India, Nepal, and Thailand for several months. It seems that not too long ago, we were sitting in the Fuqua computer lab, trying to construct a way to spend our final semester in India.

As we pack our bags and prepare to leave ISB though, I am feeling extremely grateful for the opportunity to have learned from the students here - about life in India, the similarities and differences between our cultures, and the value of expanding one's boundaries, both literally and figuratively. India seems to me to be a country of much complexity, beauty, pain, and promise, and I hope that I am able to return in the future and be a part of this dynamic place. By attending ISB, I have been able to learn about

one of the most rapidly changing countries in the world

alongside some of its future leaders - the people who will mold India's future in business, politics, healthcare, and social enterprise. It has been an honor to be part of this group.

Thank you to the ISB Class of 2009 for the hospitality and friendship, to the International Center at Fuqua for making the exchange possible, and to the Duke MBAA for hosting this forum for sharing experiences among Fuquans throughout the world.

Starting a Business in India: An inspiring example

An earlier Duke-initiated question for the blogs was in regards to starting a business in my host school's country. Immediately, I wanted to highlight the experience of one of my classmates and good friends here at ISB, Dr. Radhika Vasanthakumar.

At the time the posting was to be written, Radhika was out of town, presenting her entrepreneurial undertaking in Seattle, Washington at an international social venture competition. This past weekend, she and her three committed ISB teammates were again gaining international recognition for their work. The team, presenting their venture "Pioneer Healthcare", was chosen from 50 initial entrants and 18 presenting teams at the Asian Global Social Ventures Competition (held at ISB) to represent the region at U.C. Berkeley next month. I have no doubt that they'll continue to inspire judges and audiences alike, utilizing Radhika's 20 years of experience as a gynecologist in Tamil Nadu (both in cities and in rural areas) and the team members' joint health sector experience and ambition to improve access to healthcare in India.

The Pioneer Healthcare model is based on the premise that villagers in many parts of the country lack access to very basic but necessary healthcare services. According to Radhika, many clinics in rural India are understaffed, overcrowded, and in physical disrepair. Frequently, trained healthcare providers prefer to (or can only afford to) practice in urban areas, impoverished villagers cannot afford or physically tolerate long journeys to city hospitals, and out-of-pocket payments for medical bills are often too much for a village family to absorb. The Pioneer Healthcare team's mission is to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare to villagers in India, and the venture's plans are as detailed as they are grand.

The team aims to increase the provision of quality primary care in rural villages by capitalizing upon a hub and spoke model in which village care centers/clinics are connected to a Pioneer Healthcare city hospital with secondary care facilities, technological capabilities, and advanced medical knowledge. The team has thoroughly analyzed the venture's financial viability, funding needs, human resources potential, technological capabilities, incentive programs, operations and logistics, and sustainability. Additionally, Pioneer Healthcare's advisory board is comprised of a number of leaders from ISB and the medical establishment in India, and the team is garnering support and enthusiasm both locally (in the form of winning school funding for launching the business over the next two years) and around the world (see references above).

Regarding the specifics of launching this project in India, I was curious about (1) funding, (2) regulations/accreditation, and (3) the ease of starting a new business.

Funding: Radhika's venture would be funded through both equity (promoter and external) and debt. Given its dependence on leverage, I worried that the project may potentially be stalled due to the worldwide economic downturn. However, Radhika states that obtaining debt for the investment will not be as difficult as one might assume. She has been reassured that the healthcare industry in this country is indeed essentially recession-proof, and the banks with which she has discussed her initiative are anxious to invest in a financially viable and sustainable hospital/rural center network. Presently, private hospitals and healthcare facilities are being established in large numbers in India - a result of tremendous unmet needs, deregulation, and profit potential.

Regulations/accreditation: According to Radhika, there are no regulations or necessary accreditations in India for starting one's own hospital or healthcare facility. Once she secures the capital and the land on which to build, no government entity or medical regulatory body will stand in her way.

Ease of starting a business: Finally, my multiple conversations with this inspiring friend have led me to believe that it is relatively easy to start a business in India, once one has a thoroughly analyzed business model and financial support (not to mention a passion for making the venture a reality). Note: Nowhere here do I mean to assert that developing the business model or finding financial backing is easy! - I have been amazed by the efforts of the Pioneer Team (and specifically Radhika). This model has been crafted, refined, judged (multiple times), and refined again. The next steps involve building strategic partnerships with village headmen, professional schools, and existing practitioners in the pilot region, while finalizing plans for the launch of the business.

Radhika's passion and vision for rural healthcare is just one (incredible!) example of the exciting entrepreneurial spirit present in India today. At ISB, many students are working on plans for their own businesses, family ventures, or institutions that combine social empowerment with earnings generation. From my perspective, the Indian market, both in the health sector and more broadly, has significant profit potential, numerous unmet social needs, and a population of workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs that make it an exciting location for investment and new business ventures.

Many thanks to Radhika for sharing her story and for her ongoing inspiration and commitment.

Teamwork in the Indian Context

Duke's question of the week is about teamwork and the differences between teams at ISB and those at Duke.

In both form and function, teams are essentially the same at both institutions. Teamwork is an important part of each course, usually comprising 25-40% of each course's workload and grading. At the beginning of the ISB school year, students were assigned to teams teams within their sections (very similar to the core course teamwork structure at Duke). At this point in the year though (the final weeks of the MBA program), students are allowed to choose their own groups, and teams are usually composed of 4-5 students. The ideal team interaction at ISB would involve every member having prepared the case prior to a team meeting, then analyzing the scenario as a group, learning from one another's diverse perspectives, and finally coming to an answer better than the sum of the individuals' independent solutions. In theory, that's the way teams should work at Duke too, right? ...But we all know that sometimes the ideal team interaction is sacrificed in the interest of time, sleep, and sanity! Just as at Duke, teams at ISB find their own ways of interacting and completing tasks too.

As with most new experiences, teamwork here took a bit of getting used to...

Little interaction, lots of trust: As a new student in the community with no prior interactions or trust with my randomly selected team members, I was surprised by the ease with which ISB students split up assignments (not worrying at all about my ability to complete a task - bold!) In several classes, I had to really push to get team meetings scheduled (as opposed to just dividing write-ups among the groups via email and compiling at the last minute), and I felt like the loud, dominant American team member. Other American exchange students expressed the same sentiment and the frustration with the lack of in-person interactions, timely submissions, and email communications within teams at ISB. Some students went through an entire term at ISB never having met face-to-face with their team members, which is very different from my experiences at Duke. That having been said, the students here have worked with one another for nearly a year, and they have established trust, norms, and ways of communicating which we, as exchange students, couldn't possibly understand...the same likely happens in every community over time.

Honor and accountability: As a general rule, it seems that the Duke students at ISB are more aware of Honor Code issues than our local colleagues. Students here must submit an Honor Code cover sheet with every assignment, but the institution doesn't seem to enforce its meaning as much as Duke does. Whereas the Honor Code at Duke is addressed in every class and is a frequent topic of discussion among teams and the larger Fuqua community, I have not sensed the same appreciation of the Honor Code in team interactions here. Most of my classes have not offered an evaluation process for team members, and accountability suffers as a result. Teams with one or two non-participating members seem to rely on the strong contributors to get the work done, but all members names are submitted with the assignment, and grades are given to everyone (in most cases) equally, regardless of the time or effort expended. In more than one exchange student conversation, I heard about team members who had never responded to a single email, written even one sentence for an assignment, or attended a team meeting for the entire term! Although these cases were surely the exception (and ISB students were in the middle of a stressful job placement process, to give these exceptional cases the benefit of the doubt), I'm more appreciative of the emphasis on team development, personal responsibility, and accountability at Fuqua than I was before this experience.

Phones ring, teammates answer: Although Duke students certainly have been known to surf the internet, send a text, or answer a quick call during team meetings, I was totally thrown off when team members here at ISB would carry on long phone conversations in team meetings. I spoke to two friends at ISB about the issue, and they thought it was so funny that I noticed such a thing, remembering their first experiences as professionals in the U.S. and the difference in accepted phone behavior between the two cultures. One woman stated that she was shocked to look around the cubicles in her New Jersey office and not see anyone chatting on their cells during the work day. Another said that she literally had no idea that her mobile had a "silent" function until she moved to the States for work. Prior to that experience, she simply left her ringer on and answered (regardless of if she was at her desk or in a meeting!) whenever it rang. Although I'm sure that different Indian (and American!) companies have their own phone etiquette, these friends' stories indicated that the behavior of some of my teammates here is typical among professionals and students alike in India.

In conclusion, there are more similarities than differences between teams at ISB and those at Duke. Individual teams each have their own norms and ways of coping, and while teamwork can be a really rewarding experience in some cases, it can be hellish in others - and that's true of teams anywhere in the world! However, being away from Duke makes me even more convinced that there's definitely something unique and special about "Team Fuqua."

Happy Holi!

Happy Holi everyone!

We finally had the opportunity to participate in the first big Indian festival since our arrival, and it was seriously fun (and colorful, as you can see!) ISB is having its official celebration of Holi a few days late, as classes were scheduled today, interfering with a school-wide event. This Saturday, I expect the entire student body and faculty/staff to be colored and wet as well...which I suppose means trying to really scrub and get the dye off of my skin and out of my hair is a futile task. (You can see that one long shower and scrub session didn't do much to ease the color!)

Today's mini-Holi celebration was quite an experience, and the U.S. has to figure out some way to adopt such a holiday! Perhaps red, white, and blue dyes on the 4th of July???

2009 Duke India Business Forum!

Recently, a colleague from Fuqua gave me the details on the upcoming Duke India Business Forum (www.dukeibf.com/DukeIBF/Home.html). The date of the event is March 22, and registration is available online.

I hope that the students who have worked incredibly hard to plan the event, attract worldwide business leaders as conference speakers, and organize important, student-oriented questions to address at the conference are rewarded with a broad base of participants. Although I expect to see many Indian students in attendance, I'd like to encourage non-Indian Fuqua students to attend as well. I recognize that the student life at Duke is busy and that multiple opportunities for learning and interaction compete for students' time and attention. However, the importance of India to the business world - a world in which we will all be players in the coming year - is impossible to ignore. The more prepared we are to encounter, partner with, and learn from India, the better global business leaders we will be.

Having spent 2 1/2 months in India at ISB and traveling through the country, I can appreciate how much potential and need exists in the country. The IT sector has gained much attention, and the outsourcing of manufacturing, BPO services, and pharmaceutical production have entered India's increasing global spotlight as well. With over 1.2 billion inhabitants, the country cannot be ignored and will certainly impact each of our careers post-Fuqua.

As the country climbs the development ladder and becomes evermore important as both producer and consumer of global goods and services though, the disparity in wealth and opportunity continues to exist. Whether we have come to business school to learn about operations or marketing or strategy, we will leave Fuqua as leaders of consequence, and India's vast opportunity and complexity will have an impact on us all. Hopefully we will impact India and her people positively as well, and the Duke IBF is a great way to help define how each of us can make our mark.

Please consider joining the event, and enjoy!

Random ramblings (Life at ISB)

Isn't there a saying that goes something like, "You didn't realize how good you had it until it was gone..."?

I'm certainly feeling this sentiment as I encounter some of the more frustrating parts of being in business school in India! The timeliness, feedback mechanisms, and formal processes at Duke seem brilliant to me now that I'm living without such things. Granted, ISB is a young school and is breaking ground in a number of ways, but in terms of Western efficiency, transparency, and structure, the school's got a lot of growing to do.

For all of you that have traveled or lived in developing countries, you know that organization and structure are relative terms and that, comparatively, the U.S. has them pretty well mastered. I suppose that knowing ISB is a top-ranked global B-school led me to assume (improperly) that things would be almost as organized as at Duke. Well, lesson learned!

One big difference between Duke and ISB with regards to following formal processes is the course structure and syllabus. While courses are essentially set in stone at Duke (and Hopkins, Dayton, and Chaminade - the other US universities I've attended), here at ISB, students in all but one of my courses have convinced the professors to eliminate assignments, alter grading schemes, or change the dates of final exams after the classes are underway. Emails are circulated by students to vote on such changes (in the most structured of such changes), but the assumption is that if you don't reply, you agree with the proposed change. I can't even imagine a scenario in which this would happen at Duke... When a syllabus is printed, it's final (and, in my opinion, that's a good thing!)

Similarly, in a pass/fail elective that I'm taking (read: pass for showing up, fail for missing more than one class), two of the four initial classes were rescheduled on the morning of the 12:30 class. In one case, multiple last-minute emails went out with conflicting times, and when students missed the class, we were instructed that in the case of another "miss", we would indeed fail. In the fourth class, no attendance sheet was collected, and the entire original class schedule for the term is now "pending." Classes can (and likely will) be rescheduled from the allotted times to any given day of the week (weekends included) or hour of the day (during other classes as well). Something just seems illogical here.

So, in closing, let this not be pointless (or semi-therapeutic?) ranting but rather a way of reminding all of you Duke MBAs that we're really lucky for what we have - the well-planned, formalized structures that make living and operating in a B-school environment all the more enjoyable.

The Financial Crisis

The global "crisis", "slowdown", "recession", (pick another depressing and scary descriptor) is certainly making its presence known in India at the moment, though not nearly as much as it seems to be in other parts of the world (namely, my home in the U.S.). My experiences with other business students here have revealed uncertainty, nervousness, and frustration, and professors at ISB often discuss the global financial situation in classes, making theory more pertinent to our lives at present. The crisis is presumably affecting the people with which I've interacted in India in two major ways:

1. Access to jobs (ISB students)
2. Access to capital (businesses and individuals)

Access to jobs:

Students at ISB are in a one year program, so without internships and both the first year and second year opportunities to recruit, the stakes are high during the winter terms (January-February). The on-campus placement process is nearly complete, and roughly 25-30% of the class has a job, according to unofficial reports from students. Although no official placement figures have been released, students have discussed fewer "short list" or "closed list" spots to interview, fewer offers, and lower salaries from companies. For the students that have worked and lived in the U.S. or in Europe prior to attending school, the difference in salaries between the Western companies and those in India has been a large frustration, and going back to the U.S. from ISB is particularly challenging given the current environment. My assumption is that the situation is bleak at all business schools right now, but the ISB students are nearing the end of their time here (graduation is in just over one month), and the pressure is building. In my Behavioral Finance course, the professor (here to teach from Chicago), asked the students to raise their hands if they had been placed, and of the 40 in the class, no more than 10 raised their hands - a sobering picture of the crisis taking its toll on some of India's best future leaders.

Despite the pressure and anxiety though, my impression is that the discussion about jobs, placements, and the downturn in the global economy is much more frequent and serious in the U.S. (from talking to friends at Duke) than at ISB. Perhaps this is because students in the U.S. have seen the change in B-school job prospects decrease over the last two years, whereas the ISB students entered school when the crisis was beginning. Maybe the American students have seen more daily reports on unemployment figures in the U.S. and have watched their investments plummet, creating excess anxiety. In any case, though the situation is dire at our exchange school, the worry isn't as palpable as at home.

Access to capital:

I have been surprised to see Hyderabad continue its pace of business, construction, and growth with relatively little change in the past 3 months. Whereas I am bombarded with pictures of "going out of business" signs, foreclosure postings, and ever-growing unemployment lines each time I read a U.S. newspaper, I do not sense the general unease of the population in Hyderabad like I do in the States. Even as I write this posting (at 8:00 am on a Sunday morning), I can hear construction workers hammering metal and moving large rocks one of several visible construction sites from campus. I have yet to see any "going out of business" signs in Hyderabad or Kerala, and our multinational corporate neighbors here, Microsoft and Infosys, continue to buzz with activity each day and night when their employees come and go.

A month ago, two leaders of developing world projects for major U.S. philanthropies were on campus to speak about microfinance and social entrepreneurship. They both argued that while developed economies are being hit during the crisis (as well as the people that work and invest in these economies), many small, undeveloped or developing populations have not been harmed. Because capital was not readily available in the past, because investment and savings options were unheard of, and because of the lack of connectivity to the developed world, these people and economies 1) didn't have as far to fall, and 2) were not well connected enough before the crisis to feel its effects. I'm sure that other theories exist to counter this opinion, but I was surprised (and a bit relieved, to be honest) that in some areas - typically the worst-off to begin with - people with very little are not being stripped of what they do have.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, etc. Enlighten, argue with, and/or agree with me!

Note: After posting this entry, I received a link to an Economic Times analysis of the job situation at ISB. Perhaps my reports from students were lower than the real numbers, which are reported to be more around 50%. Sorry!

Note #2: Just yesterday, the Career Services department reported via email that 41% of the current students seeking jobs have been placed (with one month to go until graduation).

Spring Break: Beach, Backwaters, and Beautiful Indian Scenery

Ty and I just returned from an amazing trip in Kerala for our Spring Break.  We're now officially 2 days into our last term in B-school...which is insane to both of us!  It's a bittersweet time though, as we're loving our experience in India but realizing that we won't be seeing our Duke friends again during the MBA experience (soon after though, we hope!)

On our 10-day trip through southern India, we visited Cochin, Allepey, Varkala, and Munnar - all amazing Indian locations with different environments, scenery, and vibes.  See some of the pics below, and PLEASE let us know if you're traveling in the area, as we'd love to offer suggestions. We traveled by planes, trains, government and private busses, houseboat, taxis, and auto-rickshaws, tried new Indian cuisines (and found some traveler-friendly spots with real coffee and Western food as well!), and took in the wildly diverse sights, sounds, and, yes...even smells, of this part of India.  The travel bug is alive and well in both of us!

Starting a Business...To Be Posted Soon...

Many apologies to the Dukies organizing the blog project, but my "Starting a Business" post is postponed due to our Spring Break and the fact that my ISB colleague and teammate who is starting her own business is currently in Seattle, presenting her business plan to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (she's obviously a rock-star!)  Radhika has agreed to talk to me more in detail about her business venture, and I'll post after her return to India. 

Stay tuned!

Communication Tidbit: "The Bobble"

So for all of you Indian readers, you'll have to weigh in on my observations of what the exchange and international students at ISB have taken to calling "the bobble."  Never before did I think to write about this confusing gesture/communication technique, but then - twice in one day - I used the bobble!

The term "bobble" likely originated from the scary baseball park souvenirs/dashboard toys in the U.S. - the bobble-head dolls.  However, in India, the communication technique is much older than the weird American toys (as nearly every Indian I've met here seems to use it rather frequently.) The motion is something between a "yes" nod and a "no" shake, but it also has this added bounce and all-over-the-place wild motion of the head.  As the recipient of the bobble, it's hard to know whether the bobble-er is agreeing, disagreeing, listening without judgement, or perhaps making fun of you.

Just as the attentive Fuqua students nod in class as a sign of intent listening and information digestion (even when spacing out completely), the ISB students bobble!  It's completely amusing and can push me to the brink of hysterics when I'm especially bored.  However, when giving a presentation to the director of marketing at a local company this week, I realized how unnerving it can be to have no idea what your audience is thinking!  What is this bobble?...and how has it invaded my communication too?! :)

Alright...feedback please, Indian friends! 

The Consumer Experience

The topic of the third Duke-initiated entry is "The Consumer Experience," and luckily, I've been able to see a number of shopping options in and around Hyderabad in the last few weeks.  Here are some observations and images of the shopping options in India, from the most simple carts and kiosks to the upscale, A/C'd, multi-storied shopping centers.

Fruits and veggies via roadside cart

The fruits here are both tropical and abundant - very tempting but potentially dangerous if not of the self-peel variety.  Each day along the streets, you can find grapes, papaya, guava, pineapple, pomegranate, bananas, etc.  The veggies are amazing too. Huge, brightly colored eggplant, cauliflower ("gobi"), beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes adorn the carts.  The only barrier to me becoming a completely loyal customer of this type of enterprise is that the goods lose the "freshness appeal" when you see the incredible amount of dust, exhaust, and dirt surrounding the carts.  Although I'm sure the food is healthy and safe (or I'm hoping, if not totally sure), I can't quite bring myself to venture into roadside fruit territory beyond the banana.  Perhaps by the end of the trip...?

Chat ("ch-aught") stands

Calling these contraptions anything other than "fried junk food carts" would be inaccurate.  All sorts of veggies and carbs are deep fried (my guess is at least five times each) then tossed into the cart and sold to the hungry passerby. Though I've frequented 

these vendors in a number of in African countries, I've yet to tackle street food in India, as the "Delhi Belly" stories have been a little too intense.  The calorie count can't be pretty either, as evidenced by any picture of me post-Africa trips!

Small, independent "everything you need (or don't) shops"

If you're in need of small packets of shampoo, magazines or newspapers, sweet treats, or phone cards, you're bound to find them (and many more random things) in these roadside bodega-like shops.  The villages seem to have more of these mom-and-pops, but they are present throughout Hyderabad (a significant metropolis on the sub-continent) as well.  These establishments might have items similar to your well-stocked gas station in the states, but most of the goods are behind a counter, crowded together (not much placement strategy here), and sold for prices that are, for the most part, negotiable.  I'd recommend looking closely at the expiration date on anything perishable and dusting off the items before use/consumption!  These shops tend to be one rung up the shop development ladder from the carts in that they are immobile (usually at least a few walls are involved).

Free standing stores (as in, located in buildings with doors!)

There sheer number of stores here is shocking to me.  There are alleyways of stores in the centuries-old "Charminar" where entire streets are filled with identical (to the uninformed shopper, anyway) stores and product offerings.  I was recently told that the streets of Charminar are "an example of pure competition."  However, beyond this small area of the city, there are stores that seem to duplicate one another everywhere!  I've not been able to figure out how one store differentiates itself from the other, but maybe when you're part of an economy with 1.2 billion people, you don't have to worry about excess capacity or coming up with a unique value proposition...

A lot of the free-standing stores seem to be chains (predominantly local or regional though).  For instance, the J.R. Bakery was our "go to" location for bottled water and 

train-trip food in Kerala, and the chain's definitely perfected the art of creating a consistent customer experience in all of its cafes.  

Today, I shopped with some of the other exchange women and experienced unreal customer service at an Indian clothing store.  The manager was wanting to chat once he realized I am studying 

at ISB and from the U.S. The stores, also part of a chain, recruit 

unskilled men and women from villages around Hyderabad, employ them in the city at one of the multiple stores, provide uniforms, health insurance (an unusual perk here), and extensive training in customer service to these young villagers.  They were picking out dozens of shirts, dresses, and wraps for each of us (to match our sizes, skin, eyes, etc.) and tailoring on the spot. It was seriously impressive, though a bit overwhelming at times.  

The mall (ugh!)

So, to expose my biases from the start, I hate mall-shopping anywhere...so my negative impressions of the City Center in Hyderabad have nothing to do with the stores, atmosphere, or people here.  I was surprised to see a McDonalds, a Kentucky Fried Chicken, a Levi's, and a Pepe Jeans in Hyderabad at this five-story mall in the upscale Banjara Hills neighborhood (and I have to admit, I couldn't resist a Diet Coke from McDonalds!)  The mall's one redeeming quality it's A/C on this 95 degree day (A/C's a rarity here), but the loud music, the food-court atmosphere, the marked prices (bargaining becomes a bit of a hobby here), and the overabundance of ex-pats made my first trip to City Center my last!

ISB ranked 15th in the world! (Thanks, Financial Times)

Yesterday was a huge day at ISB.  The Financial Times rankings of global MBA programs were released, and ISB jumped five spots from last year to #15.  As the only ranked B-school in India and a relatively new player on the global stage (only 8 years old), the sense of pride and excitement was very palpable. 

Everyone at the school was ecstatic, and a massive lunch celebration ensued, followed by a late-night party that lasted well into the morning.  Think Fuqua Friday on steroids!  Lunch included ice sculptures, thousands of floating flowers, an incredible assortment of food, and a delay of all classes so that the entire ISB community could enjoy the fun.  

The evening party was also seriously impressive - the bar, food vendors, DJ, and late-night dancing were topped off by a fireworks display (above).  Enjoy the views...

Photos, Tidbits, Etc.

I've had a few requests for pictures on the blog.  So...here are some bits and pieces of random information and their accompanying pics, in case you want to have more of a glimpse into our ISB existence!

Outside our dorm at ISB

Life at ISB:  This week has been a fairly "normal" one in terms of going to B-school in India.  

Classes, homework, group case analyses, and the like.  It feels good to get into the swing of things, to learn the ways of working together in an Indian context, and to get caught up on assignments and the ever-expanding list of things to do (though I can't complain too much, as one of the tasks on my list was, "lay by the pool!") 

The weather in India is gradually starting to warm, as people warned us it would, but the campus is still vibrant with color from the flowering bushes and trees - a welcome sight it January for a girl from the midwest!

Interestingly, after swimming laps for the past 2 weeks at the aforementioned pool, I was kindly informed that it was the sight of a recent cobra spotting... To be continued when/if I can verify the source of the info. (Perhaps I'm just the gullible exchange student? I hope!)

Sight of rumored cobra spotting...hmm...

Exploring Hyderabad:  We made a few trips to local establishments this week for a "taste 

of Hyderabad."  Ty and I went with our new Israeli friends to a western restaurant in the high-end Banjara Hills neighborhood one evening and then went to a local hole-in-the-wall the following night.  Night #1 involved salads, cheese plates, and beverages that we haven't enjoyed in several weeks, but it ended in an auto ride that was enough to make us teeter between laughter and tears!  We were glad to know, after our driver tested his brakes against an oncoming cement truck, that the vehicle could, in fact, stop rather quickly! Night #2 involved being waited on by a 16-year old named "Nani" who was visibly shaken at the beginning of the meal, stating in a trembling voice, "It is my first time serving foreigners."  By the end of the meal though, he'd told us his life story (complete with introductions to his father and grandmother) and was prancing out after us yelling, "Get good grades and come back again!" 

Hospital and clinic visits:  This week involved two day-long trips to meet with folks in the healthcare space, which made the week all the more exciting for me.

First, I was able to visit my Indian colleagues on a Duke Global Health Institute study through the CARE Foundation.  Kevin Schulman, Will Mitchell, and Krishna Udayankumar (all HSM faculty or lecturers at Duke) wrote a great Journal of Health Affairs article on the CARE Hospitals late last year - all of you HSMers should get your hands on it.  I'm now involved with the Foundation's rural health assessment of five villages in a region 12 hrs (by car) north of Hyderabad.  Although I've met with the India-based team via conference call, it was great to meet face-to-face and start planning the next phase of the project together.  By the end of the study, 5000 villagers will have been surveyed to determine their health needs, and the CARE Foundation will plan future outreach programs to serve the communities most effectively. Pretty amazing work, I think!

A note to all coffee-lovers and B-school students thinking about working abroad:  Our meeting, like all business meetings I've attended so far in India, was interrupted twice by a woman carrying a tray of lovely coffees & teas - a tradition that I appreciate so very much! The coffee cups in this country are seriously small (read: Dixie cup vs. Starbucks venti), so I take every opportunity I can get to "re-up" on the caffeine here.  Although I'd die for a Fox Center refillable mug of organic blend right now, I am deeply grateful to the coffee/tea woman for her frequent visits!

The second healthcare-oriented meeting involved visiting a start-up medical diagnostics company in Hyderabad for a class project.  The company is currently receiving funding through a local VC firm, and its mission is impressive: provide high quality laboratory and radiology services to patients at an affordable price.  They're hoping to expand throughout southern India and ultimately provide diagnostic capabilities throughout regions that currently have no access or only limited access (potentially unsafe, unreliable, and unregulated).  

Interesting cultural conversations:  I saw this sign in two clinics where ultrasounds are 

regularly performed.  Posting of the sign in medical diagnostics centers is mandatory, and it states: "Determining the Sex of the foetus by Pre-Natal Diagnostic test is a punishable Crime for those who do it and for those who get it done & those who encourage it."  

Of course, it took me about two seconds to pry into my team member, an OB-GYN who's practiced in India for her entire career.  She told me that because male children have traditionally been (and still are, in many areas) favored over female children, the country has historically suffered high rates of "fetucide" (or selective abortion if the fetus is female).  Google produced hundreds of political, religious, and other non-objective postings on the practice, but the honesty and frankness with which my teammates talked about the practice was surprising (and refreshing too, signaling increased awareness and intolerance).  I've always associated China with infanticide post-birth, and I had no idea that it has been (and is) still a problem in India.  

The conversation also led to really interesting discussions with my team members (male & female, Indian, American, & Thai, 20-somethings & 50-somethings, Buddhist & Hindu) about the changing views of Indians in my generation, the amazing diversity of political and religious beliefs in the country, and a number of other fascinating issues. We debated arranged vs. love marriages, gender equality, astrological powers, women's rights (including abortion, contraception, maternal mortality, etc.), the impact of media and technology on India, and the gross disparities in wealth among the country's population.  It was so interesting to sense the cultural tide changing as I sat sandwiched between young and old (literally and figuratively) in the back seat of a taxi, waiting for the stopped traffic to inch its way through the Old City.

Other updates:  Although we stayed in Hyderabad this weekend (not the norm for the 

exchange student crowd - most of whom are off exploring the country), we did start planning the travel schedule post-ISB.  We'll have 2 1/2 months to travel through India, and paging through "Lonely Planet India" makes me extremely excited for the adventure.  We've loved our time in the villages to date, and we'll likely try to see some remote areas along the way, in addition to the "must-sees."  So far, we've got Agra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Calcutta, Varanasi, Shimla, Darjeeling, Goa, and Kerala on the map (with a probable jaunt into Nepal).  We know that many of you know great places to though, and we're more than willing to take recommendations!

Business, Culture, and Customs

Duke's "guiding questions" for this post include issues on cultural norms/customs and business practices.  Acknowledging from the start that I've only been in the country for two weeks and that customs within the b-school campus differ from those outside its gates, my thoughts on the issues are as follows...

Cultural norms

My initial impression is that the Indian culture is much more formal than the American culture.  Although certain areas of Hyderabad are more westernized (e.g., the new airport, Cyderabad, etc.), the city is dominated by a more conservative culture.  The predominant religions are Hinduism and Islam, and as such, many of the women dress in full saris or burkhas.  As a woman, I think much more about my dress, my speech, and my mannerisms here than I ever do at home.  When I leave campus, I wear either pants or long skirts and cover my shoulders – and this would simply not happen in 80 degree, sunny weather in the States!  Also, vendors and drivers normally speak to Ty rather than me (despite the fact that I’m way more verbose!), I only occasionally receive a handshake when off campus (whereas men frequently shake hands), and Ty and I are usually one of the few couples walking together through town.  Normally, groups of men stay together, even holding hands as they walk, as do the women.

The Indians with whom we have spent time often take tea or coffee with friends in the afternoons and evenings, relaxing in one another’s apartments or homes. Also, “evening” is not the same meaning here as it might be in most U.S. settings.  Whereas I am accustomed to having evening meals at 7:00-ish, dinner here is not available until 7:30pm (until 10:00pm).  Ty and I are often the first of the ISB students and staff to walk through the café doors at night, stomachs growling as we enter.  Also, concerning eating, many of our colleagues at ISB have private cooks and/or maids, and meals, snacks, and tea are often prepared for the students.  This is one stark difference from the lives of Fuqua students at Pinnacle Ridge, Alexan Place, Station 9, or The Lofts!

Dinner isn’t the only thing to start late in India!  “India time” is a frequent phrase used to dismiss the frequent 15-minute tardiness for meetings, classes, etc.  When invited to a 10:00pm school-sponsored party for the new exchange students, I thought that arriving 30 minutes late (“fashionably” – right?!) was appropriate.  However, not a single person was at the location (including the organizer), and the party did not really begin until around 1:00!  The Midwestern “Early to bed, early to rise” value is not a part of the ISB culture.  However, our Muslim friends wake at 5:00 each day for morning prayers – another example of the diversity of people, practices, and norms in this country.

Today, my Managing Complexity course addressed the issues of Indian and American cultural differences in business.  (Specifically, we discussed the challenges of implementing a Google-like culture in an Indian business setting.)  The comments from my Indian colleagues support the judgment that the culture here is much more formal than that in the U.S.  Students mentioned the presence of hierarchical structures between management and lower-level employees (a “sir” culture), a lack of willingness or comfort engaging in honest feedback, and a high level of competition (versus collaboration) among colleagues.

Business Environment

Since arriving in Hyderabad, we’ve witnessed an interesting (and saddening) chain of events unfold in our new city.  Satyam, a prominent Indian IT company based in Hyderabad, was accused of fraudulent activity – essentially padding their books with nonexistent funds, claiming to have roughly $1 billion USD when, in reality, they’re accused of not having enough cash to cover their employees’ pay for the previous month.  The business world here has been shaken at a national, local, and academic level with the unraveling of this story. 

For several days, newspaper headlines, CNBC India, and all of the national news channels and websites addressed the fraud continuously.  The CEO resigned almost immediately, but at ISB, our Dean also resigned from his leadership position at our school, as he was a Board member of Satyam.  The school was shocked and discussions ensued about how the Indian economy would rebound from the embarrassing international drama, and the similarity of this situation to the Enron scandal in the U.S. has been discussed at length.  Even as I write this entry, CNBC is running news about Satyam, two weeks after the initial blow was announced.  India is now grappling with how to improve its regulatory frameworks, revisit corporate legislation, and repair its international reputation as a booming, trustworthy player in the global business world.

Another interesting note is that, while attending a panel discussion on technology and strategy by leaders from McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture, CapGemini, and IBM Consulting, one partner discussed India’s changing competitive position.  Whereas I am accustomed to hearing Americans speak about the threat of Indian and Chinese competition, I was not expecting to hear the same sentiments expressed by Indian professionals about emerging Asian economies (e.g., Vietnam).  The professionals discussed the inability of the country to continue competing solely as a cost-leader and warned of complacency in the midst of an ever-increasing global competition.  It will be really interesting to see how the country defines itself as a unique player in the world market.

2 weeks in & loving it (mostly!)

Just a quick editorial note: I'm having issues with spacing when I add photos, so please excuse the weird line spacing and random sentences that skip to the next line!  (Open to pointers too!)

Things continue to surprise and challenge me here, but the more time that passes (2 weeks now) in-country, the more comfortable I'm becoming.  The little things - the late trains, nonfunctioning phones, obstinate auto-rickshaw drivers, language barriers, etc. - are the cause of my occasional frustration, but they'll also surely be the things that I'll miss and laugh about once we've returned to the States.  I'm trying to embrace the unique nature of India and soak it all in while I am able.  Also, the samosas seem to make everything better!

I've really enjoyed my classes here at ISB, and I'm learning a lot about the Indian business

 setting, as well as more general MBA concepts (which is really good, since I'm down to 8 weeks of classes!)  I've also had the opportunity to:

1. Learn about Hyderabad's history through a tour of the city (a Hindu temple and the ancient Golconda Fort)
   
2. See the countryside and village life (while attending a conference in the coastal state of Kerala)
3. Take pride in my U.S. roots while abroad (Obama-mania is present worldwide!)

In terms of classes, I'm spending two days a week in classes and using the other days to study and work on a Duke Global Health Institute project here in Hyderabad.  The students at ISB

 are in their second week of recruiting, and things are increasingly stressful here.  It seems as though the recession is truly having global impact on hiring, but there are several more weeks of recruiting.  The students here do their recruiting/interviews throughout the weekends, and they are only allowed to have one offer at a time - a fact that makes me feel really grateful for the recruitment process in place at Duke.  As the ISB program is only a year long, the recruitment process is condensed and even more high-stakes than for those of us who've attended two-year MBA programs.  Wish them well!

Our (the exchange students') city tour was pretty amazing. The international students at ISB arranged for a full day of touring and getting to know Hyderabad.  We visited a Hindu temple that overlooked the city, spent time touring Golconda Fort - an amazing site with historical significance and beautiful architecture, and tried some of the local fare.  We also spotted a camel walking through the streets, explored the shopping attractions, and spent the evening learning about Indian weddings from our friend Sreejah.

This past week, Ty and I traveled to Calicut, Kerala, where I attended the First International Conference on Public Health and Palliative Care.  Because I have worked as both a public health and a hospice nurse and am really interested in global health, it was an incredible opportunity for me to meet major players in the field internationally, to visit organizations and meet physicians who I had recently researched for a Public Policy class at Duke, and to see village life in India.  80% of Indians in Kerala receive the palliative care (end-of-life care and symptom management for diseases that are incurable) that they need, whereas only 2-4% of Indians have access throughout the rest of the country.  

The conference consisted of a village visit and then two days of paper & poster presentations, dialogue, and networking.  Ty and I visited a village during the state's Palliative Care Day, and we traveled to see over 200 volunteers collecting money, educating the public, and soliciting new volunteers.  We also saw the clinic, a school education programs (to make the young aware of the importance of caring for the dying), and a household with 3 patients: an elderly woman with cancer and her two daughters (one with cancer and one with kidney disease).  The family and palliative care professionals welcomed us, the volunteers were extremely dedicated to the mission of the organization, and the generosity of the poor in the village was incredible (We witnessed amazing financial generosity on the part of the villagers).

One very cool Duke connection was made during the conference too!  A public health and palliative care physician from Singapore was attending the conference, and she's affiliated with the Duke-National University of Singapore.  We know several of the same Duke physicians, know the same palliative care professionals from New York City, and even lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn (though not at the same time).  Who would've guessed we'd cross paths in a small coastal city in India?!

Finally - Obama-mania! It's wild how many people in India want to talk about Obama and the impact that they hope he has on the world.  Whether in classes ("What will happen to the economy when Obama is inaugurated?"), in the villages of Kerala ("Your president can be the best man in the world or the worst. We think Obama will be the best,") or in the midst of an Australian sociologist's public health plight ("We need hope in this field - if only Obama was here to help me with this!")  After traveling around the world and hearing negative comments about Americans and the leadership of our country, it feels really refreshing, exciting, and promising to hear these words from people that live a world away from our borders.  

On that note, enjoy the inauguration, and thanks for reading...

Day Two at ISB

After waking at 4:30 am for the second morning in a row (ah, jet lag!) to the sound of the Hyderabad night, interrupted by the call to prayer from the mosques around Hyderabad, I watched the sun rise from our campus apartment.  What a gorgeous way to start the day... (...followed by a cappuccino in the open-air atrium, a swim in the olympic size pool, and blogging outside in the 80 degree, sunny weather!)

Ty and I arrived in Hyderabad on Sunday morning after 3 flights, 2 airport bus rides, and a taxi trip on the outskirts of our new home city.  Hyderabad seems to be booming, but we've yet to travel into the city itself.  From what we hear and read, the city is divided into an old city, which has existed for centuries, and a new city, growing quickly thanks to its reputation as a multi-national-friendly business center.  As we drove in, we saw construction happening everywhere - paving of roads, building of bridges, and construction of houses and office buildings.  

This new area, near ISB's campus, is known as High Tech City or "Cyderabad".  From our campus apartment, we can see the Infosys and Microsoft campuses - both quite impressive.  We plan to venture off campus this afternoon by foot and take a shuttle ride (about an hour) into the city tomorrow.  I can't wait to see more of the "real" Hyderabad.  

The "unreal" part of Hyderabad that we're experiencing for the next 3 months is the unbelievable ISB campus. It feels like living inside of a royal property - castle included.  We entered the massive gates, passed the "peacock crossing" signs, and saw an amazing sight before us...the main building of ISB.  

Almost all of the students and faculty (most of which are visiting faculty from all over the world) live on campus, which makes for a very communal feel.  The majority of the 450 full-time MBA students are Indian, but the school is trying to increase its international status as a world-renowned business school...and it seems to be working.  We have professors from Wharton, Stern, NASA, and many other incredible institutions.  In addition, our exchange class for this term is made up of 42 people from the U.S., Canada, Israel, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Korea.

Although I know there are many opportunities at Duke and at our other partner institutions around the world, but I would strongly recommend considering the exchange program at ISB.  I can't count the number of times that we've uttered, "I love this place," or "India is amazing," or "We should stay forever," in the past two days...and there's so much more to come.

Stay tuned...