INITIUMNOVUM

A NEW BEGINNING

Dear reader, The great Greek philosopher Heraclitus once mentioned“Change is the only constant in life’’. We must be ready andprepared to face this change in every sphere of our life andface the change with new vigor, hope and positivity. The theme of this issue of SymBeat is “Initium Novum” – ANew Beginning. The theme has been diligently curated bythe SymBeat team to present various articles that willencourage you to confront everyday changes andchallenges of life while gearing up to put our best footforward. This issue of SymBeat covers the challenges facedin the corporate world with the advent of technologicalrevolution while throwing light on the hiddenopportunities that lie beneath. It has a plethora of articlesbased on the theme which portrays a creative side of thearduous writers of the college. The theme is very appropriate considering the prevailingeconomic concerns and technological vulnerability that thecorporate world has been facing in recent time. However,such situations can also be great opportunities for few whohave the potential to innovate and redefine the longcherished rules of business. I hope you will enjoy and getinspired reading SymBeat. -Dr. Rajesh Panda

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

Contents

05 Application of AI and DataAnalytics

07 Credit Rating Agencies: AFlawed Model?

11 Quantify. Analyse. Ideate.

09 Change is the new constant.How to manage it?

13 Travel Blog

17 Hope- A rhyme from heart

18 Some snapshots from#LifeAtSIBMB

20 Things you should not doin "The Office".

22 Crossword

23 Little things that Matter

24 Test or T20?

26 Food Blog

29 Movie Review- The SourceCode

30 IS ROCK AND ROLL DEAD? :Analyzing the Impact of Technologyon Music

32 Book Review- Outliers

33 What Initium Novum means to me

04 An Ode To Initium Novum

Walked smartly into MBA lifeWith a hundred dreams in our eyes

Met new faces and made new friendsWith hopes of achieving whole new scends!

Days passed by and so did nightsAssignments piled up, and so did our plights.

Events happened - and time just flew,We braved it all with a drink or two!

Mid-terms came, adding to our woesLeaving us weathered of highs and lows.

Now that we all want to get placedIt’s high time that our dreams be chased!

We rise, we fall and stand up again-And none of it will go in vain.

What you strive for, you will becomeLet this be the initium novum!

INITIUM NOVUM

-Sanchari Pait

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USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INLOGISTICSThere are many reasons to believe thatnow is the best time for the logisticsindustry to embrace AI. Never before hasthis maturing technology been soaccessible and affordable. In logistics, thenetwork-based nature of the industryprovides a natural framework forimplementing and scaling AI, amplifyingthe human components of highlyorganized global supply chains. Now is agood time for AI to flourish – this is thestate of its adoption in the world today.Logistics companies are uniquelypositioned to benefit by applying AI inalmost all aspects of the supply chain. Oneof the most underutilized assets in theindustry is the high volume of and AIwill enable logistics companies to exploit it.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USECASES IN LOGISTICS I. Cognitive Automation - Refers tointelligent business process automation usinga combination of AI and robotic processautomation (RPA). This is the replacement ofclerical labor using software robots that canbe integrated into existing businessapplications and IT systems. II. Financial Anomaly Detection -Logisticsservice providers often rely on vast numbersof third parties including common carriers,subcontracted staff, charter airlines, andother third-party vendors to operate corefunctions of their business. Here, AItechnologies like natural language processingcan extract critical informationsuch as billing amounts, account information,dates, addresses, and parties involved fromthe sea of unstructured invoice formsreceived by the company.

APPLICATION OF AI AND

DATA ANALYTICS 

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AI-Powered Customer Experience:Anticipatory Logistics takes the AI-poweredlogistics customer experience to the nextlevel, delivering goods to customers beforethey have even ordered them or realized theyneeded them. Anticipatory logistics seeks toleverage the capabilities of AI to analyze anddraw predictions from vast amounts of datasuch as browsing behavior, purchase history,and demographic norms as well as seeminglyunrelated data sources such as weather data,social media chatter etc.  Predictive Logistics: The Next OperationalParadigmIn a world characterized by uncertainty andvolatility, AI can help the logistics industryfundamentally shift its operating model fromreactive actions and forecasting to proactiveoperations with AI. Predictive Network Management using AI cansignificantly advance the performance oflogistics operations.

DHL has developed a machine learning-basedtool to predict air freight transit time delaysin order to enable proactive mitigation.Byanalyzing 58 different parameters of internaldata, the machine learning model is able topredict if the average daily transit time for agiven lane is expected to rise or fall up to aweek in advance. Predictive Risk Management is critical forensuring supply chain continuity. TheResilience360 Supply Watch moduledeveloped by DHL demonstrates the power ofAI to mitigate supplier risks. Using advancedmachine learning and natural languageprocessing techniques. Supply Watchmonitors the content and context of 8 millionposts from over 300,000 online and socialmedia sources this allows the systemto understand the sentiment of onlineconversations from unstructured text toidentify indicators of risk ahead of time.

-Arpit Barodiya

"Artificial Intelligence is likely to assist in logistics especially fororganizations where the volume of transactions runs into several

billions and beyond. Yet, one needs to be aware that for an AI algorithmto operate seamlessly, it will require intense involvement of humaneffort as well. To that extent, AI may foster talent enhancement and

compel skill upgrades especially among personnel."-Prof John Ben P

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As per S&P Global Ratings-A credit ratingis an educated opinion about an issuer’slikelihood to meet its financial obligationsin full and on time. Agencies are bodieswhich provide such informed opinions. Astrong rating reflects less risk and reducescost of borrowing and therefore, inaccurateratings become desirable. Inaccurateratings give false unfair view of theunderlying instruments eventually causingdisruptions in financial markets as it wasevident in the Financial crisis of 2008 orthe ILFS crisis 2018. In both the casesincorrect ratings misguided investors andthe bubble later burst. And unfortunately,10 years down the line, between both thecrises not much has changed about creditrating and its flawed model.

CREDIT RATING

AGENCIES: A

FLAWED MODEL?

Stringent regulations came into being butproved to be futile. The core of this flawedmodel rests in the pecuniary relationshipbetween agency and the institution,instruments of which are assessed. Alsocalled the ‘issuer-pay’ model. Theinstitution pays for rating services andtherefore there is a clear conflict ofinterest. If the client doesn’t get the desiredratings it would switch to alternativeagencies in the market. Agencies are for-profit organizations and are driven byrevenue and profits. They also have BDOs (Businessdevelopment officers) deployed to bring inclients. The BDOs in quest for meetingtargets lure clients by promising goodratings and then try influencing theanalysts for the same. Analysts extract andaccumulate information about the clientbeing rated, from different crediblesources.

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The ratings recommended by analyst andreasons thereof are evaluated by a senioranalyst or lead. At every stage there is anincentive to trade off a slice of integritywith a slice of enhanced rating which latercauses chunks of volatility in the market. Inthe famous Satyam Scandal 2009, PwC’sinvolvement as auditors played a pivotalrole aiding the fraud. The CharteredAccountants involved as auditors faced alife time ban imposed by the ICAI and apenalty of 5 lakhs each.  There is no similar regulation for creditrating agencies. Individual analysts are notheld liable for manipulations and escapewith ease. Moody’s, S&P and Fitch ratingstogether capture 95% of the marketshare.This leaves less room forcompetition.

Concentration of rating business in limitedhands paves way for limited review orcheck of ratings by an independent peer. All of this boils down to how flawed thecredit rating system is. Yet,discontinuing the ‘issuer-pay’ model is notthe recommended solution. Rather, a smartand preventive regulatory mechanism isneeded. Bringing Individual Analysts to inspectionand accountability would be the bestmeasure to dissolve the conflicts ofinterests and thereby establish a morereliable rating framework across the globe.

-Sreyansh Surana

"Who is the client for credit rating agencies? The company for whichthey are giving the credit rating or the people who will use that credit

rating (Banks, investors, suppliers etc). The million dollar questionfor the credit rating company is who should have their loyalty - fees

paying company or the rest of the participants in the economy."-Prof. Pooja Gupta

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One word that appropriately defines thechanging dynamics of the future of work, isflexibility. Organizations are increasinglymoving away from a ‘One size fits all’approach to a more customized workenvironment, to better optimize theproductivity of their employees. The shift in work dynamics can be broadlyattributed to a handful upcoming trends,that are rapidly catching up with therequirements of the millennial workforce.The emerging workforce seeks flexibility,that goes way beyond job security and a fatpaycheck. There are various measures thatorganizations are taking up, in order tomanage the changes in the perceptions andexpectations of the young workforce. Let ussee how!

CHANGE IS THE NEW

CONSTANT. HOW TO

MANAGE IT?

India is one of the largest gig economies inthe world. Food delivery startup Swiggy hasan operational model based on gig workers.Besides Swiggy, several other start-ups likeOla, Uber and UrbanClap hire gig workerson a large scale. According to a survey byHR talent marketplace Noble House, themajor reasons for companies to hire gigworkers were reducing costs,supplementing the skills of the existingworkforce and filling temporary jobopenings. A flexible benefits package is another trendthat companies are looking forward to.FlexBen is a flexible benefits packageintroduced by E-commerce giant Flipkart.This programme includes benefits forLGBT couples, child care coverage amongothers, that makes it lucrative for GenZ,who expect a lot more than merely jobsecurity from their employers. For theemerging workforce, organizational cultureis more of a deal breaker than a fatpaycheck.

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Lastly, but most importantly, adoptingtechnology in regular work processes isinevitable as we proceed towardsautomation. Organizations these days haveincorporated self-service employee portalswhere employees can manage their ownleaves, reimbursements etc., which hasproved to be a major time saver for theemployer. Application of ArtificialIntelligence in the field of HR has alreadybegun in full swing. Chatbots are alreadyhelping HR personnel to screen candidatesfrom a large pool. Besides saving time, AIcan also help in rooting out human bias.

These trends come with a set of challengeslike lack of concrete employment data inthe gig economy, technologically unskilledlabour and lack of Government regulationsregarding contract workers andautomation. These are the challenges that theGovernment and IR leaders collaborativelyneed to address. Therefore, it is time that these changingtrends be the Initium Novum for moreevolved and employee friendly workplaces!

-Sanchari Pait

"We're looking at a new era for workforces around the world. Ithink it is probably a little early to create HR models for a Gig

workforce. Lot of the processes are still to evolve, because with alarge gig workforce how do we protect the knowledge base and the

skill base? I would definitely like to wait and watch."-Prof. Atish Dasgupta

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The world today is nothing more or lessthan Data packets. A place is a piece of dataon your Google Map, a product is a piece ofdata in your market, the price you set is adata bench marked against thousands ofdata bytes from competitors, thepromotion you do is aligned to what youinfer of all this data. Thus, every ‘P’ in your marketing jargon, isrelated to data in some way or the other.The 21 st century has seen a massive influxof data, with internet connectivity andsmartphone markets growing in leaps andbounds. It is thus imperative for a businessto integrate the hidden patterns in theocean of data, into their core operationsand strategies.

QUANTIFY. ANALYSE.

IDEATE.Does your business have web presence? Ifnot, you are probably stuck in the stoneage. If you do not target or re-target your‘potential@customer.com’ through smartemails, then you are simply losing out onopportunities. Therefore, a structured e-commerce platform is indispensable. So how can a business go aboutestablishing itself across all these channelsin a structured fashion, understand howthey are interconnected, measure theprogress and take future decisions? Theanswer to all these questions lies inAnalytics. Analytics empower us to find ahidden pattern, a meaning, a conclusionand a strategy from this data. The ‘n’number of statistical tools available intoday’s world enables businesses to betterunderstand consumer behavior andmarkets. P A G E 1 1 •   2 0 1 9

In short, Analytics draws the line betweenopinion and fact. Smart analytics has thepotential to scale up business performanceto a mammoth extent. Analytics enables you to gauge yourbusiness performance in terms of metrics.Just like we measure length in kilometersor centimeters, the degree of our website’scustomer interaction through ‘page views’and ‘bounce rate’. One such metric is theShopping Cart Abandonment Rate- thetotal number of online shoppers who putitems in their shopping cart but don’tcomplete a purchase as a proportion of thenumber of people who complete apurchase. In this case, flood the potentialcustomer’s inboxes- make sure the firstthing he sees on his news feed is hisincomplete purchase. Re-targetingbecomes easy! Analytics also gives you a clear picture ofhow your individual prospects and clientsare interacting with your business, withyour various campaigns. Deciphering data can allow marketers tounderstand the psychology of theirprospects, their trends and whichmarketing activities are valuable atdifferent junctures in the buyer's journey.

Consider how impactful it would be to beable to tell your boss that since you startedblogging on a regular basis, you drove 50%more traffic to your website, and out of thattraffic, you generated 20 new leads and 6new customers. A concept called Closed-Loop Marketing connects MarketingAnalytics with Customer RelationshipManagement (CRM) and helps us get betterinsights as to how visitors are convertedinto leads and subsequently, intocustomers. Therefore, it is time that these changingtrends be the Initium Novum for moreevolved and employee friendly workplaces! Undoubtedly, technology has the capabilityto change how businesses function and thesame is proved every passing day. Asmentioned earlier, the world is a collectionof data packets, and is a part of a big puzzlewith countless possibilities. The need of thehour is professionals with a penchant forsolving these puzzles and adapting abilitiesin an ever changing, technology cladbusiness landscape.

-Deepayan Ghosh

"Measurability is the power of business analytics and this helps businessesminimize their wasted dollars on the web. The article brings forth the

essence of measuring and attributing everything from inbound tooutbound marketing using data packets. This fact-based quantitative data

will help firms drive revenue outcomes."-Prof. Semila Fernandes

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THE BEST KIND OF 140 KM

#SymBeatRecommends OUR LIST OF TRAVELESSENTIALS 101" 1. Google Maps- For locating yourhappiness. 2.Zoomcar- For reaching that happyplace. 3. Friends, Symbians andCountrymen- They are the ones who’llbe with you all this while. 4. Comfortable clothes- Some thingscan make the journey a bit simpler. 5. Bagpack- To put your phone and allthe worries away, while you cherishthose memories. 6. The Selfie Partner- Usually used forcapturing those memories (has nocomparison to the usage mentioned inpoint (5). Sometimes used for making calls. 7. Money- The Honey- We hostellerscannot emphasize upon its value more!

An expedition to ShivaSamundaram falls

Before we take over the road and know about our friend's journey, Here's a list of travel essentials carefully curated for you by SymBeat

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Driving their Zoomcar through the scenicpaths of Mysore and Nice road, playing andsinging (read: shouting) songs, andexperiencing a bike getting slightly rammedinto their car, they surely had a lot to write intheir book of memories.  “The place was amazing! Never in my life hadI seen such a spectacular waterfall. We couldeven feel the freshness from so much faraway. It was that chilling!” Smiles Ankit. Adding to that, they even broadcasted a livevideo on Instagram from the location andmade their followers jealous (I too was one ofthem), tempting them to visit the place in thefuture. Even though they reached the place just anhour before its closing time, they had the timeof their lives. "It is a must go place, if you have a whole dayat your disposal. Everybody should definitelyvisit it,” Says Ankit. So that’s all folks! See you at ShivaSamundaram waterfalls (I am actuallythinking when, but let’s hope it’s soon).

“Safar ka hi tha mein, safar ka raha…”(Meaning: I was already a part of this journey,and still I am) Journey is about gathering all the experiences(not just the classroom ones) in this little boxof memories that is going to stay with you forthe next two years of your MBA life. Sobeginning the journey of getaways from thehectic student life, we have a group of fivefriends- Ankit Rohra, Aishwary Koul, DeepitSingh Uppal, Divya Madnani and Palak Lohiafrom the first year with an account of theirmemorable trip to the Shiva SamundaramWaterfalls. In a chat with Ankit, let’s see if I am able totake you 140 km away from your daily readingpilgrimage (with no offence to newspapers). Itwas a rare holiday, with surprisingly no workpending. So like the presentations, this triptoo was what it could be best- impromptu,but with a touch of suggestions from our localbatch mates. It was a much- needed breakfrom our intense everyday schedule,” SaysAnkit.

-Muskan SinglaP A G E 1 4 •   2 0 1 9

This is a journey that I experienced in Gangtok, the beautiful capital city ofSikkim. We were road tripping to theNathula Pass which stands 15000 feetabove sea level. The roads which took usthat high were no less than a rollercoaster.But , the hairpin curves were experiencedonly to witness the deep , neverendingvalleys which were a treat to our eyes. On our way up and down the hills, our firststop was a small traditional sikkimise 'tapriwali dukaan' where we sipped 'garam chai'which came from the 'Queen of hills-Darjeeling'. This shop sold gum boots,gloves and other jackets which helped thetourists protect themselves from thefreezing temperatures up there. After this short snack break, we startedfurther. As we reached higher altitude, wecould see thin streams of water flowingdown the mountains.

Eventually, these streams turned into blocksof ice along the roads. Our second stop wasthe Tsongmo lake. The water was as clear ascrystal and seemed like nothing could be anycolder. Yaks surrounding the lake proved the beautyof life existing on earth, in all places and inevery corner. It's miraculous how almightyhas made every being to what and where it'sdestined to be. We also took a stroll aroundthe world's highest golf course which wasprobably the toughest one too. Finally, after awonderful drive, we reached the BabaHarbajan Singh Mandir. Harbajan Singh,  wasa soldier in the Indian army who died at avery young age due to some unforseen events.It is believed that his soul still resides thereand gaurds the nation. We climbed up thestairs to 14500 feet to visit his bunker wherehis uniform,  clothes, utensils, and all otherthings which he had used were kept. The viewfrom there just blew our minds.

Trip to Cloud 9 

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We were covered in layers of clothing butcould barely stand still in those freezingtemperatures. Low pressure, less oxygenand dead low temparature made our handsturn numb and ears go deaf . Hats off to those 'Jawaans' and soldiers whogaurd the Indo China border in suchadverse conditions. We captured thebreathtaking scenery's in our camerashoping we would come here again. Afterthe Baba darshan, we had our prashad andwent to the adjacent 'Baba cafe' whichserved  'garma garam bhajjis and coffee'. That little food pumped us up for somesnow fights on our way down to Gangtok.While we were driving down, we stoppedat few more lakes and waterfalls and to ourluck and surprise, we could see the world'sthird highest snow covered mountain peakof Kanchenjunga.

I considered that as a blessing because peoplerarely get to see it due to the weatherprevailing at such heights. As soon as wedrove past the mountain, it started raining,which turned into a hailstorm and staying inthe car felt safer. But, we being mischievouslyadventurous, decided to get down to havesome fun. Those blocks of ice felt like smallgrains slamming our bare skin. Soon, theguards shooed us away and warned us todrive down as soon as possible because suchstorms usually lead to road blockage. That was the end of our day which was indeedan unforgettable lifetime memory which Iwould suggest everyone to experience. A roadtrip to cloud 9, literally! - B Y P R A J A K T A V A L I VP A G E 1 6 •   2 0 1 9

The word that hope is,The relevance of which you cannot miss.Do you know that it is also the meaning?

In life, of a new beginning. 

There are thoughts that often bog you down,Moments that can make you frown,

But do not falter ever, my friend,This ain't to your life, any end.

 Sometimes you might doubt your abilities,

And calculate, of your failure, all the possibilities,But keep that mind strong,

This is where you can never go wrong. 

A little courage is needed in such moments, I know,To hopelessness and hindrances, you’ve got your fearless side to show,

Keep that goal in your mind, It is time for your determination to shine!

 Leave no stone unturned,

Or that midnight oil unburnt,You will get to the place you desire,

Just keep alive, that zest and fire. 

So throw away those fears,And other negatives, to your near,

Never forget the four letter word said in the beginning,A lot more is what you are going to add, to its meaning.

HOPE

-Muskan SinglaP A G E 1 7 •   2 0 1 9

Looking Back at our MBA journey The past few months in our MBA life, hasbeen one to look forward to for one and allin SIBM, Bengaluru. Amidst the regularworkload, tests and assignments, studentactivities has been the crux of most ourlearning and joyful experiences. While on one hand these experiences havebeen exhausting for the organizing teams,it is important to remember that eachstudent has contributed to the successfulorganisation of these events and as suchthese moments have been for everyone,living and breathing in the same campus.Let us walk down the memory lane andgather up the bits and pieces. Ice Breakers 2019: No wonder that IceBreakers indeed broke the jinx betweenthe two batches. On a fine evening, some chits revealedthings that juniors wanted to put forwardto the seniors, and indeed were never ableto before.

The stage was set, the dancing shoes wereon and the campus was booming withcheer and joy. Open Mic 2019: Slowly and steadily, ourMBA lives indeed opened up. With thestage hosting poets, singers and mimicryartists, Open Mic laid the platform for aninformal interaction between the twobatches surrounded in an ambiance full ofjoy and laughter. The cafeteria was LIT!with the two batches having the laugh oftheir lives and it never felt, on thatbeautiful evening, that we were indeed“Professionals". Fresher’s 2019: Indeed this was the daymost juniors were looking forward to.Juniors and seniors got together to have ablast and it indeed became of the mostmemorable evenings!

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Utopia 2019: Utopia in short was anamalgamation of multicultural ingredients,served under the same roof. It was anoccasion when foreign nationals visited thecampus to share their ideas, and it was notonly limited to ideas, some of them evendid an act of honour like donating blood.Yes, it was the same day when BloodDonation was hosted and the superheroesof our campus saved a thousand lives. It is imperative to mention here, Jzaathrough their jaw dropping Nukkad madeus think twice about the perils stillpersisting in the 21st century Indiansociety. While at the other end our thoughts had toexercise more through a brilliant Mimeperformance. Utopia set the stage for othermajor events in the college on a sweetnote. Utthaan 2019: Never did we see moresmiling faces in the campus, than on theday of Utthaan. The campus was filled withinnocent faces that put smiles on the facesof everyone. Through a mix of fun gamesand performances, all of us went down thememory lane to the times when we wereall but a child appreciating every littledetail of the world around us.

Indeed the number of bubbles in the airwas in no way more than the smiling facesof students carrying kids on their backs! Alchemy 2019: It is safe to mention herethat we were never so enthusiastic to learnsomething since our 6th standards.Through excellent keynote speeches andpanel discussions, SIBM Bengaluru’scorporate connect was showcased in sheerforce during the two days of Alchemy, somuch so that the event literally brokeTwitter, with a staggering 6900+ tweets,trending 4th in Bengaluru. A proud moment for students and facultiesalike, hosting corporate giants like M.G.Arun, Sakshi Gupta, ManoranjanPattanayak and Shweta Modi, in non-exhaustive list, it was no short of a feelingof confusion as to whether we werewatching the television or a live paneldiscussion! Samaagam 2019: Networking andSamaagam have been synonymous to anextent. The joyful faces of the nostalgicAlumnus of SIBM, brought with themselvesa lot of learning and stories to live up to.Beautiful performances from Saaz andJhankaar, lit up the evening where it wasreinforced that you can check out of thiscampus anytime you like, but you cannever leave!

- D E E P A Y A N G H O S HP A G E 1 9 •   2 0 1 9

In every MBA student’s life, there comesa time when they must visit “The Office” oftheir Summer Internships or Finalplacements to start off their mid/post MBAJourney and that is the biggest (that’s whatshe said) day of their lives. For some, it is anew beginning, working for the first timeand for some, it is going back to the oldOffice days. There will always be newthings to learn and understand when youstart off your career after your MBA.

1.DO NOT try to steal the show at a weddingof an employee (If you’re invited to one): Atthe wedding of Phyllis's, Michael tries to makethe day about him by interrupting theceremony and making an embarrassing toastthat ends with him getting attacked by thegroom. Sometimes the spotlight belongs tosomeone else, and you must understand it.Michael is that type of a boss who takes all thecredit for the branch's success and he fails totakes any of the blame for the failures. Being agood manager involves being part of a teamand learning when to let an employeeoutshine you.  PS: Don't let the employees trick you intothinking that you have a part in their weddingso that they can get extra vacation days fortheir honeymoon. 2. Always, always TRY to avoid accidentallydressing in drag. (Always follow the dresscode)  Michael thinks he's found a great newsuit on sale, but the other employeesimmediately understand it's been made for afemale. And if you're like Michael, you do not have togive more excuses to embarrass you. Makesure your shirts are ironed and your socksmatch and check the label carefully beforebuying anything from the flea market.

Things you should not do in “The Office”

So, here are a few pieces of advice, inspiredby Michael Scott, the boss played by SteveCarell on NBC's "The Office," to help youget through your Office days in your SIPsand Final Placements and not make a foolof yourself and not make the samemistakes, as a manager, which he did:

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5. TRY NOT TO hit employees with your carAlthough Michael claims it was an accidentwhen he runs over Meredith with a companycar, the other employees have their doubts. He also fails to see the gravity of the situationwhen explaining it to his new boss, Ryan."Double jeopardy" does not mean that twowrongs make a right. Taking out your angeron your employees is a good way to getyourself fired and your company sued. Leaveyour personal problems at home. And thatdoesn’t mean you leave your Office laptops athome. Michael Scott was a boss who took quirkinessand incompetence to new heights, meanwhileignoring all the rules of business andsometimes even basic human interaction, allthe while maintaining his sense of infallibility.But, we have provided you with SOME of themistakes Michael made during his stint at“The Office” and we hope that you don’trepeat the same mistakes stated in the articleand god help you if you do. Now, go out there and make theQUANTITATIVE DIFFERENCE you have beenlearning to make all this while and wheneveryou have a bad day at “The Office”, take a stepback, switch your laptop on andwatch an episode of The Office.

3. NEVER call a client a "beeyotch."A lot of us will be working in the front officeand here is an advice to everyone. NEVEREVER call a client a “beeyotch”. An offensivewatermark instigates a massive paper recallat Dunder-Mifflin. When a client refuses toaccept a voucher for free paper at a pressconference, Michael tells her to call the"Ungrateful Beeyotch Hotline." Name-callingis no way to win over a client, especially infront of the press. With increasingcompetition from larger office supplycompanies, you can’t afford to losecustomers. It's not true that all publicity isgood publicity, at least not always. 4. Don't buy lingerie for employees. After receiving some dating advice from thefemale employees, Michael decides to thankthem with a trip to Victoria's Secret.Establishing boundaries with employees iscrucial for maintaining a professionalworking environment. Stick with less riskygifts, like coffee mugs and restaurant giftcertificates and not buy your colleagues,lingerie.

-Mayank Makhijani

France was still executing people withguillotine when star wars came out.

DID YOU KNOW?

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Across1. Which brand unofficially featured in finalseason of Game of Thrones. (9 letters)6. Our education has a ___________difference. (12 letters)7. Biggest unofficial stakeholder of SIBM-B(7 letters)9. A collaboration of SymBeat and SWSC.(6 letters)10. A Bangalore based sustainable start upfor travelling. (4 letters)

Down2. Angel" food item served on campus withvegetables. (10 letters)3. What does Ross Geller wants Rachel tobelieve and MBA students rarely get. (5 letters)4. Go back to your childhood days andremember the best cartoon show based ona police station. (9 letters)5. It is not brand value, it is brand ______(6 letters)8. A mobile giant which entered Fortune500 in 2019. (6 letters)

Crossword1. STARBUCKS 2. TADKAMAGGI 3. BREAK 4. KOCHIKAME 5. EQUITY 6. QUANTITATIVE 7. SITAARA 8. XIAOMI

9. IGNIFY 10. YULU

 No matter what we achieve..No matter what we believe..

But the happiness is connected by a string..Those are called the “little things”

Maybe it won’t be any of your business..Maybe there is no one for you to impress..But passing a little smile to a stranger kid..

Will do wonders and surely the god will bless…People ain’t got time to devote

But have ample time for an anecdote..Try sitting with parents for half hour at-least.

Maybe they too require your support..Wanting the person who doesn’t want you.

And crushing the feelings of one who falls for youMaybe you don’t value it today

But you will,When that person will say “adieu”Have seen poor people enjoy

And rich people in stressAs they don't have those “little things”

Included in their success.For some it is the guitar strings.

For some it is the “chicken wings”But the happiness truly lies.

In these “Little things”

Little Things That Matter

- H I M A N S H U G U L A T I

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Himanshu: I really miss my childhood days. Mayank: Yeah. I do it too. Why suchnostalgia suddenly? Himanshu: I haven’t watched a Cricket TestMatch for long now. Mayank: Oh, I don’t even like Test matches. Ican’t wait for 5 days for a result. I love T20s. Himanshu: Dude! Test Cricket is the heartand soul of this sport. It is a propercompetition between bat and ball. I agreethat T20 has increased the love for the sportbut the level of Test Cricket is just altogetherdifferent. Mayank: Come on Bro. T20 gives youentertainment in a short span in a worldwhere people are already very busy. Himanshu: This T20 format started justrecently. Test matches go way back till 1877.Do you know that first test match was playedbetween Australia and England?

Test or T-20?Co-incidentally, Ashes was born 5 years lateras England lost a match against Australia. Mayank: Damn! That’s nice. But the T20format is a “paisa-vasool” entertainment.Nail-biting finishes, Super overs and skyrocketing sixes. I’d prefer T20 over Test anyday. Himanshu: That’s nice bro. But I’d stick toTest over T20 as the sport was born this wayand the temperament and class which youget to see in Test Matches is unmatchable.“Shoaib Akhtar running in to bowl furiouslyat 150 km/hr and Rahul Dravid leaving theball like he doesn’t care.” Man! Think of themental state of the bowler. Phew! I just gotanother nostalgia. Mayank: Well, I like Virender Sehwag in TestMatches, as he makes them look like T20 too.But thinking about it, you are right in statingthat Test Matches need a lot of patience,technique and temperament to win.

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Himanshu: Okay, let me give someinteresting facts about test cricket. Did youknow that test matches were once atimeless affair? Teams used to play untilthe definitive result was reached.In one such game in 1939, South Africa vsEngland game went into the 10th day withEngland chasing 696. They were 654-5 atone position with just 42 more runsneeded. But the captain of the ship whichwas supposed to take England back homerefused to wait anymore and the game wasdeclared drawn by the agreement. Mayank: SERIOUSLY? That’s equallyhilarious and interesting. Test Matchsurely has a great history. Himanshu: Yes! And even now, ICC istaking important steps to keep the legacyof Test Cricket alive. It has come up with“World Test Championship” where top 9ranked teams play 6 series, with eachseries counting for 120 points. ThisChampionship will go on till 2021 and theFinals between top 2 teams will be held atLord’s, just like the finals of World Cup. Mayank: Woah! I didn’t know. That’sawesome. This is certainly generating amore competitive vibe in Test Cricket. Youmust be knowing some interesting facts orrules specifically related to Test Cricket. Iam curious to know. Himanshu: Okay, so you must be knowingthe basic rules of Cricket. Let me tellinteresting rules about Test Cricket. So,the ball gets replaced after every 80 oversin each innings as per the discretion of thefielding team.

Also, If the team which was trailing and gotout with a deficit of more than 200, can beforced to bat again and if they get out beforemaking the required trail runs then it's calledan innings defeat. Mayank: That’s interesting.Himanshu: Yeah! You should watch Testmatches sometime. You’ll experience thefeeling. Mayank: Never knew the Test match can beso intriguing. I am definitely watching it.Himanshu: You know what. You shoulddefinitely watch the 3rd Test Match of “Ashes2019” where Ben Stokes became a legend. Mayank: Yeah, I watched the last few overswhere he single handedly took the matchaway from the Aussies. It was just mindboggling. Himanshu: Exactly, Even I was feeling thepressure just by watching. I don’t know howhe coped with that amount of pressure andexpectations. Truly a legend. Mayank: Seriously Bro. Well, such insightshave definitely createdexcitement in me to watch some great TestMatch Classics. Could you suggest mea few recent epic battles in Test Cricket?Himanshu: Of course. Well these are my top 3as of now:

“England vs Australia Ashes 2019- 3rdTest”India vs England Lords Test, 2014”“India vs Australia Kolkata Test, 2001”

 Mayank: Thanks Bro. I am definitely going towatch them.

- B Y H I M A N S H U G U L A T I

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It feels like it was just yesterday when we all went to watch, “SpyKids” in theatres. Some of us couldn’t resist wanting to be anagent back then just like Juni and Carmen. It wasn’t the movieper se that got us so hooked to it; more than that, I think we wereabsolutely fascinated by all the cool gadgets and the advancedtechnology. It was one of the coolest movies of our times and toeven think that the era of fictional gadgets ended with it, wouldbe an understatement of the day! Arya, Ramya, Zoey, Alice and Sansa- these names ring many bellswhen you hear them and evoke fond memories. But here inBengaluru, they are more than just fantasy characters in thisplace. These are the 5 most highly efficient robots serving in arestaurant at Indiranagar in Bengaluru. Situated 20kms away from the Electronic City, this quaint littleplace is packed with customers throughout the whole week.These five humanoids have managed to garner the attention of atremendous crowd in a very short span of time. The RobotRestaurant in Indiranagar has been the talk of the town sinceAugust 18, 2019, when it was inaugurated. Equipped with thesewonderful robots imported from China, this restaurant is knownfor being a step ahead of its generation in technology. Each tablein this place is equipped with Tablets. Not only this, the RobotRestaurant has gone one step ahead and started feedingcustomers’ data by retina scanning.

SERVE ITLIKE ‘EMROBOTS

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The most popular cuisine served at therestaraunt is Thai and Indo-Asian. Themenu includes everything ranging fromSoups and Momos to Thai Seafood startersand Biryani. And at last, the dessert in thisplace is to die for, I mean, literally. Do youremember the time when we ordered extrachocolate with almost everything? Well,here in this place, you wouldn’t even haveto say it twice. The dessert, ‘Death byChocolate’ truly lives up to its name. Theonly possible drawback of this place is howcompact it is. The robots walk on a tracklaid down on the floors which causes someinconvenience to people and somewhatrestricts their movement. What’s more there is to ask for when youhave robots serving a meal so deliciousthat your stomach starts growling?

It must be the first time in Karnataka thatsomeone has successfully pulled something ofthis sort. It’s a must visit and a highly recommendedplace for all the people in Bengaluru. There isno best possible time as such to visit thisplace but whenever you plan to, do expect abit of waiting time. There might be longqueues and hours before you get served, butwe guarantee you that this futuristicexperience will be one of a kind.

- S H R E Y A W A G H E R K A R

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It’s difficult to imagine what it would be like ifthere was no North Indian cuisine in our lives.Living here in Bengaluru, it’s almost impossiblefor a lover of North Indian food like me to find arestaurant that is suited to my tastes. Imaginemy delight, when I found this place whilerandomly searching for somewhere to hog.Situated in the heart of Bengaluru, Oldtown Dillihas been a savior and a popular restaurantamongst the crowd. Looking from the outside,this place looks just like a regular restaurantwith minimalistic decorations on the outside.

AFGHANI TADKA IN THE SOUTH

The walls are intricately crafted portraying thedetails of the Mughal Era. Apart from this, whatreally catches your attention, is the semi floorsitting styles, and grey paints on the walls. Itfeels like you have suddenly entered a differenttime altogether.

Oldtown Dilli believes in “Reviving the art ofFood” along with making your experience amemorable one. Adding a dash of 2019 tokeep in touch with the reality, they havetried to incorporate the theme of therestaurant with a comic on each table.

The vibe of this whole place is set in accordanceto the Taj like structure that they haveincorporated in their design at the entrance. Youwould be taken aback after you enter this placeand see the magnificent interior.

That’s how deliciously cooked it is all thetime! In beverages, Mint Cooler andLemonade, can quench all your thirst.Chicken Shami Kebab and Chicken Burra arethe highlight of this place for its authentictaste. For all your sweet tastebuds, werecommendyou to try Gulab-e-Kheer. Thisplace is a must visit for the ever exploringfoodies who are on the lookout for incrediblehistoric experiences with some of the bestBiryani’s in Town!

This comic mainly consists of the Mughalshaving a chat about FaceBook. The onlyreason why this place should be on the top ofour lists is the food that’s served here. Thisplace is a safe haven for all the non-veg loversin the city. You can eat the most famousBiryani here and perfectly cooked Kebabs onthe side, until almost forever and you wouldstill not get enough of it.

- S H R E Y A W A G H E R K A RP A G E 2 8 •   2 0 1 9

Source code is a science fiction thriller thatkeeps you on the edge of your seat for abetter part of its duration. It is the story ofCaptain Colter Stevens, played by thesupremely talented Jake Gyllenhaal, whois inside an algorithm called the SourceCode. How is our protagonist inside analgorithm, you ask? Well for that we’ll haveto dive in a bit deeper. The movie revolves around a bomb blastthat has already taken place in a Chicagobound train and has claimed lives ofhundreds of innocent people. CaptainStevens is synced with the dying memoriesof a passenger and therefore he can betransported back and forth on that trainbut only for eight minutes. The task is tofind the bomber. I did not ruin anything foryou, don’t worry! The movie has an entirelydifferent take on time travel which makesit believable while you’re watching themovie. It’s not time travel, it’s timereassignment. Time reassignment createsa parallel world whose past we mayvisit and alter, since those actions have noeffect on our reality. Jake Gyllenhaal has embodied CaptainColter Stevens as nicely he does for all hisroles.

His range of emotions starts from perplexityand hesitation but as he navigates his waythrough the source code, he gains conviction. You start rooting for him the moment you seehim on the screen. You share his scepticismand vacillation as you also sail through theplot along with him. The more he knows, themore you know. And when he finally figures itall out, you eagerly wait for “checkmate”. Butat his core, Captain Stevens just wants to betold that “everything is going to be okay” ashe helplessly asks Christina Warren (MichelleMonagham) to tell him that as he waits to beblown up by yet another blast. This movie transports your mind to placesbecause it opens a realm of possibilities for itsviewers. According to astrophysicist MichioMako,” what you see in Source Code isimprobable but possible”. As for syncingmemories of a dying person, studies onspatial vision have shown that it is indeedpossible to track the grid pattern or a map ofthe activities of a dying person as they arelooking out at the world. What I am trying to say is that the movie isvitally thought provoking and opens up anarray of possibilities. Who knows maybesomething will materialize in the future andan actual Captain Colter Stevens will savethe world for us!

Movie Review: Source Code

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Imagine Bob Dylan sitting beside you on an acoustic guitar,answering the question-“The answer my friend, is blowing in thewind”. Considering Music as a subset of ‘Art’, in a world tied upinto knots by data packets, can Art have an escape from being‘programmed’ Art? Since the inception of civilization, Art issomething which was dubbed as ‘unique’, ‘original’ and a‘creation of the human mind’. Can something as small as a snippet of code, replace an Artist’sbrainchild? Transform it? Make it just another algorithm? Let usdive deep in search of answers! The availability and creation of music has been largely impactedby Technology, so much so that both of them could mean thesame. Where is the concept of Time and Effort then, the twomost essential ingredients in the cooking of a work of Art? It is the era when DJ’s have become Artists, when talent ismeasured by the ability to manipulate sounds through smartelectronic ware. New genres of music, mostly electronic, arecoming into the picture.

IS ROCK ANDROLL DEAD? : Analyzing theImpact ofTechnology onMusic

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K-Pop, Electronica, House, Crank and themyriad other hybrid genres which haveevolved hand-in-hand with technology, areencased by synthetic sound effects. Whilethis renders classical genres redundant,cross cultural integration is taking place.Genres like Hip Hop which wereconsidered unacceptable in countries likeAfrica have started finding acceptance inan alternative like Afro Hip Hop. Music can be read, copied and transferredat lightning fast speeds with our devicessitting ‘smartly’ on the Web. The Musicindustry has seen a prodigious loss of12.5 Million Dollars in the past decade. Isthe artist really incentive to produce Art inthe face of this situation? However, business opportunities haveproliferated through streaming channelslike Spotify and iTunes. Small artists canmake a mark faster through channels onYouTube. Recall the era when artists had towait for people to listen to their cassettes;tap on your screen and bang! “Who’s thisnew guy?” At the end of the day, you makea living much faster, and thus jobs havebeen created. At this juncture, a major costreduction has taken place, whether or notit makes up for the losses, is still a matterof debate.

While niche genres have taken a substantialhit, as music today is no more a mix andmatch of data, newer genres have made theirway through our labyrinth, setting thestandard for upcoming generations. The internet penetration in a country likeIndia has increased substantially, makingmusic more accessible and cheaper to thecommon lot. This means has attention can besought at the speed of light, but retention?With growing competition people don’tremember your music amidst a thousandother “clicks”. Hence the life cycle of thesenewer genres are at a major risk. Therefore, the effort that Beatles or LeonardCohen or even Rolling Stones took, to make amark at the contemporary time, was muchmore arguably. In the era of floppy discs, onlythe privileged few were accessible to theirmasterpieces. Well ladies and gentlemen, wehave perhaps found a vague answer “blowingin the winds”. Every sphere and every domainis susceptible to the power of Technology. Inan era when human cloning is not a far cry,how could something as humane as music beuntouched? Technology has both boons andbanes. Ending on the notes similar toShawshank Redemption- “Hope is a goodthing, perhaps the best of things”- let us hopethat authenticity in music is not lost, art doesnot become ‘programmed art’ and thatdreamers like John Lennon get resurrectedagain.

- D E E P A Y A N G H O S H

There are few activities in life that utilizes theentire brain, and music is one of them.

DID YOU KNOW?

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The tallest oak in the forest is not the tallestjust because it grew from the hardiest acorn, itis the tallest because no other tree blocked itssunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich,no rabbit chewed through its bark as a saplingand no one cut it down when it was growingup. We know successful people come fromhardy seeds, but do we know enough about thesunlight that warmed them, the soil in whichthey grew, the rabbits they were lucky enoughto avoid? This book is not about trees; it isabout the Forests. Outliers is the third book by Malcom Gladwell.The book held the number one bestsellerposition for The New York Times for elevenstraight weeks. Malcom is a curious writer andhe transmits his curiosity on to his readers. Heis atypical and mystifying. Outliers talks about a variety of phenomena,cultures, famous, rich and intelligent peoplewhich on the face value have nothing incommon but they do have a common storybehind their success.Thatstory revolves around the community andsociety around them. Why  was Bill Gates ableto build such a huge empire? Why are Asiansgood at Math? Why were scientists likeOppenheimer able to climb the ladders ofsuccess but people who were equallyintelligent as them could not? This bookanswers these questions in the mostdiscerning fashion. “We should know where wecome from in order to understand ourjourney”.

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This is the underlining philosophy of thisbook. This book is not a sermon or lecture,it is a very absorbing and compelling pieceof text that you cannot look away from. It’sa page turner in a true sense. Very early on this book sets the distincttone and perspective that it hasthroughout. In the introduction it talksabout the Roseto Mystery. RosetoValfortore is a small town that lies in theItalian province of Foggia. The people ofthat town started to migrate to UnitedStates in 1882 in order to explore freshfinancial opportunities. Gradually theycreated an ecosystem for themselves inPennsylvania in a small town. The mysterywas that these people were JUST dying ofold age and nothing else. They were notdeveloping heart conditions that were fatalor other chronic diseases. It was found outthat reason behind this this spectacularanomaly was that the ecosystem of theircommunity. Reduced stress levels,closeness amongst people and a close knit,integrated social structure was the reasonfor this beautiful phenomenon. This is the kind of outlook this book has. Itdissects a situation to its very core andgives such an elegant, logical andbelievable solution that you can’t help butsmile in admiration and awe. You simplycannot miss this book. It will change theway you perceive things, forever.

- P R A S H A N T C H A H A R

Book Review: "Outliers"

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Plethora of you makes me alibrocubicularist. Enabled to abate myenervate condition. For being my latentubiquitous peace, loving me in phases,turning me into a liberal meek. Cascading onme set of scary ataraxic emotions, makingthis eccentric incongruous personconnected with you. Driving away clouds ofdiffidence from my life, handling myacademic whimpers, reducing my coffeeintakes, helping me select best possibleattires. Demonstrating that closures are bestmasterpieces and that letting go is an art,looking through my altitudinous walls,making me realize the value of priorities,making me a better person not so inexorablefor future experiences. With you, I mademistakes, learned, laughed, cried, missed,gained, lost, got better. Thank you forbringing a little order to this restless soul. For selflessly letting me sparkle, comfortingenough while realizing that it is brilliantenough to breakdown and cry and bevulnerable. Making me vacillate amidst wide range ofemotions, ensuring that I give up, yet go forit the next instant. Taking me out of mycomfort zone, assuring that I don’t get leftbehind in that dilapidated self. Showcasingthat it is important to share stuffs, extremelycomfortable to abandon the bigger pictureto smaller fractions of details.

What Initium Novummeans to me

Preaching that apologies, efforts and lovecan melt the inexorable. Checking that Isurvive in best of spirits. Calming down mymood swings. Making me appreciate life,sacrifices a little more, taking it a little lessgranted. Helping me to keep people close,that certain things are not meant to be, theydon’t last and there can be smoke withoutfire. Helping to abate scary hallucinations,overwhelming odds. Not every time thePhoenix shall rise from the ashes and wemay not dance in the storms while the eaglehovering over it. As the bridge between usdangles with pernicious ablaze,accompanied by bitter sweet occasionalsprinkles, maybe one day we will wake upand this will all just be a dream or a newbeginning, indeed!

-JAYDEEP MOHARANA

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Magazine Editor: Shubhangi Pant

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