Case Studies
Shekhar is doing a BBA program in a middle-tier management school in the USA, and has aspirations to do an MBA from a top 10 level Business School and to eventuallyjoin the management consulting profession. He is in the last but one semester and so far his grades have been in line with his expectation. In the present semester, he has two marketing courses and he could not do well in the first term paper of both the courses, in particular, he has got poor grades from an Indian origin professor. The professors while evaluating the term papers have given extensive comments and listed suggested readings.
Shekhar is feeling nervous about the next term papers. The topics are already selected by him and now he has to research and write. He is not able to concentrate as he is anticipating failure in getting admission to a management school of his choice set for MBA programme. Whenever he starts reading fresh material from new resources as suggested by the professors the ‘rejection letter’ from Graduate School comes to his mind.
Imagine you are one of Shekhar’s close friends. What do you think is Shekhar’s problem and what would be your advice to him?
1. Marketing is perhaps not a subject in which Shekhar could be good at. In the next semester, he should not take any of that stuff.
2. Indian origin professors in USA think too high of themselves and are an alienated class and Shekhar should avoid doing courses with Indian origin professors.
3. Shekhar should absolutely focus on the current semester, act on the advice coming from professors, and not worry about eventual rejection from Graduate Schools.
4. Shekhar should realise that even without going to a select set of Graduate Schools, he could do well in life.
The answer choice (1) reflects a hasty conclusion. Shekhar is in the last leg of the BBA programme and must have done marketing courses earlier. At that time he got good grades. So there is no problem with his aptitude for the subject. Moreover, the present anxietyresults from one term paper in each of the two courses. One should not read too much into this initial hiccup.
The second answer choice is obviously wrong based as it is on illicit generalisation of a class of eminent people. Moreover, Shekhar has not got good evaluation from the other professor who surely is not of Indian origin. Shekhar should not try to find malice in others but reflect on the real weakness of the papers he has produced. Such fault finding is always self-defeating.
The answer choice (3) is appropriate. Anxiety functions in two ways. A mild anxiety to do well on a task enables one to summon all the physical and mental energy towards doing that task well. An overdose of anxiety however, has a damaging effect in so far as it creates fear of failure thus depriving the individual of the necessary power of concentration to do the task in a superb or even orderly manner. Shekhar obviously has a surfeit of anxiety which he needs to control.
Shekhar’s second problem is that that he has started thinking of failure and its eventual consequences. He should live in the present time, keeping the goal in view though. Present time demands that he concentrates on the necessary readings and follows the advice of the professors in letter and spirit. He should not worry about graduate school admission at this time.
The answer choice (4) is a correct observation about life and its infinite possibilities. But the observation does not tell what Shekhar should and should not do. Hence, this is an inappropriate answer choice.