This is the question that haunts every CAT/MBA aspirant
before and after the initial written exam. Honestly speaking , there is no
definite answer to this question as well. One can't define a fixed procedure by
following which , one would be able to succeed in any GD. A GD has so
many aspects to it , that no fixed solution can guarantee success.
Now
here comes a "BUT" , nothing in this world can be termed as
impossible. Solution might be difficult , but if done step-by-step , success
can be achieved. Cracking a GD of any good B-School is a great achievement ,
and it is said that "No great thing is achieved by impulse , but by a series
of small things." Here in this article , we would look into all the
aspects , a GD comprises of . Also, I would expose a lot of aspects that
go un-noticed and un-touched by a student , and in the end affects the final
outcome. "How to do well in a GD" has three parts , and i will
deal with each and every aspect , one-by-one , in subsequential parts.
This
part majorly covers -
1.) Overview
of a GD.
2.) Types
of GD
WHY DO COLLEGES CONDUCT GD?
Beginning
the first part , the first and most important question about a GD is why do
B-Schools conduct a GD. What do they want to test in a candidate by making
him/her sit with a group of 12 or 13 and discuss. Do they expect a real
concrete solution after the discussion if they give a topic like "Should
Kashmir be handed over to Pakistan"?. or "Should RBI switch to CPI
for calculating inflation". Well the answer to this question is a
big "NO". They do not expect you to be an expert on the topic and
come up with a solution in 15 minutes .If they would really want a concrete
solution they would invite people from home ministry and RBI to have a
discussion and not a slighlty nervous candidate like you. It would be
completely imparactical if they started having such expectations .Then , What does a B-School really want out of a
GD?
The
result of any group discussion should be a conclusion. But , it is not necessary for you and your group in
a B-School GD to actually come up with a conclusion . If you actually are able
to come up with a solution in just 15 minutes on such sensitive and broad
topics . It would give the GD Panel , an impression , that you do not have
enough content to discuss . You cannot think on this topic multi-dimensionally
. The discussion must go on and on and on until the alotted time is over.
Discussing more and more would give the GD panel an impression that you
are well aware of the topic and can think and assess both the positives
and negatives of the topic given. Also , candidates should keep in mind
that not coming to a conclusion and keeping the discussion going dosen't
mean speaking anything and speaking all the time. You should speak max 4 to 5
times in a GD of 15 minutes , and what you are speaking should be solid
content. We will discuss more about what and how much to speak later.
WHAT a GD LOOKS LIKE ?
A GD
would normally have 8-12 candidates in a panel , with candidates sitting in a
circular or a semi circular arrangement. Different colleges conduct group discussions
for different durations , but , GD normally lasts for 20- 30 minutes apart from
a few colleges like IIFT . IIFT is famous for extending its GD to even an hour. But most of the colleges
keep a GD to a maximum of 30 minutes . A
GD may or may not have a moderator. A
moderator is someone who conducts/looks after/ analyses the GD and the group. A
moderator might observe you being sitting in front of the group , he might
observe you by being somewhere else through a cctv camera or whichever way. The
moderator’s role is not of great importance. He might come and tell you the topic and say start. He might
point out somebody and ask him/her to start. He might give you a fixed time say
you all have 20 mins to discuss on the given topic , start. Or he might just
stop you without any prior time limit.
When
a moderator is present during a GD , one basic rule is “ Never look at the
moderator during the GD”. You are speaking or you are not speaking , you are
not supposed to look at the moderator. You are supposed to address the group
all the time during the GD. Also If someone is speaking , your complete
attention should be on the speaker and nowhere else. If you look at the
moderator , it would not give a good impression. The moderator might feel you
are not concentrating on the GD. This might affect the chances of your
selection.
Once
in a GD , there are other small details too ,
that should be taken care of . We will look at them in the later parts
of this document. Let us now see what type of GDs can we come across.
TYPES OF GD
GDs
are mostly of three types
1.) Fact
Based
2.) Abstract
3.) Case
Studies.
1.)
Fact
Based .
Fact
Based Gds would have topics that involve incidents recently happened or some
issues which keep moving in and out of
news. These topics can fall under any category . They can be from Sports ,
Poilitics , Defence , International Issues etc .Basically anything that comes under the
sun and has been in the news recently , has the potential to become a GD topic .
Now
our approach should be based on what a college is looking for in a candidate.
If a college has given you a fact based GD , what do they want to test? What
are they looking for.? The first answer
to these questions is obviously your awareness level. A topic , which
involves facts from a recently happened incident or event can only be discussed
if one knows about the topic. You cannot discuss on a topic like “Should AFSPA be repealed from J&K?”
without knowing what is AFSPA? Why was it imposed? What are the reasons that
lead to the question of its revoking? Would it be practical to do so? And many
other qsns. So the first thing such a GD would test , would be your General Knowledge and not only knowing
about a certain issue would do , for discussing it , you should know enough
about the issue so that you can speak , both in favour
of and against the statement.
Now
to speak in both , favour and against the statement, leads us to another very important notion that
must be addressed. A lot of candidates feel , it is always good to take a side
, if the GD topic is a question asked , such as ,the one
mentioned above.
Candidates
can even ask a question : Wouldn’t it be an unwise thing to do , to speak both
in favour and against the statement. It would give an impression that we are
not sure of our opinion. We do not have enough confidence to take a stand.
Well
, let us see it this way . Among the qualities that a manager should have and
that a bschool looks for in a candidate ,
pragmatism and flexibility tops the
chart. If you take a stand i.e if you only speak in either favour or against the topic given . It might not show you in
bad light (unless you act like a fanatic and a diehard supporter who is not
ready to accept anyone uttering a word against him/herself) but it will definetly block the qualities like
pragmatism and flexibility , that can be
highlighted , if you speak in both favour and
against.
Speaking
in both favour and against , would first of all , give an impression that you
are well aware of the topic.
Also
, if someone is speaking in both favour and against a statement , it would give
an impression that the person is mature , practical and flexible enough to look
at all the perspectives surrounding the statement. It would show that one can
take views of different perspectives for reaching a conclusion. And obviously a person who is
capable of thinking on a problem from different perspectives would make a better manager than someone who is
seeing only one side of the problem. So it is always better to speak in both
favour and against the statement.
2.) Abstract GD
The
name itself explains the nature of the topic given under this GD. Abstract
means which does not have a defined form. It exists in a thought , but not in
any physical form. The topics coming under this GD also have a similar nature.
They can mean anything. I should rather say , they can mean anything that you
want them to mean.
An
example would make things more clear , say a statement “ Deep blue is not blue
enough”.
What
does this mean? For different perspectives , it can mean different things.
Someone
who is looking for a deep blue shirt ,
he comes across a shirt which has a tag that says the color of this shirt is deep blue.
But
it wasn’t blue enough for the person , he wanted an even deeper shade of blue.
Hence
, Deep blue is not blue enough.
Let’s
say one fine day , someone from ISRO looks at the sky and feels , we have not
explored the sky enough. We do not know much about it. We just know it is deep
blue in color and it is not enough knowledge. We should know more and thus he
plans for a space exploration mission Mangalyaan.
Here
also , deep blue was not blue enough .
Similarly
, we can relate this statement to many other things.
Indian
cricket team inspite of an excellent batting display could not win the match.
As the color of their jersey is deep blue. Deep blue was no blue enough to win
a game.
Ocean
is really vast. It hides a lot of mysteries under it. But , inspite of so many
hardships and difficulties involved. Oceanographers still manage to go under
the sea and conduct research and what not. Ocean’s deep blue color is not blue
enough to hide its little secrets.
If
you observe , an abstract topic is all about how well you can relate different
fields to blue color. And the best part , you can never be wrong about an
abstract relation. You just have to let your mind wander and find an analogy
for you.
Abstract
GD is all about how well you can imagine , how fast you can think and relate
the happenings around you with the given statement. But for those who are
already feeling comfortable with this
type , there is a bad news. Now a days , not a lot of colleges would give you
abstract topics. It is a rare site for anybody to encounter an abstract topic
for his/her GD. But since it cannot be counted off as a possibility , one
should prepare oneself for this type too.
3.) Case Study based GD
The
third and final type is a group discussion based on a case study. In this , you
would be given a scenario or a situation in certain organization or a place
where the problem should be dealt practically , and you would be asked to
discuss on how to handle the situation.
A
lot of colleges now a days are having GDs based on case study. There is an
increase in the trend of having Case Study GDs.
Why
would a college conduct a GD based on a case study? What do they want to test
in a candidate by giving him/her a case study? Well the answer is very simple.
Once you start your MBA course , you would spend most of the time dealing with
case studies , similar to the one you would encounter in the GD. But the idea
would be the same. To make you sit in a group and analyse and solve a
situation.
The
colleges want to see , which candidate is better suited to such an environment
.
Now
the question comes , what is the way to handle such a GD. The best way to
handle such a GD is , think as professionally and ethically as you can and
practice by being part of as much mock
GDs as possible that involve case studies.
Till
now , you know how a GD is conducted , what does a group discussion for a
b-school looks like and what are the different types of GD. You also now have
become aware of a few approaches that should be kept in mind before attacking a
GD topic. In the next part you would come across the different approaches that
one can take to handle different type of GDs. Some of these approaches would be
type specifc but most of them can be used in any type of GD.
Hope you excel in your GD.
%2B-%2BCopy.PNG)
