Is MBA “Master of Baby Affairs”?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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It happened all of a sudden!!! I don’t know from where and when I got the idea of MBA.
Obviously, it was a tough decision to come out of the family-oriented routine and look at life differently. The “mother guilt” which every working woman faces right from the day when she joins back to work after maternity leave was haunting me throughout.
After a term at Indian Institute of Management, I have started realizing that it was not that bad a decision. The new perspective that I am getting about the world around me is definitely helping me. I know that the courses that I do here are going to help me to be a better manager, and that was the prime reason why I joined the country’s most aspired B-school for my management education. But, more importantly, I feel that I am becoming a better mother and a better person as a whole. Or am I seeing things around me a bit differently?
Being a mother for the past two and a half years, I feel a baby touch in everything that I learn here. When we got introduced to the case methodology on Day 1, I was delighted to realize that I have already used case methodology to teach my son how to wait for his turn for a swing-ride in the park. As our Prof rightly said, it is our age-old theme/value-based story telling methodology which is in the blood of each and every Indian, thanks to Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The personality theories in Organization behavior sessions are very relevant to all of us, both from professional and personal perspective. We need not think of only workplaces as organizations. I strongly feel that we should have such courses from school days. I believe that our basic character gets moulded during school days and our value system gets a shape in those divine premises. Instead of conducting interviews for parents during school admission, schools can plan for such behavioral sessions for parents (frankly I feel so tensed about my interview for my kid’s admission next year). This will possible facilitate a constructive environment in the family, “the second school” for a kid.
The dedication of Professors out here is amazing. I feel like I am in a Gurukula, where I am very much part of the Guru’s family. Teachers feel free to discuss everything with us, and the level of intimacy is very high. I have to admit that IIM is a place where you feel so proud about India and its culture. The level of intimacy is directly proportional to the depth and width of learning and I am experiencing it! When learning happens around the clock, it emphasizes the importance of time management. Any working mother will admit that time is the most precious gem that she needs. If I can improve my time management skills during this 1 year, that is the most important takeaway for me.
Am I here for Master of Business Administration or Master of Baby Affairs? After Term 1, my take is that both are complementary. The “mother guilt” is reducing day-by-day, though the emotional pull is always there. I am adding value to the manager in me, and more importantly to the mother in me. As an MBA mother, I know that life is going to be stressful, but I am sure after this 1 year of value-based education, it would be eustress, not distress.
- Sreelakshmy G
Oh still hasn't got over it alle :) its OK !! matter of another few months.
Juggling between family and MBA is not an easy task sree. Kudos to you.