Day 3 - Of Starbucks getting it wrong and other fiascos

Okay fans and fanatics, I am going to keep today's treatise short because I have other commitments, if you know what I mean (wink). First up today was the FMCG class which was less exciting than usual since I had to listen to 10 hopelessly under-gifted classmates presenting their views on how a marketing concept must be written. Prof Ramesh looked crestfallen since there was only one student in class who was really able to match his intellectual level, which is yours truly. The only take-away from today's class was the concept of umbrella benefit and how sometimes marketers forget what they're trying to communicate as the real value proposition of their product. Point noted.
Prof Vaidya's Corp Banking class however was yet another exposition of his great teaching ability. He started with explaining banks' off-balance sheet exposures, and went on to compare SBI and Citibank and explain why their P&L statements differ so much. Other take-ways from the lecture were the TOL/TNW ratio and compostion of banks' loan books. I really think that along with being a legendary marketer, I may also be able to become the the poster-boy of the banking industry as well.
The biggest surprise of the day came in the Supply Chain Management lecture when Prof 'funny fingers' RK dumped our class for a class with lower average intelligence. So now we have to make do with prof 'funny face' HG who unfortunately cannot make the sound 'k' as in kite. He made himself instantly unpopular by imposing a strict assignment rule upon us which was met by loud sarcastic cheering and whistling by the class. I cannot believe I chose this course on my seniors' suggestions. I think this was the seniors' way of exacting revenge on us for us having given them the wedgies for 1 complete year.
The 4th lecture was Prof AS's Brand Management class where we discussed the very interesting case of Starbucks' evolution, rise to eminence and subsequent business faux pas. They got so heady with opening new branches in every corner of the world that they forgot the one thing they used to value the most, the customer. My valuable CP was drowned by a cunning IITian who strung together random words like 'market share', 'value proposition' and 'brand identity' in the same sentence which brought a smile to Prof AS's slightly weird face. Overall, a below average day at school.
On the way back from class, I curled in a 70 yard free kick, in David Beckham style which had co-magazine editor and Argentina fan Srini request that I lift the Indian football team up from its pre-eminent place in the mud. I had to snub his suggestion as I had other commitments at that point of time.
Other significant events of the day included the ecstatic Malayali chick and the anorexic girl from yesterday thanking me for having mentioned them in my blog. Apparently they are being treated like celebs in their local neighborhoods. I touch so many lives everyday without even knowing it, I feel like Mohd. Yunus already!
Tomorrow is a long day at school which includes 2 SAPM lectures back-to-back. More on this tomorrow. Enjoy your Saturday folks!