City Ratings - Pune

 I had floated the idea of rating cities by a few things that matter to a common citizen. Here is my first attempt, at rating Pune, where I live.

Commuting. Buses.. reasonable, but not as well-maintained as Bangalore. Some areas over-served, some under. 6 on 10

Metro- inadequate network. Last mile connectivity not well thought out. Cost is reasonable though. 6 on 10.

Cleanliness- roads are not cleaned adequately, particularly garbage clearance is sloppy.. 5 on 10..

Autorickshaws- very good, both metered and Uber are available at most places. 8 on 10.

Weather- better than most places, except Bangalore- 8 on 10.

Food/drink options- plenty, and growing. Seafood, North/South Indian joints are plenty, so are pizza places. Craft beer is homegrown too, like Effingut, Pune-based. We also have TOIT, and Doolally's at Corinthian Club.

Internet- good speed, options. Or else my blog and fb participation would go for a toss.

Overall, quality of life is decent. Pollution is a problem, with too much construction.. road quality needs to improve. 

Perceptions of Price

 Just like quality, price is a matter of perception. If anyone asks ÿou a question "Ïs this product/service good value?" It's difficult to answer it right away. Also, my answer may be different from yours.

The reason being that I have a certain value I attach to a product, based on my situation, and my view/attitude towards a product (I am loosely using the term product- could be a service, something you pay for). When hungry, a plate of food has immense value for anyone, but in other situations, each person may determine the value for himself, and be willing to pay (or not pay) a certain price as per his evaluation. Rational as well as intangible features influence this, as does peer influence or other social factors. Apart from affordability, of course.

Determining what is the perception regarding price among a set of consumers is a challenge for marketers. If done right, it leads to a profitable business; if not, may mean you have to tweak the price, or the product/itself to make it desirable or of adequate value.

I Want to be Accredited

We at IMT are going through the process of accreditation by AACSB, a premier agency which does that for B schools. This one is for the Ghaziabad campus. And what it does is it forces you to look at all your goals, processes, and outcomes, and also what you do about them.

But my quest is for an accreditation for myself. I think that is a quest for self-discovery. Boring, universal questions like Who am I and What am I Doing on the planet are passe. But What am I, or what should I do for the rest of my time here, and how, can be rather interesting questions to answer. So can I get some volunteers to accredit me? Maybe for a small fee, like a night out with a drink and a movie? Or a barter, that I will do unto them what they will do unto me.

I need answers to just a few Qs.

What am I doing well? Not well?

How do I bring in continuous improvement and Total Quality Management to my life? (the Japs did it in Toyota, I know, but I am talking more important stiuff than a mere automobile here).

How do I measure my Happiness Quotient.

This is a small but important list. Yours might be different.

I think we could (at least I could) benefit from an accreditation agency- or a person.

Actual Experience Minus Expectation

There is a theory in Services Marketing that the Satisfaction of a Service customer for any kind of service is given by a formula Perception of Performance- Expectation. If Perception of actual service experience is higher than expectations, the customer is satisfied. Could be true of life as well. Karma with zero expectation would probably sound outrageous to most of us, but isn't that what the famous four lines from the Bhagvad Gita advocate?

But that (lowering of expectations) applies only to "rewards" that one expects, and not to the quality brought to the doing of the job. There are intangible gains from anything done well. A smile of gratefulness, a burp of satisfaction (from a belly you filled with your cooking), a hug from a child you told a story to, or a look of understanding (rare though it may be) from a student you have been teaching.

My favourite example of expectation and its impact is from films. Sholay was one of the best things to happen in the Hindi film industry. But expectations from Ramesh Sippy (the director of Sholay) were sky-high after that, and he could never again meet them, not with Shaan (not a bad movie) or any other film he made since. So, the flip side of doing well, be aware, is that it will raise expectations from you for the next time. Not such a bad thing, really, for quality improvement.

Institution Building Workshop at IIT Delhi

I was speaking at the workshop attended by promoters and directors of engineering, architecture and management colleges when I realised how fortunate we are at IMT to have an ecosystem that promotes excellence, academic freedom and all the values that academicians and students cherish. Many colleges and institutes are still struggling with basics like goal definition or goal-setting, and then implementing ideas that will take them towards it.

Fundamental questions are about quantity and quality of admissions, and many have no control over it due to being forced by an overpowering regulatory system in their respective states. If you cannot choose your students, how do you ensure the output quality for industry or other sectors who will employ them?

Unless the basics of a brand are in place, how will you attract the best faculty to teach bright minds and engage in research, publications, case writing and other intellectual activities which distinguish an academic institute?

The classic struggle between the long term view versus short term view in institution building still dogs the people who have set up many institutions. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? That was an interesting debate, given an oversupply and near-perfect competitive market for engineering and management courses in particular.

Some other presentations were on the Planning Commmission's view on Higher Ed. which included comparisons with China, presented by a member of the commission, and some views on Faculty Retention and Development, Learning Processes, and other issues that keep academic debates alive. Building and sustaining an educational brand is as interesting a brand-building subject as any other kind of brand. It involves managing reality and perceptions of all stakeholders including alumni, students, promoters, industry and other sections of society. A live laboratory, if you will.