I hail from a family business background and we are into the construction of roads. It has been
about thirty years since my parents started the company, and today we have about a thousand
employees. I have actively been involved in the business. According to me, the three years I
have spent is sufficient time to understand all the functional areas of the company, and today I
would like to take our business to a global platform. To be able to accomplish my goal I require
knowledge that only an MBA program can equip me with, and this learning would also help me
gain the trust of my people. Learning the business by experience will only teach us how to run
the existing business better, but I require practical exposure and all round knowledge to be able
take the business to the next level. I wanted to be a part of my business and not let go of it
completely in order to pursue a post graduate degree. Hence, I was on the lookout for an
opportunity that would help me balance both. I came across MYRA School of Business and was
completely impressed by their faculty and the beautiful campus. It also had a big advantage for
me as it is located in Mysore, and is close to my home town from where I could continue to stay
connected to my business. During my interview, Professor Nagananda and his never
diminishing energy levels inspired me.
It has been four months since the commencement of my two year program here at MYRA, and
we have completed nine subjects till date. Every subject has been unique and has definitely
added value, and taught me its importance in the real world scenario. I have always related
every subject to my business and analyzed how problems could be solved at my company, with
respect to the learning in that subject. I have also interacted closely with the high profile
professors who come from various well recognized universities and, are here with us at MYRA
for a period of two weeks and teach us their respective subject. I have also discussed certain
prominent issues regarding my company with them and they have helped me look at the
problem in ways that I was unaware of.
We started the course with the leadership subject, taught by Prof. Minu Ipe. She asked to us to
write two reflection papers on any of the topics taught. These concepts that were taken up in
class, and taught to us are related to the topics that we would deal with in the future on a regular basis. When I wrote the reflection paper, I got to know what exactly I thought about
these concepts. This helped me expand my thinking horizons. For instance let’s take the topic of
‘Change’. Change is something which is necessary in every organization. But I did not know how
to deal with implications of change. When I wrote the reflection paper on this topic and
discussed it with her, my whole perception towards ‘change in an organization’ transformed.
Family managed businesses have certain inherent culture that is brought into the organization
due to our parents and their way of approaching the business. This culture may or may not be
best suited for expansion of the company after a certain point of time. The leadership subject
taught me to recognize this culture, the core values of my company and helped me build on the
outcomes of my learning.
The following subject was financial accounting taught by Prof. Radha B. Radhakrishna. In two
weeks he showed us how to make, analyze and interpret a balance sheet. This is something
which the commerce students take months to learn. Once I was done with this subject, I was
able study my company’s balance sheet and analyze where we stand as an organization. Prof.
Radha was more like a mentor to all the students, who want to pursue a career in finance.
I could go on and on about each subject and how it changed my way of thinking. But personally,
I feel MYRA is an overall bonanza package. I could emotionally connect with the professors
which helped me discuss with them the problems I face in my business. All the MYRAcles are
from diverse backgrounds. This helped me think in multiple ways and gave me a new dimension
for every situation. We also get many industry experts who come and talk to us, and this
increases our exposure on how the industry works in reality.
The overall experience I have at MYRA is very different and unique. It has actually helped me
change my perceptions towards many subjects. It has also helped me deal with the issues in a
more effective manner. It has made me independent in ways I did not expect and helped me
learn to live alone, out of home and manage the business too. After joining MYRA the issues in
my business seemed common, and are faced by many managers. Thanks to all the professors
and industry experts who help us learn the happenings of the world. I am glad to be a part of
MYRA.