Some facts & guidelines 1.

) Each round comprises of one of group members being asked to come up to the panel and reading a caselet. The individual gets a minute to read the caselet 2.) Post that the individual goes back to his/her place and describe the case to the whole group. The group gets roughly 10-15 minutes to discuss the case (including the time taken by the chairman to explain the case. 3.) For each round the group mimics the members of organization acting under the leadership of the chairman (who could be mentioned in the caselet as CEO/Owner of firm/Head of a NGO, college etc.). 4.) The group must discuss the issue at hand and the end the chairman must present the solution to the issue at end as has emerged from the discussion. Some points to note about this: a.) This is not a summary of the discussion and the chairman has to ensure that that he/she presents a solution, to whatever extent, that has emerged from the discussion. b.) The chairman has to ensure that the solution represents the balanced views of the group. That is to say the solution must have been arrived by consensus and must be as inclusive as possible of all the views presented in the group c.) Hence the role of the chairman during the GD is very important and he must guide the discussion. 5.) The group members must ensure during the GD that they adhere to a set of basic courtesies: a.) Always address the male members of the group as Sir and the females as Madam/Maam. b.) Always ensure that you address the chairman as Chairman Sir/Chairman Maam. c.) Never interrupt the chairman when he is speaking. This results in an immediate no against your name for the panel d.) Do not abruptly jump in to make a point when a member of the group is speaking. Start off by seeking an approval from the chairman to make your point, do this either by way of normal conversation or raising your hand( if the group is too noisy) e.) Always address the group once you have the right to speak and are making your point, make good eye contact and keep your body language perfect (do not sit cross legged, slouch, make facial expressions that imply disinterest,) f.) Ask for clarifications from the chairman about any point/information that you feel is vital to solve the case but has not been mentioned. g.) If you have to make assumptions about any information that you feel is absolutely critical to solve the case, be very reasonable while you make them h.) Hogging air time will not get you brownie points, make 2-3 good entries to the GD and contribute towards taking the group to a solution i.) Always remain in the thick of action even if it is the last round. Staying energetic for the roughly 2 hour process and making good contributions throughout is a vital plus 6.) The chairman also has to keep in mind some very crucial points a.) The group relies you on any information for the case, be sure you remember the case correctly and give the correct facts to the group

b.) Make sure you manage the group well, dont allow some to run off with the discussion and bring the group back to the central issue if you feel the group is going off on a tangent c.) The entries you make in the GD should be to guide the GD in the right direction and not just make a point; this is the difference between just a normal member of the group and the chairman. The chairman has to provide the solution in the end so make sure you listen to the group well and guide it towards a solution without imposing though. d.) Always make sure that all members of the group get a say, do not be biased and listen to the opinion of just a few members of the group e.) Make sure the solution you provide in the end has been arrived at by consensus. Some tricks to be used wisely 1.) Try to make some quality entries in the GD towards the final GDs as that leaves an impact on the panel in terms of recall do not over do this if you are making good contributions throughout, keep doing that. Act normal, dont trudge into territory that you are not really comfortable with. 2.) Try to find people who are aligned with the way you think. This makes you piggyback on their points and act as a reflector of points. Do this only if you have run out of any quality points to make or have not made an entry in a while. 3.) Make sure that you do not play the role of the regulator of the GD; that is the chairmans job but try to bring order in terms of the structure of the GD in terms of points if you feel the chairman is not doing a good job but never cut the chairman or make him seem wrong/flawed. A diplomatic technique only to be adopted if the chairman is weak or the group is going haywire. In the end just be normal or frankly a bit more courteous than normal day to day life (avoid slang, address people with sir/maam) and try to bring logical points into the GD as a member and manage the group well when acting as the chairman. Case solving guidelines Now coming to how the actual case needs to be handled. Please follow the steps need to followed in solving the case: 1.) Firstly as the chairman make sure you read the case slowly and clearly. Look for the key facts i.e. a.) What are the circumstances at hand? b.) Who are the major stakeholders involved? c.) What is your role? Make sure you read the case facts clearly and relay correct information back to the group. Also make sure that you clearly outline any assumptions that you make while listing them out to the group and they have to lie within the purview of reason and the scope of the caselet. Please make sure that you take the minimum amount of time possible while laying out the case facts and explain the case concisely and completely to the group. Also make sure you are

ready to take question about any future assumptions that the group wishes to make and looks up to you to validate. 2.) As a group you have to address the following key issues while solving the case: a.) Who are the major stakeholder and what are their concerns? b.) What is the relative weight of the concerns of the various stakeholders? c.) What is the role of the group in this exercise (are you the company board etc.)? d.) What are the external circumstances like for the firm (legal, regulatory, PR concerns)? e.) What are the ethical pitfalls that can happen while solving the case? The final aim is to arrive at a solution that represents the best interests of all the stakeholders involved and yet is within the purview of ethics and good conduct. Maintain a high focus on providing an ethically sound solution to the problem. Finally arrive at a solution that tries to fit the bill as described above but do not panic if the group is not able to cover all the bases. The time is less and even if the group manages to address a few concerns but does so logically and within the ambit of giving an ethical solution, it is deemed satisfactory. Also do not go overboard with the ethics angle if it is making the solution look silly from the angle of the firms operations point of view.