GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS

                                                                                                                Dr. Nitin Deshpande

                                                                                                               

Selection process these days has become very tough due to ever increasing competition at all levels. In order to have total assessment of an individual from all perspectives and to minimize the risk of wrong selection, the organizations/institutions have been using a no. of scientific and systematic tools. Two such techniques, with which generally youngsters are little less conversant, are group discussions and personal interviews. This article tries to throw some light on various aspects involved in the two techniques-

GROUP DISCUSSIONS-

The purpose is to assess behavior of an individual especially in groups. Working in teams has become the norm today. In such situations, behavior and response of an individual is highly significant. His listening skills, ability to convince others, home work etc play an important role. During selection programme, most of the professional institutes lay an emphasis on group discussions. The moderator after explaining the rules and announcing the topic silently observes all the members and notes down his observations and evaluates each participant.

The normal time duration ranges from 20-30 minutes per GD and the no. of participants are typically 8-10 in a group. After announcing the rules and topic, the participants are given 2-3 minutes to write down their thoughts, strategies of participation. This is followed by 15-20 minute actual discussion and last 1-2 minutes are given for summing up. Thus one has to effectively prepare on various topics and manage time along with creating lasting impressions. Here are some useful tips and hints for enhancing performance during group discussions-

• ·         Keep ready a 15-20 second introduction with your name, the place you are from, the degree and the name of the College/Institute/ University from which you are pursuing your degree.
• ·         Have a small note pad to take notes/ jot down your/others points. It serves purpose especially if you have to summarize.
• ·         Never address the moderator. Address the group. The moderator ceases to exist, once the GD starts.
• ·         Do not start GD for the sake of it. Once you are convinced that you are adding value to the topic, and then only get into discussions.
• ·          Do not repeat your/someone else’s points. You get score for your points only once.
• ·         Be precise and to the point. If you go into a long sentence, others may interrupt in between and you will not be able to complete your points.
• ·         Make it a point to participate constructively in the GD, at least 3-4 times.
• ·         Do not address any participant by name. Either use his no. while calling him or just say “As he/she said”.
• ·         Do not seek intervention of the moderator at any point of time directly/indirectly.
• ·         Keep in mind to address the pros and cons of the topic given. Remember it is a discussion and not argument or debate, where you have to take sides.
• ·         You never earn points by proving others wrong. Make your contribution and move on.
• ·         Do not point fingers at your co-participants or be aggressive during the discussions. Be cool and composed but at the same time alert and attentive.
• ·         Do not use slang or vernacular.
• ·         Maintain eye-to-eye contact with the group. Display your energy level and overcome fear factor.
• ·         Do not show disappointment on your face.
• ·         Be in the discussions always, you may have to speak at any point of time or you may be asked to do so.
• ·         Practice with different groups on different topics to sharpen your skills.

SOME TOPICS OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS FOR PREPARATION

• ·         Use of mobile phone to be banned on campus
• ·         Education and success- is there any correlation?
• ·         Should government ban consumption of liquor and cigarettes?
• ·         Cost cutting by job cutting- is it justified?
• ·         Corruption- causes, effects and remedies
• ·         Manufacturing Industry cannot adopt “Software Culture” –true or false.
• ·         Privatization of Aviation Industry
• ·         Reservations in private sector
• ·         Coalition government- need of the hour
• ·         Women make better managers than men
• ·         Ethics in marketing
• ·         In advertising- truth is irrelevant
• ·         Ban on strikes in government organizations/PSUs
• ·         Indians are physically incapable of competing at the highest level in international sports
• ·         Boom in market-how far it is true?
• ·         Kashmir Issue- war is the last solution
• ·         Bhagwat Gita and Management
• ·         Arranged versus love marriages
• ·         Perform or perish- mantra of today
• ·         Reservations in IITs and IIMs
• ·         Generation X- Masti Ki Pathshala

PARAMETERS OF GD ASSESSMENT

Following are generally used parameters for assessing GD performance:

1. ·         Subject knowledge
2. ·         Clarity of thoughts
3. ·         Ability to build on other’s ideas
4. ·         Communication skills
5. ·         Ability to think out of box
6. ·         Leadership skills
7. ·         Convincing power
8. ·         Time Management
9. ·         Listening skills
10. ·         Overall Impact

Each of the parameter carries 10 marks, thus out of 100 one gets score.

PERSONAL INTERVIEW

The name of the game here is Perception (about past performance, achievements etc) and Prediction (about future). One-to-one interview is necessary and well justified to complete the assessment process. The purpose is to seek and verify information from the candidate and to decide whether to consider or not to consider the candidate. The interview is generally conducted by a panel of 2-3 experts who assess the candidate on following parameters-

PARAMETERS OF INTERVIEW ASSESSMENT

1. ·         Appearance and Manners
2. ·         Acceptability in the team
3. ·         Communication skills
4. ·         Leadership qualities
5. ·         Subject knowledge
6. ·         Knowledge of related areas
7. ·         General Knowledge
8. ·         Scholastic Achievements, if any
9. ·         Maturity and emotional stability
10. ·         Growth Potential

Each parameter has a weight age of 10 and the final score is out of 100. The interview may last for 15-20 minutes and may have multiple rounds with different panels. The basic technique of interview is Questions asked by the panel members. Apart from this the assessment is also based on observations during interview, listening carefully to the responses, taking down the notes for future references etc. This technique brings on surface either some new dimensions of personality of the candidate or validates previously observed traits during written test and/or group discussions.

Final decision is taken based on combined performance in written test, group discussions and personal interview/s.

  

Development of Teaching Faculty- Need of the hour

                                                                                             Dr. N. H. DESHPANDE

Preamble:

 With the growth of technical Institutes in India, the Quantity part is probably addressed. The million dollar question remains is that of Quality. Are the Institutes imparting quality education to the budding engineers and managers? Big question mark! And the answer is known to virtually everyone. The policy makers may be strategizing their actions towards this. The managements may be worried about it. The teacher community may or may not be concerned with it. The parents obviously search for Institutes where world class, highly qualified and experienced faculty is working. But the most affected and hence vocal component of education system (around whom everything revolves) is certainly not comfortable with the situation. Thus Faculty development for Teaching Learning effectiveness in Engineering Colleges and Management Institutes is a matter concern of every stakeholder of the system. With the kind of fee structure that prevails, it is (otherwise also) the birth right of every student who gets admitted to professional courses, to have best-in-class education.

With the number of Institutes, as said earlier, no where demand-supply situation was studied properly. Where do we get over night, faculty members who are not only qualified, competent but also meet the requirements of the regulatory bodies? The obvious choices are-

1.      Get faculty from existing Institutes. (Limited and undesirable option in long run.)
2.     Industry is another reservoir of qualified resources- working professionals who wish to             switch over to education for various reasons, or retired professionals.
3.     Fresh pass outs, who along with Industry (or otherwise also these days) are readyto take         career in education as well.
4.     Re employment of those (from all walks of life) who are still energetic to offer their                    services.

Role of Faculty members in changing scenario:

Another profound reason is that the role of the faculty members in Engineering Colleges and Management Institutes has undergone considerable changes over last decade. The training and development need has been intensified in recent times due to information explosion, accelerated knowledge and Industrial growth, global access to learning, increasing alternatives of student learning, demand of need based curriculum and new effective teaching and learning strategies. There is clear demand from students and parents for self-learning and more control along with quality teaching this need is forcing to undergo many changes in teaching and learning process. The changes are so accelerating that any attempt to respond those using established principles, models, practices and processes is likely to be out of order.

On the other hand, there is a pressure on the Institutions from Industry also, to perform better and take steps so that the employment of pass outs is assured. The findings of various surveys clearly indicate that employability of these pass outs is pathetic. There is a need to enhance both effectiveness and efficiency in using institutional resources to make the institutional activities cost effective. There is also a pressure on the institutions to become more autonomous and self sustained in its activities including financials.

Faculty is the key person who manages the whole gamut of activities of the Institute. The faculty is in true sense the face of any Institution. He carries out variety of academic, administrative, managerial and financial activities. If faculty devotes some time and efforts to re-look at the way of using his T-L style, he can better manage the time and resources considering his changing role. There are variety of tools and techniques available including the use of skill up gradation courses to cope up with the changing environment.

The Institutes have tried all options mentioned above and now one concept has prominently come to stay- select those who are ready to join and try to develop them.

Need for faculty development:

On this backdrop, there is a need to sharpen the basic teaching and managerial skills of faculty members of Engineering Colleges and Management Institutes.

But the problem is that there is no formal, structured mechanism (like B. Ed. or D. Ed.) to develop faculty members working in professional institutes.

Training is no doubt universally accepted tool to enhance employee performance in every organization. Faculty members with or without formal teaching experience / background cannot be exception to this. While the word training is becoming little outdated and also taken with a bit of insult tone (Why do I need to be trained? What is lacking in me?), the word Development is increasingly finding acceptance. Development is better quality of life, so even teaching fraternity has no objection to this phrase. It sounds better. Another reason is training gets confined to job performance enhancement, while as development is overall and holistic. So it gets extended to personal life as well. Thus there can be assured support from the participants.

Solution:

Institute needs to organize FDP more frequently for both fresh faculty members and old timers. The programme objectives could be learning and teaching strategies, Media, methods, selection, managing resources and student learning, curriculum analysis, instructional system design and development, implementation and evaluation.

The courses can cover variety of topics such as System approach, boundary, input,

 transformations area, output, feedback, loop Expectation theory, role efficiency, role conflict,

 job, duty norms. Teaching skills, instructional models and strategies, Priority, Challenges,

 Problems, Definition of learning, motivation, models factors,  Recognition, reinforcement,

 cognitive, behavioral and classical theories, ope rant condition. Cognitive, psycho motor, 

affective domains, modified Blooms taxonomy, creativity, hypothesis, decisions, problem 

solving models, Portfolio Concepts, models performance analysis, job and task and learners

 analysis, Macro and Micro instructional plan.

The programmes can emphasize interactive learning using techniques that include syndicate work and presentations, case study, home assignments, group creativity, action learning etc.

Outcome:

Besides enjoying inputs, the programmes can also act as an eye-opener that job of a faculty is multi-faceted and not an easy one. The real outcome will be over a period of time in terms of improvement in class room interactions, use of newly learnt techniques, enhanced confidence level of faculty etc.

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Employability Gap

                       

Dr. N. H. DESHPANDE

Preamble-

This phrase is something which we often hear. Is it a myth or reality/ If yes, then what is this gap? A close look at transformation of students into working professionals is always a pleasant process. The reason behind this statement is- In school/colleges we normally get EDUCATION but in real life we LEARN. The very reason of this gap, which normally exists, is that preparedness of students at college and expectations of industry for fresh talent hardly match. On one side we talk about ecosystem for better employability between Industry & Institution and we hardly attempt to bridge it.

Employment & Employability-

These two words appear to be synonymous but their meanings are wrongly misinterpreted. While as employment is a temporary phase, on which all our TPOs in Polytechnics, Engineering Colleges & Management Institutes normally focus, the employability (which is permanent in nature) is overlooked. The students, Institutes, Parents and Industries are short sighted on “Placements” and at a later state realize that there is MISMATCH.

June every year is admission season, even for post graduate courses. Due to increase in no. of Institutions that offer these courses, marketing of these Institutes has become most essential to reach the prospective students. In the process of attracting students for admission, a no. of tall claims is made, which hardly can be verified. Besides infrastructure, buildings, and facilities like transport, canteen etc invariably mention of placements is made. The lucrative word was “100% Placements” which is now getting replaced by “100% Placement assistance”. As if, the main role and purpose of teaching institutes has now shifted to offer merely placements from hardcore teaching and preparing the students for life. Education is for life but in the journey, most of the Institutes tend to be placement agencies.  Unfortunately many students, parents also get attracted to such Institutes.  A friend of mine in Pune, who runs a group of management Institutes, proudly (?) says- “I run coaching classes. I charge heavy fees from MBA aspirants coach them for two years and get companies (at any cost) in my campus, to give them offer letters.”

What happens to these students, after say six months, he never bothers. He then is worried about next year’s admissions.

The trend visible in such newly passed out and recruited students, is that they get placement from the Institute, they may or may not join that organization. Keep trying elsewhere for better offer, keeping this in hand. Or else join, and within couple of months, leave the job. Many of my students have changed jobs like they change shirts. Every time a new mail id and a new cell no. I have given up the job of remembering, who is where. In stead, whenever I meet some one, I ask him/her, “Where are you currently?”

Why this is happening?

Educational Institutions are increasingly making attempts to attract industries to their campus and offer placement opportunities to their “end product”.  But the reality is that the students are hardly employable. Given below are some facts that emphasize this point;

The National Association of Software and Services Companies, NASSCOM’-McKinsey Report predicts India will confront a huge shortage of ‘skilled workers’ in the next decade. 

According to a McKinsey study, only 25 per cent of our engineering graduates, 15 per cent of our finance and accounting professionals and 10 per cent of professionals with any kind of degrees, in India, are suitable for working in multinational companies. 

A recent study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has revealed that Human Resource (HR) is the biggest challenge faced by India especially at the managerial, production and marketing levels due to the widening of demand-supply gap.

Here comes the question- What are we offering to our students- employment or employability?

The focus today unfortunately is on the former. I can understand, if students naturally aim for immediate employment. But at least Institutions should focus on larger goal- employability to prepare students for life.

There is need to realize-

1. Being employed is totally different than being employable.
2. Employment is temporary while employability is permanent.
3. Employability is combination of Skills (What you know) + Knowledge (What you do with what you know) + Attitude (How you do it facing life)      
4. Employability cannot be job specific. These are skills which cut horizontally across all industries and vertically across all jobs. These skills are no more merely desired by the employers today but are required by them.

The Changing World-

The employment market is changing fast and is characterized by-

• Deregulation
• Communications
• Growth in disposable income
• Global Trading
• Demographic Changes
• Environmental and Social equations

This has led to shifts in business strategies. The business is changing from international  to global, from competition to collaboration, from functions to processes, from component thinking to system thinking, from creating stability to managing frequent changes, from clarity to ambiguity, from standard products/services to customization, from command and control to empowerment and trust, and from complacent to enlightened workforce.

Is this being taught in India?

Generally curriculum aims at achieving the integration of diverse academic disciplines for creating managers capable of making ethical and commercially viable decisions for running the show.

To remain relevant in a fast changing world, our Institutes are teaching more so that their students can get quick job offers. The total no. of courses taught goes up to 40-45. Can we then come closer to our international counterparts in terms of teaching, research and creativity? To add to this, there are assignments and class tests which develop expertise in cut-copy-pest.  I am told, ready made printed project/seminar reports are available in market these days.

One solution can be, for providing more time for absorption and creative thinking and maximizing the freedom of choice, can we consider offering electives? In a way, the number of electives defines the level of academic competition. These electives need not be compulsory and universal in nature but can be state/area specific.  For ensuring quality, our Institutes should reduce the teaching of main courses, in stead more electives may be offered to give a wider variety of choices to students. This is critical in today's environment since the knowledge revolution is making courses obsolete very fast and, at the same time, creating scope for many more offerings.

This will certainly enhance employability of students passing out and also industry needs can be locally satisfied.

The employability skills need to be taught in Institutes. The pass outs should clearly know what the Industries are expecting from them? They should also be crystal clear about their expectations from the job, they are looking for. Match between the two can lead to employability. 

Once the Foreign University Bill is passed, many global brands will enter Indian market with reputed international degrees. In this scenario probably the leaders may not face more heat at least for some years. Some Institutes with good infrastructure can rent their facilities to foreign institutions and survive.  What about others?