Case Methodology of teaching

It has taken me almost 9-10 months to understand how to make the best use of business cases! The case methodology is extensively used at IIMA. On an average if we have 18 classes/week, we do almost 10-12 cases. i.e. reading atleast 2 cases per day.

I have gone through different thought processes, not necessarily progressively, while reading cases.

a. Read each and every point in the case to answer the questions effectively: This methodology was the norm in the 1st 1-2 months. The thought process was that every point given in the case is important and one must know all points to "answer the questions" effectively. The end objective was satisfactorily answering the key questions.

The following 2 methods are used regularly based on time constraints or prof constraints.

b. Browse through important case facts: The objective behind this method was to survive through the class and also minimize input (time given) and maximize ROI, not by maximizing output.This was the usual objective when time available was too less or motivation was at an all time low (which is the case 60% of the time ;) ). This method of reading is the most used and abuses case methodology of studying to the core.

c. Read case as fast as possible by skipping the boring theory part and attacking the crux (which means concentrating in the crucial 2-3 pages out of the 15 page case): This method was at times used when one is a bit more serious about studying or the prof is someone who will not listen to arbit CP or this method of studying has become a habit. This method is used 30% of the time. (All numbers have been statistically arrived after cross tabulation multi cultural analysis).

The 4th method of studying cases is I believe a very good method and something which I am trying to do after a revelation when chatting with a prof. He commented that "Case method is an extremely good method of teaching because you read and learn about more than 100 companies within one year and how they function". I have never read a case passionately to understand what a company did! The objective was always to analyze the problem facing the company. The objective was never to learn what all the company has done and why they did so.

i.e. for example, if I was reading a case on Toyota in Operations, I would have usually skipped through the marketing part, company history etc to go to the core Toyota production system and see what problems are there in it.

There is a significant difference in the "problem searching" approach and the "Understanding company" approach. The former method employs a "consultant mentality" and the latter, "entrepreneurial mentality".

Reading the case as an open ended experience of an entrepreneur gives so many insights about the business that a problem searching approach misses out on. I have nowadays started reading cases with such an objective i.e. reading the case as a story to know what all the company has done. It is like reading a biography of many companies and I am enjoying it a lot more.

And no, this does not take much time also. It maybe takes 25% more time than (b) or (c). Note that this method is very different from approach (a). (a) cannot be sustained due to the efforts which we need to put in. In (a) one approaches the case with "what all did the company do" and one tries to remember each and every fact whereas in (d) one reads the case with a "how and why did the company do these" where case facts are less important.

The method (d) requires a bit more effort than (b) and (c) but the learnings are much higher. I anyway skip answering the case questions while following approach(d) since its anyway discussed in class and also would require too much effort which I cannot sustain!

Method (d) is best for those courses with bad profs but good cases!

CFA Level-1 Part II

I posted this in an Orkut community. I hope its useful to someone here.

I attended the exam in Nepal. Exams started and ended sharply at correct time.

I feel I have done well. Lets see.

I would say they tested the basic fundas to the core. They did not touch advanced fundas much. If one had read the books well and thoroughly, it would have definitely been easier. Solving a few qp's would have given an idea. CFAI mocks for 100$ resembled the main exam though main exam was easier than CFAI mocks. Schweser mocks were unnecessarily tough and did not focus much on the "basics" part whcih CFA tested. Numericals were very less in main exam. Second session was slightly more difficult than 1st. I found ethics tricky in 2nd.

I would definitely say that if one prepares and is willing to slog (to remember the many concepts) it is a passable exam. If one takes it lightly and skims thru the text (schweser), you may lose out on a few qns.

I thought the most deadly questions in ethics were those were we have to identify the type of violation. 4 options were given and one of them least likely violated it. One really had to know the fundas in ethics to crack those. I already am discounting 10/36 questions in ethics since they were awesomely tricky.

I felt schweser Q Bank of 3300 questions is a much better practice ground. It tests your basics in a much better way than the book 6/book 7 exams of schweser. Book 6/ Book 7 is olympiad type of stuff which will help to understand concepts if you have time to spend on those. If one does not have time to study and does only book 6 and book 7, opportunity cost is too high. Its worth spending 100$ on the mocks. But if they dont give the mock papers to review after completing exam (they dont give as of now, so there is no way you can see the questions once test is over,only solutions can be seen), its a bit futile.

Some more points which I did not post in Orkut for PG junta:

1. Be patient while reading the questions. Dont rush thru it. Some are deceptively easy and are easy except for a word or 2 in the question. Like "annual" instead of "semi annual". "This year" vs "next year". Assuming this wrongly will give wrong answers. I made some 5-7 mistakes like this.

2. Don't skip any topic unless you don't have time. They more or less tested everything.

3. As engineers, sometimes we may concentrate more on formulas and look at theory as cut-the-crap. Dont do that. If reading from schweser, better go thru the whole text book, each line. Its just 5 books and not too tough.

4. Also, remember things these way: There will be many things in schweser which would be like: There are 3 types of .... There are 5 reasons why.... There are 6 types of risk. They are.. There are 3 types of probability.. etc Or They may not specifically quote like There are n types of... But it would be implicit in the passage. There may be some 2-5 types of things.

Remember these very well. Each point you can remember thru some code word or something. EPS, FLISKKS or whatever/however you feel like. But dont just skim thru those parts. You will find so many of those in each subject, including quants. Write them down somewhere in short form. It helps. We had many questions which were theoretical this way.


5. FSA: The SS8 and SS9 is considered tough. 2 days before the exam I made some notes which helped me.

SS9:

I drew some tree diagrams/flowchart kinda stuff. Like FIFO-> Less COGS-> More Net Income-> Better profitability. Also like DDB-> More depreciation->Less assets->Higher ROA and types.

This helped to understand how everything is linked.
I drew 1-2 tree diagrams for each topic like inventory, capitalizing etc

Also, next part is understanding restatement of financial statements when:

- Converting FIFO between LIFO
- Capitalizng vs expensing
- Operating lease was capital lease etc
- whatever to whatever

They will ask questions like if you change one from another how will it affect:

1. Balance sheet
2. Income statement
3. Cash Flow

Schweser would have given one paragraph which is lengthy while revising and you will forget soon. So, make notes of how they affect with 1-2 lines.

e.g. FIFO to LIFO for COGS (Income statement):

COGS FIFO = COGS LIFO - Change in LIFO reserve

(We got the above equation as a question but worded as a sentence)

It helps. Make such notes for each area in SS9.

SS8:

Same stuff. I/S and B/S may seem more easy when compared to Cash Flow. Please don't leave Cash Flow. Study that. There will be an example in CFAI books. Note down the formulas from that. Its very conceptual to remember too.

Would again re-edit this as and when I get time.

CFA Level-1 experience

I had been to Nepal recently to appear for CFA Level -1.

This post is a bit about CFA exams and the course in general, what I learnt while preparing, how to prepare etc. I would like to share my experience and hope its helpful to a few.

CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst. You can know a lot more about it here at their website. The exam is mainly for those who want to enter into a career in Asset Management/Portfolio Management. Mutual fund is an example of a portfolio. One can have a portfolio of stocks, bonds etc. But the exam also covers few other areas which would help one get some idea about Markets in general.

This is the syllabus one would cover if one clears all three levels. The syllabus is broken down into many parts for each level. Since the Finance profession per se does not have too many exams like those in software, CFA is considered by few as an entry ticket into the world of finance. Its considered to be a respected course and is supposedly prestigious.

Some basic facts about CFA exam:

1. There are 3 levels to complete in it. CFA Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

2. Unless one successfully completes all three levels one cant become a CFA charter holder. However one can definitely write in his resume CFA L 1 pass etc if he has cleared only L1 till date.

3. Level 1 is held twice in a year. June and December. Level 2 and Level 3 are held only once in a year in June.

4. So technically one can complete all 3 levels in 1.5 years. Appear for Dec'09 L1, June'10 L2 and June'11 L3.

5. Its paper and pencil test as of now and not a computer adaptive test and hence is conducted in a single day across the world (2 days actually, due to time differences).

6. The Level 1 and Level 2 papers are objective in nature with 4 options per question. Level 3 has 1 objective paper and 1 subjective paper with 10-12 case studies.

7. 30-40% of those who appear for L1 pass. Similar, but slightly higher number would pass L2. Around 2/3rd's pass L3. And totally 18% who appear for L1 finally end up as a charter holder.

8. The seemingly higher pass percentages must not make one complacent. The test is tough if you have not prepared well (pretty obvious huh? ;) )and does not depend just on intelligence. A lot of hard work needs to go behind it since there are innumerable concepts which have to remembered. Also, in western countries a number of MBA's, people who are into equity research, portfolio mgmt and other related financial industries appear for it and it can be assumed they skew the curve to create a higher pass percentage.

9. Level 1 has 120 questions in a morning 3 hour session 0900-1200 hrs and another 120 question afternoon session of 120 questions from 1400-1700 hrs. All question carry equal marks and there is no negative marking. So everyone will technically attempt all 240 questions since there is no downside. One need not pass in both the sessions. Totally out of the 240 marks, one has to cross the cut-off. Also, each session of 120 question is split into 10 parts (Actually into 6 parts since they club 2 parts into 1). But one need not pass in each part. So, all that matters for passing is what score you got out of 240. That is the "only number" considered.

Syllabi for Level -I along with weightage (in terms of no. of questions) when I gave the exam in June'08:

I. Ethical and Professional Standards - 15%

II. Quantitative Methods - 12%

III. Economics - 10%

IV. Financial Statement Analysis- 20%

V. Corporate Finance - 8%

VI. Equity Investments - 10%

VII. Fixed Income - 12%

VIII. Derivatives - 5%

IX. Alternative Investments - 3%

X. Portfolio Management - 5%

Preparation (specifically for Level-I) :

When we for the test by paying the 1000$ or whatever fees, we will get a set of 6-7 fat books from the CFAI institute. This can be used for preparation. The books are really conceptual and do a extremely good job of explaining the concepts etc. However one disadvantage with the book is its the typical "foreign author" book of engineering days. Like taking 6 full pages in size 7 font to prove Kirchoffs law. So, yes, one will definitely understand better if one reads from the CFAI books but will take hell lot of time. The other set of books is from Schweser. There are many more, but usually Schweser is good enough. Schweser does a wonderful job of cutting down the crap and reduces the size to almost 1/10th to 1/15th of the original CFAI books. This book, I would say, is not a typical "local author book" of engineering days, but one step above that. But still, the purpose is the same.

Usually the argument or discussion is whether to prepare from schweser or CFAI. My suggestion or study plan would be as follows.

I would not recommend studying entirely from CFAI mainly because

1. Will take 4-5 times more hours of study time than from Schweser.

2. One usually needs to revise the syllabi 3-4 times before the main exam. Revising from CFAI books is too painful

3. Too much of information. One needs to exactly know which line is important or which concept is important in an explanation or derivation running for 4 pages. i.e. The gist is not presented clearly

The way I went about it is as follows:

1. If you have an idea about where you want to end up in (say Fixed Income, Derivatives or M&A etc), based on that select a few topics which you want to read from the CFAI books for better clarity. I studied Fixed Income and derivatives from CFAI since they are usually tested during the summer placements.

2. Some areas which are not very conceptual (Set A):

a. Ethics
b. Quants
c. FSA (Financial Statement analysis)
d. Derivatives
e. Alternative Investments

Some areas which are moderately conceptual or very conceptual are (Set B):

a. Corp Finance
b. Equities
c. Portfolio Management
d. Fixed Income (pretty conceptual)
e. Economics (pretty conceptual)

If all areas are equal to you, reading from CFAI books for Set-A does not make much sense. Reading d. and e. from SET-B makes some sense. However reading economics from Set B will take lots of time.

I, most of the time, used to go through 3-4 initial chapters from CFAI to get a hang of the subject and then shift to Schweser.

Finally, all said and done, if you are planning to pass the exam with good/decent grasp of fundas, Schweser is more than enough. Reading only from CFAI, that too just once, wont ensure a pass. You would know some concepts, but cant answer the questions!

I am planning to head to Schweser only for Level II and wont touch the CFAI books unless I am stuck up somewhere. I am planning to use CFAI books only for reference. And yeah, 98% of questions in CFAI main exams can be answered by studying Schweser thoroughly (I mean there was no need to know stuff from CFAI).

Solving questions is a must. That is the best practice ground. I would suggest working hard on the 3300 questions schweser q bank. I did only 10% of the questions from that, that too in the last 2 weeks. But would suggest one to finish reading a topic and take a test in Q Bank on tat topic and keep doing the q bank now and then to strengthen the concepts. Start with Basic and Moderate level and then slowly shift to advanced levels. Would suggest one to complete all 3300 questions before L1. You would definitely be in a very good position.

Time required:

It depends on your background. Putting some 250 hours would be ideal. I would suggest targeting to complete the entire syllabi once some 6 weeks before exam. I completed just 2 weeks before and it made me jittery and I felt under prepared. Then, after that it has to be 120Q tests from Q Banks + revision of syllabi. Then, slowly start getting used to 240Q tests in a day.

Passing marks:

Target 80%+ in Schweser Q Bank tests (85% if you need to feel happy about yourself) and 65-70%+ in Book 6/7 of Schweser and 75%+ in 100$ CFAI mocks.

Target 70%+ in main exam for a pass. 65-70% range is a bit dicey and may fall in the "just pass" category of school exams. 60-65%: Pray to God

Unfortunately most of what I have written above are things which I did not do and learnt it the hard way. Hope I do a good job when appearing for Level II or god forbid, reappearing for L I.

Also, what I mentioned above as a schedule/advice etc is not to "just pass" the exam or "scrape through" it, but to get a good grasp of the subjects and also to feel very confident before the actual exam. There is a difference between being uncomfortable and passing the exam and being comfortable and passing the exam. I was definitely very uncomfortable before the exam.

Why Nepal:

There are certain issues with CFA in India. I am talking of the CFA from US. Till recently we could not give the exam in India due to some court case etc. I did not follow it much. But I knew we could not give it in India. A week before the test, they allowed the exam to be conducted in Mumbai and CFA did a wonderful job I heard by conducting it at a short period of time. However, I was from Delhi and canceling ticks to Nepal and booking again to Mumbai did not make much sense since I had to anyway spend a lot re-booking. And also giving in Mumbai this year had some risks. There were enough disclaimers from CFAI which made me a bit uncomfortable. One of the disclaimers were like "If the court rules against it the exam conducted in mumbai becomes null and void" and to that level. I was like WTF. So did not take any risks. From this December, I expect the exams to be allowed in India and no more Nepal, Bangkok, Sri Lanka trips for Indians.

Update:

*I passed CFA L-1 with 70%+ in all areas! :)

*Visited my blog after almost 6-8 months. 1st year at A was the culprit. Sorry for delay.

* http://www.analystforum.com/ is a good website for discussions on CFA. The forum junta would keep you on toes.

IIMs vs US B schools

I had posted a reply to this query at GMATclub/PG. Standard disclaimers apply.

Query Post:

It will be great if some of you guys can share your perspective/suggestions on my quandary.

1) Is IIM better than top US Bschools in terms of prospects?

I know it depends on a plethora of variables, especially boils down to 'where' I want to be.
Lets just say that I am equally open to continue in the states or pack my bags to India. In terms of ROI, you can repay the loan ~3 yrs out of an ivy league.

2) What can IIM actually do to your career?

Well, I am not talking about the few outliers who make ~$400K straight out of IIM. Where do average people land up? I am frankly concerned about making ~12L p.a after two years when my current pay is way ahead (even after taking the geographic variation into consideration)

Ultimately, I want to transition from tech to management oriented roles (strategy) and I am looking for a MBA to open those doors for me. So the question comes to - Which MBA will make more sense at this point in my career! I really wish I knew the answer to this. But the good thing is - I still have ~2 months to decide

My Reply:

Views are strictly mine. Biased and whatever. I thought of chipping in from whatever research I had done.

1) Is IIM better than top US Bschools in terms of prospects?

We need to look at this from a different point of view. If you can get an admit from the top 7 (HSW, Chichago GSB, MIT, Kellogg, Columbia) I would say its much better to do from there, mainly from the experience point of view. Whether you will get a better job is a difft issue (it depends on your relative standing in class in terms of profile). But it will open more doors in terms of intl network, alumni being in senior position etc, reputed brand names internationally etc.

From 8 to 15 rank: Tough to say. One needs to take a call. Very very subjective. Though I would still say do an US MBA mainly for the experience and not in terms of prospects. Prospects are again relative. If you have a wonderful profile and can get a I Bank/Mgmt consulting shortlist (which is very competitive in B Schools ranked 8 to 15) do from US. Else, chances of getting a shortlist from I banks/Mgmt consulting in IIM ABC may be higher.

From 15+ rank: IIM ABC would be better in terms of chances. i.e. If you have a very good profile, getting into I Bank/Mgmt consulting from IIM ABC would be easier than from those instis.

But remember one important thing. From IIMs most students join an I Bank or a Mgmt consulting firm as an analyst and after 2 years automatically become an associate. A few firms like LB, DB and Barclays have started giving associate positions. But if you get a job in an I Bank or Mgmt consulting firm from US B school you will join as an associate. Only if you have relevant work ex would you get to join from ABC as an associate whereas in US, relevant work ex is not necessary.

2) What can IIM actually do to your career?

IIM ABC: If you want to work in India, its very good to do from these since they are wonderful brand names in India and will open doors. Basically, whatever door a HSW will open in US, similar doors will open if you are from ABC in India.

If you want to work in US, ABC gives an opportunity to get a front end job there which is otherwise not possible from India. But thats it. It may still take sometime for ABC junta to establish themselves there and the brand becoming well known. If you want to make a shift away from the typical firms from wall street which recruit at IIMs, it may be difficult to land a shortlist in US since the brand name is yet to become famous.

In ABC, if your profile is good, you can make a 20 LPA+ to as high as 30-35 LPA (including bonus) in Indian I Banks. I am not considering the outlier 50 LPA+ jobs which 1-2 get in PE firms.

If you end up in tier-1 consulting, its 18 LPA-20 LPA.

General mgmt firms, tier-2 banks, non i banking banks, tier-2 mgmt consulting etc from the industry pay less. 10-16 LPA with 10-14 LPA being the norm.

I have written above mainly from career perspective since that was your question. Learning environment in top 15 US B schools would definitely be better than from IIM ABC due to the fact that most students would have work ex and discussions in class will be better and more insightful. ABC is also slowly shifting towards people with more work ex. A few years back, 60% of a class were freshers. These days its dropped to 30%. However, it will still take a lot of time to catch up with the methodology of US B schools.

In Each of the IIMs, ABC, you would find top 30-40 students who, if they had maybe worked for 3-4 years, can get into HSW. The stud profile guys. The ones who topped their schools, got offers from MIT, Stan for MS, Represented India in olympiads at Russia and types, State level sportsmen, started NGO's, 9 pointers out of 10, Worked at DB, LB, Mck etc in India (which is not easy), Full scholarships during college etc, top 100-300 JEE rankers. Whatever they have done, they have been really good in those. They usually join IIM ABC within 0-2 years of work ex. The topmost 1-4 of these guys join PE firms like Blackstone, Apax, Caryle, Sun group and likes these days and make insane money similar to PE firms in US.

However this group, once they work for 3-4 years, they don't apply to IIMs. They apply to HSW and usually are the desis who make to H & S and the remaining top schools. But the 3-4 yrs of work experience would bring in a lot more perspective and maturity towards life and hence the learnings would be better. But they join IIMs earlier and miss out on those.

Mail on CAT preparation

I received a mail from a close family friend as follows. Edited to protect privacy.

Dear Pradeep

X is doing his final year (2008 to 2009) in ECE, from PSG Kovai.

Kindly advise what he should do next and guide him to also to be successful.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Y

My reply. May be beneficial to few.

Dear Uncle,

It is the right time for him. He can do the following:

1. First is to get a feel whether he wants to do an MBA. There are many who are interested in MS from US/MTech from IISc. He would know better. MS must not be done just with the idea of entering into US. If he genuinely wants to work in the technical sector, he needs to do one. GATE is a good exam to join IISc in India for MTech. But he has to secure in the AIR top 10-200 (depending on the course) to secure a seat at IISc. Its not as tough as it seems. Dedicated efforts can get him there.

2. In case he feels MBA is something he wants to do, for e.g. he gets interested reading Economic Times or news related to business etc, then he can look at an MBA. He need not close GRE/GATE as options. But its better to decide earlier whether he wants to pursue a technical career or pursue a career in business related fields.

3. There is again the question of whether he actually is interested in higher studies. But then, I wont attack it here. He is in final year and will have an idea about these.

4. I am now assuming he is interested in an Indian MBA from one of the top 10 institutes and proceeding further.

5. The CAT'08 exam would be held in Nov 2nd week sunday. This has been the norm.

6. IIMs, SPJAIN, NITIE, FMS, XLRI, MDI Gurgaon, IIFT, IIT Bombay are some of the good colleges (in no particular order.)

7. He first has to get some books from some of his class mates/college mates at PSG. There will always be a bunch of people preparing for CAT seriously in the final year and who would have joined come classes

8. He has to join a Mock CAT series from one of the leading instis. 3 of the famous coaching centres conducting these are TIME, IMS, Career Launcher. I would advice to join TIME test series. If possible, better to join 2 test series if the time does not overlap.

9. Its important to understand where he stands in these tests based on his natural intelligence. There is no need that everyone from PSG/NITT/Anna will do well in these tests. But the chances are definitely higher since the students supposedly belong to better colleges.

10. He must average out in 4-5 tests and understand where he stands. That is judged thru percentiles. Percentile means what percentage of students did you beat. If one secures 99 %ile, then he belongs to the top 1%age of the test takers.

General guidelines (consistent performance is assumed) -

a. 98%ile and above in TIME test series with 95%ile + in each section (there are usually 3 sections) : Good score and student is already ready to get into IIMs. He has to just work harder and work on his strategy to perfect it

b. 95-98%ile or 98%ile+ but problems with 1 section -> Potential definitely there to get into IIMs. Hardwork is necessary and if he works hard can start touching 98+ scores. Identification of weak areas is crucial.

c. 90-95%ile -> Okayish scores. Definitely needs to work very hard for IIMs. More hardwork and dedication needed to crack it. Must improve on weak areas.

d. Less than 90%iles -> Less scores. Not easy. Though many have done it through hardwork. A lot of hardwork and genuine introspection needed whether he is capable of scoring a 98+. Else, need to apply to many other colleges if MBA is needed. IIMs are tough, but definitely nothing is impossible.

11. When starting to prepare, its normal for people to be in class 'd' as above and move on slowly to class 'a' with preparation and hardwork. Class 'a' means chances of conversion are very high. But luck plays a crucial role too. Its a 150 min test and every mark counts.

12. Not to get de motivated by low scores initially. It happens to everyone.

13. Read newspapers daily and keep track of whats happening around. Better to be smart and well read. Not to crack CAT, generally its high time one develops those qualities before entering corporate world. It will keep him in good stead.

14. For getting calls from all 6 IIMs, I think a score of 99.5%ile overall and a 96%ile+ in each section would be appropriate. Though people with lesser scores also get calls from fewer IIMs. Very few get calls for less than 98.5%ile. Sectional cut-offs are "extremely important". No point in scoring 99.90%ile overall with a less than 90%ile in one section. Probably no IIM will call him.

15. He would know what the 3 sections are etc from his class mates.

Once he gets IIM calls, we can discuss about Group Discussion/Personal Interviews etc. Good reading habits will help him there.

I hope it was helpful. Everyone will give many advices and "paths to get into IIMs" and all. Over a period of time, I guess he will become intelligent enough to develop his own methodology for this test.

Finally, many have a bad day in these tests. His intelligence need not be judged by this test. Its not a perfect test to measure that. There is too much of randomness involved in it.

All the best for him. He can contact me when any help is needed. Its important to give CAT'08 to understand where he stands.

Great Programs

One of these 3 Programs which I may wish to do in my life at some point in time. More for the opportunity it gives to study in these great schools than anything else.

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sloan/
http://mitsloan.mit.edu/fellows/
http://www.london.edu/sloanfellowship.html

Around 10-15 yrs work ex necessary for the 10-12 month programs.