Question Set :
Your Full Name: BISHNU PRASANNA PAL
· Tell us something about yourself and your institute?
I am a management professional and I teach MBA students. I am MBA in HR, LLb qualified and currently pursuing PhD. I have total 14 years of working experience with NIIT, APTECH, ICFAI & now with BJB college as a faculty of MBA.
Well about my institute, B.J.B Autonomous College is one of the premier educational institutions of the State. It came into existence in 1957 through the initiative of the Government of Orissa. The college was placed in Grade ‘A’ in 2004 after an assessment by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.
Apart from regular courses for the degree of Bachelor in Arts, Science and Commerce it also offers professional course such as Indian Music, Integrated M. Sc in Bioinformatics, Integrated M.B.A, M.Sc in Electronics and Telecommunication, M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, Master in Financial Control and Bachelor in Information Technology and Management etc.
· When did you join teaching profession? Why did you choose to be a professor?
In the year of 2005 I joined teaching profession. Since the beginning of my career I have been associated with teaching/training institutes only, I love my lovable students. This is one part the other is one’s keenness for a profession. And I like to be with, for & of the students only.
· What about teaching at b-schools inspires you the most?
The ambience. See, the difference between the general college & b-school is, the b-schools run practical industry endorsed program where the students become more aware about corporate culture, where as the general colleges run the traditional program, where the chance of gaining the corporate oriented knowledge is very less. This inspires me to teach b-school.
· Which subjects do you teach? Which ones do you like the most?
I teach HR subjects like HRM, Training & Development and Compensation Management etc. But apart from all these I like the one is Soft Skill Training & Communication which is the most valuable part of professional curriculum irrespective of any study.
· What is your teaching philosophy?
The teacher always wants that by knowledge & concept, his/her students to go one step ahead than him/her. And that comes true when the teacher shares his 100% plus experience with students. So my philosophy is to make the students conceptually clear about the subject & topic before they go out of the classroom.
· Do you believe teaching should be more application based than theory? If yes, then how do you support it?
Of course it should be more application based. Well my teaching is totally supported by activities. When I say activity, it includes with events such as industry visits, expert interaction, case study based individual presentation, news paper analysis & updates the knowledge, informal monitoring/mentoring, special FAQ sessions & workshops etc.
· Who in your life has influenced you the most?
When I was with APTECH I came across with Mr. Satyanarayan Rao, from NIS Sparta, a dynamic trainer & a friendly person who was exceptionally well in training to come over all the expectations of the management trainees.
· What suggestions would you like to make in the course of MBA?
There is a gap between the qualification and the actual job task. That is because of the actual industrial requirements is not identical with the course curriculum and teaching pedagogies imparted at most of the institutes. So my first suggestion in this regard is that the course curriculum should be collective designed and fit into the industry academia requirements. Secondly, by their respective institutions the students should be allowed to interact, share their knowledge with industry experts at industry site about the applicability of the theory they study in class room.
· As a faculty, what kind of projects do you expect students to work upon?
MBA as a study should be enjoyed not to be studied. And it can be done through working upon the projects. Since the students become subject specific like specialized in Marketing, HRM, Finance, IT, Rural Marketing, International Business & Retail etc. they must do the project on their specialized subject only. For instance the projects in finance can be on Stock Market, Insurance field, banking etc. In marketing go green products, consumer need based surveys, new products lunching, brand promotional activities etc and in HRM projects like CSR, Talent management & decision making in job distribution etc.
· How are current technological advancements changing your teaching style?
You need to be technological advanced if you are into teaching or everyday training. It makes your whole job easy. The technology such as internet, e-gadgets, blogs, expert talks and other on-line resource has made me technological savvy.
· What is the impact of mobile technologies boom influencing your area of specialization?
It is a controversial question. Because it has got two (good and bad) ways of influencing my area of specialization. Good or bad depends upon the way of utilization as it is the fastest communicating device to give us good and most distracting element inside the classroom.
· How are social networks influencing your discipline?
Same as above it based on way of adoption. I am linked with experts from my discipline through personal, professional source and as well as through networking sites
· How does the economy story of India change your discipline?
“The economy story of India”, is a big term to analyse. However a minute portion can change the story of one’s discipline in various respects, such as financial meltdown in international market affects the Indian economy too. The slowdown of world economy leads the companies not to react as same as earlier in terms of placement, which indirectly affects the business process of many b-schools, such as declining admission process, reduction in package to employees. And all these have changed us to become more money oriented rather than quality education impart oriented in our own domain.
· What changes do you see on the horizon in your area of discipline?
The biggest change I observe, that institutions are more interested of changing the process of closed end study policy to open end study policy. Elaborately, management professionals like faculty members/teachers/trainers, students and other stakeholders have started trusting of gaining knowledge from various sources such as internet, blogs, expert official websites, journals, convocations study & research papers etc. along with books that are actually required. And most importantly they have realized, while competition is very high in hard skill, the edge of advantage of having soft skill can give the success.
· One touching incident that happened with you in your teaching career?
Oh, yes when I was asked “whether married” by a girl student. And my answer was “I will get back to you soon”. Apart from this the touching incident is when students reply with “wow”. The “wow” factor is really heart touching, I believe for everybody.
· There is a shortage of eminent professors at b-schools. With more and more institutes offering the MBA course, do you think MBA will become just another degree?
No, not for next decade. But yes, it might become just another degree if the up gradation does not take place at the right time.
· Do you think the course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
Very less. Very very less. Industries involvement in this regard is highly vital. They should be invited to the forum of preparation of course curriculum to place their input.
· If you hadn’t been a professor, what would you be? What are your professional/career goals?
Since the initial years of my career, I have spent in marketing, if I hadn’t been a professor, I would have been in marketing field. Why because, the similarity is that in both the area you have to convince and persuade your ideology to others.
· What message would you like to give to students across the globe?
Attitude = discipline = 100%. So dear students be discipline about your goal and have positive attitude. Big or small, success will knock the door.
· Any feedback for ManagementParadise.com?
Rich with resource, as friendly as my neighbour and a real paradise to innovative approaches of management study, i.e. www.managementparadise.com.
. How can our readers contact you? Facebook or Twitter Id
I am available in facebook through my id [email protected].
Thank you
Bishnu Prasanna Pal
Your Full Name: BISHNU PRASANNA PAL
· Tell us something about yourself and your institute?
I am a management professional and I teach MBA students. I am MBA in HR, LLb qualified and currently pursuing PhD. I have total 14 years of working experience with NIIT, APTECH, ICFAI & now with BJB college as a faculty of MBA.
Well about my institute, B.J.B Autonomous College is one of the premier educational institutions of the State. It came into existence in 1957 through the initiative of the Government of Orissa. The college was placed in Grade ‘A’ in 2004 after an assessment by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.
Apart from regular courses for the degree of Bachelor in Arts, Science and Commerce it also offers professional course such as Indian Music, Integrated M. Sc in Bioinformatics, Integrated M.B.A, M.Sc in Electronics and Telecommunication, M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, Master in Financial Control and Bachelor in Information Technology and Management etc.
· When did you join teaching profession? Why did you choose to be a professor?
In the year of 2005 I joined teaching profession. Since the beginning of my career I have been associated with teaching/training institutes only, I love my lovable students. This is one part the other is one’s keenness for a profession. And I like to be with, for & of the students only.
· What about teaching at b-schools inspires you the most?
The ambience. See, the difference between the general college & b-school is, the b-schools run practical industry endorsed program where the students become more aware about corporate culture, where as the general colleges run the traditional program, where the chance of gaining the corporate oriented knowledge is very less. This inspires me to teach b-school.
· Which subjects do you teach? Which ones do you like the most?
I teach HR subjects like HRM, Training & Development and Compensation Management etc. But apart from all these I like the one is Soft Skill Training & Communication which is the most valuable part of professional curriculum irrespective of any study.
· What is your teaching philosophy?
The teacher always wants that by knowledge & concept, his/her students to go one step ahead than him/her. And that comes true when the teacher shares his 100% plus experience with students. So my philosophy is to make the students conceptually clear about the subject & topic before they go out of the classroom.
· Do you believe teaching should be more application based than theory? If yes, then how do you support it?
Of course it should be more application based. Well my teaching is totally supported by activities. When I say activity, it includes with events such as industry visits, expert interaction, case study based individual presentation, news paper analysis & updates the knowledge, informal monitoring/mentoring, special FAQ sessions & workshops etc.
· Who in your life has influenced you the most?
When I was with APTECH I came across with Mr. Satyanarayan Rao, from NIS Sparta, a dynamic trainer & a friendly person who was exceptionally well in training to come over all the expectations of the management trainees.
· What suggestions would you like to make in the course of MBA?
There is a gap between the qualification and the actual job task. That is because of the actual industrial requirements is not identical with the course curriculum and teaching pedagogies imparted at most of the institutes. So my first suggestion in this regard is that the course curriculum should be collective designed and fit into the industry academia requirements. Secondly, by their respective institutions the students should be allowed to interact, share their knowledge with industry experts at industry site about the applicability of the theory they study in class room.
· As a faculty, what kind of projects do you expect students to work upon?
MBA as a study should be enjoyed not to be studied. And it can be done through working upon the projects. Since the students become subject specific like specialized in Marketing, HRM, Finance, IT, Rural Marketing, International Business & Retail etc. they must do the project on their specialized subject only. For instance the projects in finance can be on Stock Market, Insurance field, banking etc. In marketing go green products, consumer need based surveys, new products lunching, brand promotional activities etc and in HRM projects like CSR, Talent management & decision making in job distribution etc.
· How are current technological advancements changing your teaching style?
You need to be technological advanced if you are into teaching or everyday training. It makes your whole job easy. The technology such as internet, e-gadgets, blogs, expert talks and other on-line resource has made me technological savvy.
· What is the impact of mobile technologies boom influencing your area of specialization?
It is a controversial question. Because it has got two (good and bad) ways of influencing my area of specialization. Good or bad depends upon the way of utilization as it is the fastest communicating device to give us good and most distracting element inside the classroom.
· How are social networks influencing your discipline?
Same as above it based on way of adoption. I am linked with experts from my discipline through personal, professional source and as well as through networking sites
· How does the economy story of India change your discipline?
“The economy story of India”, is a big term to analyse. However a minute portion can change the story of one’s discipline in various respects, such as financial meltdown in international market affects the Indian economy too. The slowdown of world economy leads the companies not to react as same as earlier in terms of placement, which indirectly affects the business process of many b-schools, such as declining admission process, reduction in package to employees. And all these have changed us to become more money oriented rather than quality education impart oriented in our own domain.
· What changes do you see on the horizon in your area of discipline?
The biggest change I observe, that institutions are more interested of changing the process of closed end study policy to open end study policy. Elaborately, management professionals like faculty members/teachers/trainers, students and other stakeholders have started trusting of gaining knowledge from various sources such as internet, blogs, expert official websites, journals, convocations study & research papers etc. along with books that are actually required. And most importantly they have realized, while competition is very high in hard skill, the edge of advantage of having soft skill can give the success.
· One touching incident that happened with you in your teaching career?
Oh, yes when I was asked “whether married” by a girl student. And my answer was “I will get back to you soon”. Apart from this the touching incident is when students reply with “wow”. The “wow” factor is really heart touching, I believe for everybody.
· There is a shortage of eminent professors at b-schools. With more and more institutes offering the MBA course, do you think MBA will become just another degree?
No, not for next decade. But yes, it might become just another degree if the up gradation does not take place at the right time.
· Do you think the course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
Very less. Very very less. Industries involvement in this regard is highly vital. They should be invited to the forum of preparation of course curriculum to place their input.
· If you hadn’t been a professor, what would you be? What are your professional/career goals?
Since the initial years of my career, I have spent in marketing, if I hadn’t been a professor, I would have been in marketing field. Why because, the similarity is that in both the area you have to convince and persuade your ideology to others.
· What message would you like to give to students across the globe?
Attitude = discipline = 100%. So dear students be discipline about your goal and have positive attitude. Big or small, success will knock the door.
· Any feedback for ManagementParadise.com?
Rich with resource, as friendly as my neighbour and a real paradise to innovative approaches of management study, i.e. www.managementparadise.com.
. How can our readers contact you? Facebook or Twitter Id
I am available in facebook through my id [email protected].
Thank you
Bishnu Prasanna Pal