Final Reflective
Paper
During the
last 9 months we have read and written reviews of two books, wrote fifty
responses on articles about India, and read and reflected on India’s five year
economic plan in preparation for the two weeks journey abroad. During our time
in India we had thirteen meet-and-greets with leaders of Indian business, some
purely Indian companies and others Indian extensions of world-wide
corporations. We also accomplished some vital sight-seeing, such as visiting
Qutb-Minar, the tallest minar (a tower-monument attached to a Muslim mosque) in
India and built around 1200 as a signifier of the beginning of Muslim rule in
India. We also saw Akshardham, the largest Hindu temple in the world, built by
3,000 volunteers and 7,000 artisans. Finally, we made the long trek to Agra to
visit the Taj Mahal.
The trip
was a highly valuable one personally. I grew to know my classmates better as we
shared the unique experiences. We all now have a spiritual connection to a far
away place and culture. We also had the privilege of meeting some truly special
people that I would not have met outside of Cal Poly. I have made it a point to
take away at least one lesson or piece of knowledge from each experience. For
example, through the lecture at the Yoga Ashram we received a lesson from an
intelligent, passionate, insightful teacher about the path from knowledge to
wisdom, the eastern view on the benefits of the destruction of the self, and
Yoga’s role in aiding mediation. From Lemon Tree’s Rahul Jagiasi we leaned of
the importance of rigorously controlling costs because costs are the one thing
management has complete control over. We also learned of the problem of India’s
poor attitude hiring the disabled. Those who believe in reincarnation view down
upon the disabled because bad deeds committed in a past life have condemned
them to their disabilities. Lemon Tree is helping shift that attitude by hiring
6% handicapped workers, to be risen to 10% in the next few years due to their
success as productive employees.
However, I
don’t want this paper to ramble on and on like this listing off each
experience. Instead I would like to address some of the suggested topics listed
in the course syllabus, since I believe what I learned on our trip and our through my preparation is
valuable for answering them. To begin, I believe a service that could be very
successful is a medical tourism travel agency. Through the book Billions of Entrepreneurs I learned that
an American can buy a round trip ticket to India, receive a top notch heart
surgery, and spend a week recovering in Goa all for around $10,000 out of
pocket. In America, just the surgery
can cost $150,000. Why not offer a service that plans a hotel, meals, private
transportation, the hospital treatment, a recovery plan, and airfare all for
the customer/patient. Even with a 100% profit margin I can charge the
customer/patient $30,000 tops for the most complex of surgeries, which is still
one-fifth the cost of American
healthcare! The big hurdle will be overcoming the stigma that Indian hospitals
and doctors are inferior to American facilities, however after a few success
stories I believe Americans will be more open to it. Personally, when I was
treated for my stomach infection I was a little hesitant to receive an injection,
but my care was excellent and I only paid $20 for a doctor’s consultation,
injections, and prescription drugs delivered to my hotel room!
On this
trip I was forced out of my comfort zone in many
ways. In fact, the furthest I have been out of the country before this trip was
Mexico and that was a decade ago. The heat in Agra, the long plane rides, the
constant stomach illness, sharing a bedroom, the terribly uncomfortable dress
shoes (but that one is my own fault!), the panhandling in Delhi’s open air market
all pushed me far outside of my comfort zone. But the worst of all was the
train ride. I felt afraid to touch anything, even to sit down at the station. I
wasn’t excited to sleep in a cramped bed above complete strangers. And of
course the food gave me terrible indigestion forcing me to brave the railway
restrooms. What I learned from these experiences is that we cannot grow in
comfort. Even when studying in the physical comfort of my home, the library or
a café the reading, writing, thinking, and memorizing is forcing my mind to
extend itself beyond its comfort zone. When we are comfortable we are standing
still, absorbing or producing nothing that will push us to the next level of
achievement. I think this is the most valuable thing I learned in India.
So how did
I grow from all of this nasty un-comfortableness? That’s a hard question, and I
think the full answer will only be seen with more time. I can say that I feel
proud of myself for choosing the hard path. As a two-year student I didn’t need
take this class for credit to graduate. But I knew that this was too good and
too special of an opportunity to pass up. Almost all higher-cost MBA programs
have a required trip like this one
telling me that this is a vital part of a full MBA education. If I had not
taken the trip I would have regretted it, felling that my education was
incomplete. Aside from pride, I feel appreciative of my education. Seeing the
coolies carrying our water and bags at the train station made me truly believe
that education is the key to a better life. I also know that education isn’t
everything though; the hunger that Indian’s feel to better themselves and their
country is something that complacent Americans can learn from. I know of many
Americans who are threatened by China’s growth; instead of fear and hatred,
inspiration can be wrought out of China and India’s stories of ambition for a
better life. If education is the key ambition is the push that bursts the door
wide open.
What
surprised me the most about India is the disparity of the rich and poor. In
America the level of inequality in the distribution of wealth is a hot social
topic. In Downtown Los Angeles I have walked the streets filled with homeless
and only a handful of miles away sat inside the corner offices of the elite law
firms, but nothing could have prepared me for the $1 billion single-family
monolith standing tall above the city-within-a-city of the slums. Or Delhi’s
massive construction projects contrasted with forgotten, decaying street-side
ruins. India is a country of agonizing growing pains. It cannot be denied that
the last ten years have been beneficial, but not to everyone. 81.1% live on
less than $2.50 a day, and 96.9% live below $5 a day.
Being in India is like being in the
middle of a fulcrum, with stubborn attitudes and practices of old, refusing to
be lost to time, balancing with the growing pressure of modernization and
globalization pushing down ever harder. At some point the bad habits that are
tragically taken for granted, such at the untrustworthy government and legal
system, will become weightless under their obsolescence. And it is India’s
private sector that will lead its government towards efficiency. We have seen
victories such as strong CSR initiatives coexisting with the financial success of
Lemon Tree hotels, competition from the National Stock Exchange cleaning up the
inefficiencies of the Bombay Stock Exchange back in 1992, and the success of
private hospitals to provide (relatively) inexpensive high quality healthcare.
The private sector is forcing the public sector to realize its own glut. The
public sector must trim its fat or feel the pain of holding its country behind.
This has been a marvelous
experience for me. Reading about India and visiting are two completely
different things. I now have a personal connection to this far away land and
culture that I did not have before and feel that I can have a meaningful
conversation about India with anyone else who has this connection. I got to see
the wonders of the Taj Mahal and Akshardham, tasted the street food, contracted
Delhi Belly, rode the railway, met the movers and shakers of Indian business,
experienced the heat of Delhi and the monsoons of Mumbai, felt the instability
of the Rupee, and connected with my classmate on a new level. A trip like this
is once in a lifetime and should be required
for all MBA students, so it pains me to hear that it will not be offered next
year at Cal Poly. I urge the powers to be to bring it back; it’s too good of a
thing to let die.
