Students’ Speak: Tips to ace 10 common GD-PI topics

CAT exam is just the first step towards getting admission to top MBA colleges in the country. Bharat Debbarma discusses some common GD-PI topics and offers tips to reply to these tricky topics.

CAT exam is the most prominent management entrance exam in the country. However, it is still just the first step towards taking admission into IIMs and other top-tier business schools. The next stage comprises selection rounds i.e. Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). Here are 10 commonly asked GD-PI topics during CAT selection process.

• Revocation of Article 370 - Is it beneficial?

For: It is of utmost importance as it paved the way for freedom of Ladakh and the citizens of Ladakh are very happy currently. Revocation of Article 370 is necessary as being a part of the country we should enjoy the same rights. An article laid down by the constitution of the country having an autonomy power like 370 restricts others and impacts the economy as well. Due to this type of provision, a majority group can discriminate against others and may misuse the power of article 370.

Against: This type of power is important for a state like J&K to have control over the state and also to safeguard the species, culture, tradition and customs and also rest power in the hand of the state government. It is good as it restricts others to come and procure the land to set-up the business, which in turn safeguards the interests of the local community.

• Is Social media eliminating our creativity?

For: Yes, it thus eliminate our creativity as we spent more time on social media platforms such as FB, Instagram, etc., that keeps us engaged with the people. Such a platform in the 21^st century prevents the millennial from thinking out-of-the-box. It eliminates our creativity because we could mostly end up thinking on the lines of what we see and observe on the social platforms.

Against: Social media doesn’t eliminate creativity. Instead, it inspires individuals to become more creative as social media has a huge consumer base online where they share different ideas and views that can be picked by any millennial. Therefore, a millennial can find many ideas and could implement out of it or integrate his own ideas as well. This trend is evident from the fact that we see most of the entrepreneurs in India are youngsters.

• Is India ready for a cashless economy?

For: Yes, India is ready as most of the millennials carry less cash nowadays, especially after the impact of demonetization. Today, due to the cutting-edge technology available, we can now pay at different shops and vendors through different modes of payment such as G-pay, PayTm or simply swipe our cards. So, I would say that since India is a huge base of youngsters in the world, we are ready to move towards a cashless economy. Moreover, going cashless also helps us track our spending.

Against: No. India is not ready as still many people are afraid to use technology and many scams too are coming up in the public light. In my view, India is not ready for the cashless economy as many people use smartphones but are still unaware of how to use the devices as well as they may easily misplace their financial information. This may easily lead to more online frauds and crimes. Moreover, India is 70 percent agrarian economy. The farmers and other people in rural areas may face serious problems, as they don’t know how to use the latest technology.

• Is Selling & Marketing two sides of the same coin?

For: Yes, both are two sides of the same coin as selling is not possible without the effectiveness of marketing techniques. Both selling and marketing are complementary to each other as selling the product to bring revenue and marketing the right products bring higher sales. Thus, they are simply like the flip sides of two coins.

Against: No. They are not two sides of a coin as both are different concepts – ‘selling’ is all about selling a product whereas ‘marketing’ is all about understanding the consumer and fulfilling their needs and wants with an aim to earn the profit. Both are different perspectives: selling is push oriented and marketing is more pull oriented. Therefore, they are not two sides of the coin.

• Will AI reduce the job or increase jobs in the coming future?

For (Increase): No. It will not reduce the number of jobs. Instead, it will increase the job opportunities in the coming future since more coders will be required to code for the AI as well as many support members would be also required. The main consideration is that people should be more skilled and adept at handling AI-based technology. Therefore, I would say it won’t decrease or slash the job market. This will instead nourish and polish the people to be more effective and efficient. In the 90s, we all thought that the introduction of computers will slash the total number of jobs but instead, it paved the way for more employment.

Against: It will definitely reduce the number of jobs in the coming future because AI is all about doing the multitasking and performing the job that required 10 people with one robot. For example, a virtual chatbox can eliminate and cut the employees required in the call centers (BPOs). With AI, performing such tasks can be more effective as well as efficient and can be used 24*7 which is the ultimate benefit.

• Impact of online payment in the economy.

For: The economy will rise due to online payment options as every transaction can be recorded and no one can cheat or manipulate the data. This, in turn, will prevent the circulation of black money and will be good for the Indian economy from all development aspects.

Against: As per my view, the impact will be negative as we can already see online security breach and data leakage from various financial institutions is very common. This situation puts at risk financial data of millions of people. Moreover, additional taxes are levied upon online transactions by various banks and merchants. We can therefore already see the worst possible circumstances that can soon impact our economy.

• NOTA impact in the election.

For: It is important because we can reschedule the election if NOTA vote share is higher and the nominated candidates can never cast themselves for nomination again in that particular election. In this manner, we can remove unwanted candidates from elections.

Against: No. There is no impact because if the NOTA votes are higher or second-highest no one can form the government. This will lead to re-election and thus the votes cast by the people is a waste that is equivalent to not casting a vote. Therefore, NOTA has no impact other than re-election and anyone giving a vote on NOTA is completely their voting right.

• AI in Data Management

For: I Support AI in data management as AI helps to perform tasks more effectively and efficiently, within seconds than human being would do in couple of hours. AI does the work with 90 per cent more accuracy than human beings. AI is also very cost-effective as it reduces the work of the personnel and the cost can be optimized by reducing the workforce.

Against: Well, I don’t support AI in data management as this leads to an increase in cybercrime and the coding can be easily altered by hackers. If the data and coding are altered then that can lead to the loss of data, which will be a huge loss for the company. Therefore, having a humans is beneficial than AI because human beings can use their sensitivity and judgment. We must never forget that humans created AI and not vice-versa.

• Is Exam necessary for Students

For: Yes, exam is necessary to test the knowledge of the student as all students aren’t same and thus exam is a standard way of measuring the competency and the performance. It is not necessary that exam be all about what we learn from the book. Exam may be of comprehensive in nature also such as personality test, communication, aptitude, concept clarity, etc. The examination is of utmost important and basic requirement to measure skills and performance of a candidate.

Against: Exam is not at all necessary for any students, as examination doesn’t decide the future of any student. Let’s draw the example of the founder of Microsoft who is a college dropout but is now the world’s richest man. Thus, we can draw that the exam is not the only criteria for evaluating the students. Instead, we can evaluate on the basis of their practical knowledge integration. Examination should not be necessary and instead focus on concept clarity and making skills practically relevant.

• Is MBA required to start a business?

For: Yes, MBA is necessary as it gives us the foundation of the concept and understanding of how to lead the business. MBA degree will teach the theoretical knowledge that can be implemented practically while doing a business. It will us proper knowledge of the rules and regulation that need to be carried on as well as it will also help from the decision analysis aspect.

Against: In my point of view, MBA degree is not essentially required. Many entrepreneurs are not MBA graduates and still building business empires for example such as Ritesh Agarwal who built OYO Rooms and had taken it to the world. Thus, MBA is not required to do a business. Instead, we require the vision to see future and should possess an entrepreneurial dream.

About the Author:

Bharat Debbarma is a second-year student pursuing MBA in Marketing Management and IB (2018-19 batch) from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi. He has also interned with HDFC Bank Limited in the past.