Jemba2006

In July 2005, I had the rare opportunity to interact with MBA students from the London Business School (http://www.london.edu/). Though I was introduced to them as an official translator who would assist one of the 14 teams to accomplish their project, I saw it as an opportunity for cultural exchange and some fun at the expense of office work. When I asked my boss if he knew people, preferably students, who would volunteer as guides, he did well to ignore my prudent attempts at tricking him to give me three days leave.

There were nearly 80 Executive MBA students with average work experience of 10 years. The youngest was 27 years (Charlotte) and the oldest in their mid 4os. I had no reasons to be particularly happy about HIS decision to put one of the only PYTs in my team. But I was certainly disappointed when I heard that she was going strong with her Irish boyfriend. Darn cupid and damn the first strike! HE made amends by giving me not the slightest chance for nurturing any more mushy thoughts about my team so that I could focus on what I was invited to do. The remaining four students - three guys and a lady (Belinda) - were too serious or guys for my tastes.

Among the students who I was in charge, there was a Vice-President with Morgan Stanley (Sonny) and a Marketing Manager from Munich Re (Will). The third guy in the team was an NRI from Kolkata (Tarun).

Tarun was back in India after 14 years but had no plans to visit his folks in small town Kolkata. He worked for Capgemini. I was surprised when he remarked that nothing has changed in India since he last visited here; many of my friends visiting Bangalore after two or three months blabber about the mammoth changes that have undergone this city. And, here we have an NRI who thinks nothing has changed in 14 years. Tall claims by any standards. Noticing my apprehensions, he quickly clarified that he was referring to the “vehicle-infested roads, bumper-to-bumper traffic, beggars and stray cattle…” The list seemed endless putting me in a spot of bother and shame.

The other students were also high profile and had clear reasons for doing the Executive MBA. It didn’t surprise me that the Jemba 2006 batch of EMBA had chosen India ahead of other countries for their internship program. To me their decision spoke more about the emergence of India as an economic power (I would hesitate to call her a super power yet!) than their interest in our culture and history, which would have been the case in the early 90s.

So here they were in many-a-times-dubiously-in-the-news Bangalore wanting to make the best out of their week-long stay. When the agenda was set on the day of their reception at the Royal Orchid, it became clear to Tabby (the other guide) and I that Jemba 2006 batch had their tasks cut out - visit a specialized industry (manufacturing, IT, healthcare, hospitality, etc.); study their management patterns; find gaps in the internal communication process; compile the data; analyze and discuss with the company Management; and suggest improvement measures.

It was a rock-and-roll party for four days (the translators and the sutdents may have different opinions on this) starting with banquet at Royal Orchid. Our team would visit a manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Bangalore with the following agenda – meet the company's top management, middle management, and finally, the most important link in the communication chain, the laborers to study their communication process. The sumptuous lunch, sarcastic jokes and bullying apart, it was business as usual from the word go.

After the initial meetings and floor visits, we huddled into a conference hall to review and revise the communication questionnaire. We had three days in all and three employee layers to interview. We set off with a series of meetings with the middle management of the company. What started as a process to first understand and then identify communication gaps, turned into a conundrum when the interviewers and interviewees found themselves well short of being able to adjust to each others’ language and accent. There lies my chance and raison d'etre, I thought. Donning my translator cap I jumped into the ring. Translation is an oxymoron here because the “From” language, the “To” language, and my interpretations were all in English…that too an all too familiar British English. In the end I was happy that my skills were put to best use for the team.

After three thoroughly enjoyable days, it was not easy returning to work. I had become a student and learner; moreover, I had rediscovered the urge to pursue an MBA. As days passed, the sweet memories began to blur, until one morning when a little birdie delivered the following note of thanks taking me back in time and memory:

Hello Prashant,

Thank you for all your help with the focus groups last week. We truly appreciate your assistance and the fact that you took time out from work to be with us. We hope you found the experience interesting and rewarding.

We're now back in the UK after some lengthy delays due to the Mumbai weather.

Please keep in touch.

Thanks,
Belinda, Sonny, Tarun, Will and Charlotte