Week 5: Assignments, Assignments and....

Did I say assignments...??? Yes, this week was devoted to the assignments for different subjects we are reading in Trinity. Here I am providing a very brief about the various assignments I completed.


1) Managing Project Portfolio (Individual - Due on Mon) - In 2000 words, write a set of 20 questions that can help an organization decide on whether it would be beneficial for them to implement the project portfolio management process. Also provide reasoning as to how each question can contribute towards making that decision.

2) SDMDE (Group - Due on Thu) - In 2500 words, evaluate the Nucor's decision making and negotiation propositions in an HBS case. Run to Examination schools to submit the same as a formal coursework.


3) SDMDE (Individual - Due on Thu) - In 1000 words, critically evaluate the decision making process of Medtronic in an HBS case.


4) Retailing (Group - Due on Fri) - In 3000 words, explain the strategical context of multi-channel retailing and the effects the online retailing can have on the other channels for that particular retailer. Out of ASDA, HMV and Woolworth, our group chose HMV to understand better about the dynamics behind the not so successful online store of HMV and their digital music download store. We also had to prepare a 10 minute class presentation for the class scheduled for Wednesday.


5) Branding & Communication (Group - Due on Sun) - Toughest of all... No word limit. For an outdoor adventure sports company Patagonia, two long interviews were provided. We had to detail the key identity of the person interviewed using information provided, giving details of informant's conception of Patagonia and point out how Patagonia serves as symbolic function for informant's identity. Size of each interview - 32 pages, so you can imagine the task at hand.


Even though the task was mammoth and we worked pretty much day and night to get these assignments polished the best way we can, every second of it was worth it. For the MPP assignment, we got the far better understanding of the need and adaptability needed for the portfolio management process to be implemented. Retailing, by far gave the maximum insight into customer behavior, store design and other aspects of retailing that can either sky-rocket your sales or sink the sales to rock-bottom. SDMDE was an extension of our previous assignments refining further our thought processing and implementing our MPP learnings' as well. B&C interviews tell us about how a person's identity can be sketched without exactly asking him/her directly about the particular brand he/she is being interviewed for. Our final B&C project involves doing three such interviews, which I am still doing analysis for as to how to go about.


We had no time for any other activities but still were able to enjoy the happy hours on a rarely seen bright sunny evening in Oxford. The photo above is of a "SHISHA" ("Hookah" as called in India) bought by Saheel in Morocco. I don't smoke but still took a picture as it looked so cool, though may not be cool for the lungs.


Other than the assignments and a nice Friday evening, I did some work related to some job hunt that still goes on and tried to resolve the visa related issues for our two month summer consulting project at Intel in the USA. We have already sent our query to the US Consulate and are waiting for the response, which is likely by Friday or so.


I sincerely wish to go and work in the hub where we get all the micro-processors for our laptops and desktops developed, even though my project is a diversified one in a different field about which I cannot disclose yet due to non-disclosure agreements. Next week seems to be a relaxed one as got only two assignments due, however the preparation for the big ones towards the term-end will begin soon.


Good Night and Good Luck!!!