Student / Alumnus. When you look back at your days in MICA, what are the major things you remember? Response: I remember my friends and my favorite faculty members. I had a wonderful time. The lectures of Prof Matthews and his movies are something I remember the most. Hostel life and the fun we had. Especially, the small practices we had such as the regular parties and song singing and group studies are some of my strongest memories.
What are the different fests and festival celebration at MICA?
Response: MICA has a very lively life and the celebrations continue throughout the year. We start with the fresher's party, followed by the Oorja (the cultural festival), then we have the MICANVAS in November which the Business Fest of our college. I have heard now we even have the Sankalp's theatre festival and the literary fest. All these fests provide students exposure in an array of fields.
What are the basic courtesies followed, modes of addressing friends, seniors?
Response: Well amongst students there is a very informal culture. The modes of addressing faculties and administration remained very formal and traditional. Sir and ma'am were the most used modes of addressing. The faculty was always prefixed with professor or doctor depending on the qualification.
What is your perception about the institute in terms of placements and your desired deliverables from the institute?
Response: The quality of the faculty is good; their experience level is also good. The teacher to student ratio is also good. Also, the number of visiting faculty and their relevant experience made the institute earn a good name and respect in the industry ad the prospective students. The students came from very diverse backgrounds making class interactions very interesting and fruitful. The management was also very helpful, in certain terms the management did things to which the students did not agree. Students found hard to adjust to some rules that they found hindered their freedom. The applications for leave and absents were processed very late and there existed a lot of red tape. The higher management did things in the right way and would hear out the students which ultimately struck a balance. The fee was Ok, compared to other premiere institutes in India. There were various exchange programs but I did not participate in any.
What about the hygiene factors such as the infrastructure etc.?
Response: This is one place where I think MICA needs to work hard compared to its growth in number of students and courses run. The Mess needs to be enlarged and so the number of classes (which i have heard are bring done). Te library needs more reading rooms and space for more books. Also, there exists a shortage of rooms for students even during our time for certain other courses.
Employee
Sir, when did you join MICA?
Response: I joined in 2002.
What prompted you to join MICA and stay on?
Response: It was a good job and paid well. The culture is good, all the employees gel well. Students invite the staff and faculty to all cultural events. We feel as a part of the MICA family. It a fun place to work. I get to stay in Ahmedabad too.
Who do you report to and how is the interaction with your superiors?
Response: I report to the Program Office. Since I am here for the past many years, my interaction with them is now traditional but the power distance has reduced. I feel comfortable in saying what I feel like. I also, get leaves and days off accordingly. The seniority still remains but you do make good friends with the people at work place.
Are there some aspects in MICA that you would like to change?
Response: Yes, the students need to be more punctual and disciplined. Over the years the seriousness amongst students has decreased. Now if you would excuse me, I have some important work to do. Nice talking to you.
Culture of MICA
MICA has always been a breeding ground of scouting and grooming individuals that are handpicked from crowd, and the same culture has been prevalent over a number of years now. A culture which simply secernates you from the rest. MICA promotes a culture which not only aims to predict the future, but also to lay down a foundation to traverse the hurdles expected in future.
Culture of MICA has evolved gradually over the years and now is in process of a paradigm shift. Practising leadership, questioning the rationale behind every decision, realizing the necessity and might of communications are certain qualities which have always formed the core of each and every student at MICA. With the inherent ability to carve out a niche in every domain is another characteristic which is a sublime part of MICAn culture. Attributes of innovativeness, creativity, forward-looking, originative are vital and formal an integral part of every individual associated with MICA, and they together strive to achieve the mission as set by MICA to the outside world, all this with a keen eye to betterment of the society.C:\Users\FTN\Desktop\3.jpg
Through our conversations, discussions and interviews with alumnus from one of the oldest batches 1997 to most recent graduates from MICA, i.e. 2010, we obtained some utilitarian insight and depth knowledge of culture at MICA, and how they have impacted and led to individual growth. From our discussions, we could see a trend of MICA being always attached to the society, and especially to Indian values, irrespective of the religion. Over the years festivals ranging from Id, Diwali, Christmas, Durga Puja, MakarSakranti, have been celebrated with great enthusiasm, and in process making the students realize and appreciate the vibrancy of Indian culture, which further helps them when they move into industry and take business decisions on practical cultural inculcated through these celebrations. One of the most interesting insights gained on culture of MICA was the presence of hierarchy within the employees of the institute. Designating every senior faculty or employee as Sir / Ma'am is something which imparts the value of respect and reverence for elders, which in turn is an integral part of our very own Indian culture.
With students and employees coming from different geographical regions and representing almost every corner of the country, the culture is almost in a state of resonance and plangency. And together they represent and unintentionally impart the eternal theme of 'Unity in Diversity'. Prevalence of so many different cultures, languages, values, beliefs are characteristics which have always been a standout point of MICAn culture. With added focus on culture, consumer and society, the ability to listen and deep dive into every bit of information coming from varied sources the student community realizes and appreciates these attributes deep embedded into them during their stay at MICA, and in turn develops professionals masters in field of communications and equally responsible towards issues prevalent in the society.
Another important piece of information divulged by eminent alumnus during conversations was the culture of openness, trust and respect for ideas. All these sound very basic traits, but in reality are extremely to practise. The relationship between faculties, students, employees or for matter anyone associated with MICA community is a very special bond, which is laid on the foundations of trust and respect, and this is what makes MICA a closely knit community, and through these exemplifying examples the students learn the power of working as a unit, and successively learn traits of functioning in teams, groups, organizations and understand the evolution of these dynamics. Furthermore, the ability to appreciate ideas and thoughts of every individual is extremely important, and the atmosphere and culture at MICA promotes and stimulates these minute, but yet crucial points.
Viewpoint - MICA perspective
Innovation and risk taking
In terms of Innovation, MICA believes that students must imbibe the culture of innovation. This can inculcated by implementing new techniques of teaching, introduction of simulations such as Blue Ocean, MarkStrat, MarkOps, tasks pertaining to group dynamics, virtual organization and its dynamics etc.
People and Outcome orientation
Employee appraisal, faculty appraisals and students through CGPA are constantly evaluated for the outcomes of the efforts of the organization. At the same time through various cultural celebrations and programs MICA does keep in check that it caters to the human needs of an organization.
Aggressiveness
MICA as an organization culturally ignites aggressiveness, through competitive spirit and keeps the aggression in limit so that the aspects are functionally beneficial for the organization.
Stability
MICA does provide stability to employees through guarantees in Job by Job permanency.
Functional Aspects of the Culture
Importance to the voice of students
Most of the times, students are recognized as the key stake holders and the teachers and staff do give a lot of importance to the concerns raised by students. This includes making way for students participating in competitions that bring laurels to the college, adjusting the schedule as per the convenience of most of the students. MICA also provides an easy access to the staff and the teachers, and hence the students can approach anyone in the campus without any apprehensions.
Encouragement to student activities
Students are encouraged to develop their personality beyond academics. Multiple student committees are a proof of the same. Key activities like placements, alumni, etc. are handled independently by the students, who respect the responsibility given to them and try and excel in these fields. Also, students are exposed to activities like golf and other sports which help develop their overall personality and helps a great deal in becoming leaders of tomorrow.
Experimentation
In an effort to constantly raise the bar, experimentation has been a key driver for MICA. This included reducing class hours to encourage self study, although this has been normalized at the request of the students, which again reflects the importance given to the students. Also, experimentation in exams by giving case studies instead of mundane questions helps free the student's minds and make them think out of the box.
Dysfunctional Aspects
Indiscipline
Deadlines for the assignments are not met and result in extensions. It has become a part of the culture. Also, students invariably end up late for the classes, as there are no serious consequences to face. The students many times act in a casual manner in front of faculty, and are highly probable to carry this approach to the industry with them, which is not good for MICA's image.
Lack of transparency
Students don't participate in the process of deciding the subjects, and the way in which they ought to be taught. This results in dissonance, with the students feeling deprived of much required knowledge, while being bombarded with unimportant content. Also, the evaluation of the assignments and the term papers is not known to the students, and hence they don't know where they need to improve. Also, certain things that were promised but not delivered. This includes subjects mentioned in the college website, excel training, etc.
Confusion in positioning
At present, the college is somewhere between a B-school and a C-school. It is clear that the college wants to become a C-school but at the fees charged by it, it is not acceptable to the students, as they look for the ROI in terms of career opportunities. This results in a clash of interest among the key stake holders that is the students and the management.
Action Plan
Discipline and punctuality
Strict norms for classroom attendance and lecture timings are required. If needed, we must go to the extent of making attending classes, discretionary to the students, so they have the option of either declining to attend, or being on time if they chose to attend.
Lack of transparency
A process needs to be in place, to ensure that syllabus is designed and updated as per industry requirements. Now, it is important that students are considered as the key stakeholder in the decision making process. The process should not be restricted to a feedback once in a semester, rather it should be more hands on, and open to change even mid way if necessary. This should also include individual feedback to students, and more transparency with respect to checking of assignments.
Feedback
The other important point is that probably students' feedback is never accounted for as the same problems recur, especially in case of faculty feedback. It also is important to communicate clearly to both students and industry as to which are the courses to which the college caters and has its strengths in.
Indiscipline
Again, the course structure should allot weightage to assignments as per time available, and should be distributed across the semester. This will prevent localized pressure schedules and keep a student occupied regularly throughout the semester. This will also avoid the embarrassing requests for extension of deadlines, which is nothing but the termite for would be MBA, who will always be running after deadlines, when he/she joins the industry.
Confusion in positioning
MICA has emerged as a premier C school in recent years. It is actually an honor to differentiate oneself as a C school in this era of B schools. But, the website and other media should also justify the same. If all web based MBA learning portals describe MICA as an excellent school in marketing, and this attracts talented people from different fields, who perceive it as a B school, then it is a failure in communication from a C school. So, our positioning should be clear, and every aspect like fees, target students, course and approach should follow suit. Confusion here spells doom for MICA's prospects, and a gradual decline is always on cards. Let's be upfront with our positioning and have only the interested ones coming here, because the ultimate objective is not just good placements as it seems, but, it is meeting the industry demand, which won't happen if we attract the wrong talent.
