Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (2014 - 15)

Process
The selection process at IIM A consists of an Essay Writing (WAT) followed by a Personal Interview.
Feedback- Essay Writing/Case Study
Average Duration: 30 mins
No. of Participants: 7
  • There was a debate about school exams getting easier. One group said pass percentage above 98% so easier. Other group quoted analogy from Mt. Everest climbers and the number of people ascending the mountain now as compared to mere 2 in 1953. Identify and evaluate the assumptions made by the speakers and also suggest a method for checking.
  • You recently came to know that the school in which you have studied is planning to replace book-based library with Computer Systems based library. Their argument is that students find books boring and time taking. But you feel books are the best method to learn, so you write them to reconsider their decision. Identify and evaluate the assumptions made by the school and provide strong enough points to validate your views so that they change their decision.
  • "Car for All" company which sells entry level cars is thinking about acquiring a luxury brand. "Car for All" company is very excited about it but they fear that their association with low cost car brand will turn down the customers. Analyze.
  • Telecom sector is planning a toll charge for Voice-over-internet and messaging applications like Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, since they have huge investments and infrastructure cost unlike these apps. Asked to analyze the reasons/arguments given and assumptions by telecom companies, and give arguments to weaken their argument, and arguments which can strengthen their argument.
  • Ancient Indian scientists haven't been given the due recognition. The ancient scriptures tell that Indian scientists had long before developed aviation technology. The Wright Brothers are unduly credited with the invention of the airplane. Identify the reasons, assumptions and analyze as to how rational the argument was.
Feedback - Personal Interview
Average Duration: 15-25 mins.
No. of Panelists: 2
  • Excerpts From Interview 1: Tell me about yourself. So you said sports freak. What sport is in news? Any international level event going on? Which match today? What time was it? Would you get up at 5.30 to watch a match? You said you are an automobile freak. What is the future of electric cars in India? Why are oil prices going down? Why does OPEC want prices to be down? Automobiles have external or internal combustion? Name and explain external combustion. Difference between petrol and diesel engine. What else except sports? How did you manage your CAT preperation and family business?
  • Excerpts From Interview 2: So what do you do? Leaving the line about which you know, don't you think you are taking a risk? Or let me say, in my views, you are taking a risk. Now tell me, it is a prudent one or a stupid one? Why prudent? Are you sure this can be called prudent? What other calls? Suppose you don't get any converts, then would it be a stupid risk?
    Still let us consider the unlikely event of not getting any call, what would you do? What is your engineering branch? What did you learn in Electronics? So what subjects do you like in communication? Tell me about digital communication? Why is it preferred over Analog communication? Questions on methods of transmission, difference in quality, error correction etc.
    How old is Ericsson? When it started providing telephone/mobile services? What was the working domain earlier? Are there any issues in current system (Ericsson only)? What is the next big thing coming? Do you see any major innovation beyond this IP thing, in case of communication? What do you do in your free time?
  • Excerpts from Interview 3: Tell me about yourself. Questions related to company and work profile. Tell me your hobbies
    How long do you do skipping? I have seen some ropes having a counter on the handle. How does that work? Is it a low intensity or high intensity workout? Recently Kailash Satyarthi was in news? Do you think it was fair to club them together?
    How much does it cost per MW for Nuclear power? What is this Obama-Modi nuclear thing going on? Are you sure the victims cannot sue the suppliers?
  • Excerpts From Interview 4: Tell something about yourself, not mentioned in the form, something like as a person. How are you? Give me some examples of some real life situations which does not involve mathematics. Give more examples. Give some real world problem where you did data analysis. Did you do this analysis or is it available? So, exit polls for Delhi elections are out. Why do you think BJP is losing in spite of winning at every other place? Why should people vote for Arvind Kejriwal who resigned in 49 days? What will Arvind Kejriwal do to bring water to Delhi? What do you in your job? What was your favorite subject? Questions on Data Structures & Algorithms. What sorting algorithm do you prefer: Quick Sort or Merge Sort?
  • Excerpts From Interview 5: Tell me about yourself. You seemed to be doing quite well in your earlier job. Why did you leave that and joined a startup? Who all are your competitors? Who all were your competitors when you were working in the MNC? Do you keep track of current affairs? Or read some books or magazine? Which book you read last? So, in which 5 year plan India gave more importance to the industries? What was the year in which 2nd year plan was initiated? What's your opinion on the labor reforms in India? Give me one pro and con of the labor reforms in India. You mean that the job security will be reduced for the laborers? What do you think about the education sector in India? What about the girl children? Why do they drop out? So what is MOM? You have worked in the Telecom sector. So tell me about the IT Minister. Do you think it's correct for the Indian government to appoint a person who has no prior experience to the IT industry as the IT minister?
    So what do you think Delhi is a state or a Union Territory? Who should be having the reins of the Delhi Police then?
    You are from Bihar. Tell me which river is called the "Sorrow of Bihar"? You sure? And why is it called so? What's 2.5 G? What's the difference between 2G, 3G and 4G? Why do you think the cost of the spectrum is so high? Can you suggest some better method for allocating the spectrum to the companies?
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