By and large, there is no right or wrong answer in Marketing. It is essentially creating positive impressions and constantly putting forth propositions artistically. But you see, marketing is not purely an art, it has a scientific aspect called marketing research which is particular and precise! You either know research designs, sampling procedures and optimization routines…or you don’t. And today, I had this paper. Chilly morning, standing outside the exam room with this cool batch of future changers, all majoring in marketing. Beside us, some geek blabbermouths talking about inter-rater reliability, attrition, maturation, snowball sampling, ANOVA, Chi square and senile people all in one sentence. Of course, this prompts me to move away, feeling clogged up.

And this paper was no easy one. I knew I wasn’t alone when I saw my fellow future changer stamping his feet after reading through a question. He looked like he was really pressed and fighting to hold back the short call of nature. The girl next to him had placed her hands in a manner likely to suggest that she was praying, but then she kept sighing out loudly and looking around. Maybe, she wanted to see if anyone would faint after reading the questions. It happens sometimes. After a while, we all were writing. I was personally smiling because I was wondering what the professor would think about me as he read through my paper. After the last CAT, we all came to the agreement that he was either stingy with marks or used to top notch masters students because we really had to struggle to get  a mark for neatness and legibility.

After such a paper, I was totally drained and hungry. Walking from the exam room to the hostel was a task, but all in all I pulled myself together and walked. Halfway I met this classmate we confuse for an accountant, from his dressing and walking style. He was carrying volumes of books and looking very excited: and wearing his signature sky blue woolen sweater with official black trousers, and some brown shoes similar to those I see at home in the old album of my Dad when he was still a boy.

‘ Aiya, saa hii ndio unatoka?”

“Eeh!”

“Na mimi narudisha hizi sasa, hizo maswali zimetolewa hapa kama zote, very good paper!

“Yeah, true, very good books!” (Silent thoughts, oh boy! you must think you will give the valedictorian speech next year).. Truth is, I am just trying to shut him up and get him going.

“Sasa nataka nikachukue…Bla bla bla bu bu bu”….I already shut my ears and got renewed energy to lurch to my room.

For the remaining distance, I am wondering who in this day and age won’t let a done paper just be! Who asked him?

Three cents