An interview with Dr. Kappagomtula C.L.
Institute you teach at : Business School, VIT University, Vellore-632014, Tamil Nadu.
· Tell us something about yourself and your institute?
Has been in the field of Academics, teaching UG and PG Courses of Engineering and Management students for 18 years. Has the distinction of serving in the Indian Armed Forces for 26 years, and participated in 1962 Chinese aggression, 1965 Indo-Pak War, and 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Further has the distinction of serving in the multinational Industries in Hong Kong / China in Projects Management domain in top executive positions. Currently serving as Operational Management faculty, at the Business School of VIT University, since 2009.
· When did you join teaching profession?
I joined in the Teaching Profession as Professor and Head of Computer Engineering and Computer Centre Departments, at the MIT, Manipal in 1987, soon after my premature retirement from the Army in Feb,1987. The Compassion to pass on the knowledge and grooming the young minds, as career Engineers and Management Professionals has made me opt for this Profession.
· Why did you choose to be a professor?
Professor is only a designation in teaching Profession, based on years of experience and expertise in the field of education. As a matter of fact, irrespective of years of service, every teacher in the Institute’s of higher learning is known as a Professor.
· What about teaching at b-schools inspires you the most?
What inspires most is the tangible fact that transforms a budding, young College degree graduate, turning into a business professional. The young fellows, are groomed into individuals who are conversant with the processes of Business and potential entrepreneurs for the Nation.
· Which subjects do you teach? Which ones do you like the most?
I teach operational Management subjects – Production and Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Projects Management, International Purchase Management, and Enterprise Management. I like all of them with equal weights. I will say that in my classes, there is nothing called Teaching. Every session is a lively interactive Learning sessions, with students getting glued and engrossed in the Learning Processes.
· What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe in the old adage, that “ you can take a horse to the pond, but it is the horse that has to drink the water and you can’t make it drink”. In the same manner, teaching is a special trait of the teacher, and the student learners will only learn, if sufficient interest is generated in them for that particular subject. Interactive sessions, role plays, and seminar presentations by the students, are all some of the tools, to make them “LEARNT the SUBJECT”.
· Do you believe teaching should be more application based than theory? If yes, then how do you support it?
I fully ascribe to this statement and say, that mere theory alone will make the students feel very monotonous. Modern generation are action individuals, and they wish to see, a kind of ‘dynamism’ in the subject they are learning. Unless, each aspect of the subject is linked to the practical situation, with live cases / examples, students are not enthusiastic to sit and listen, ‘lecturing’
· Who in your life has influenced you the most?
At every stage of my Academic and Industrial career, I could find at least one individual whom I made as my ‘Archie-type’. During my high school stage, one Mr. Nagendrababu, a mathematics teacher influenced me most, with his most lucid / innovative teaching pedagogy. In the collegiate education, my real guru, has been Dr.Vinay Shil Gautam, the famed OB/OD Professor at IIT/Delhi. During my research studies, Dr.D.P.Kothari, the former Vice chancellor of VIT University impressed me with his most un-assuming style of guiding the research scholars. Similarly, during my Industrial exposure, one Mr. Vishnu Bhatia, a Conglomerate Head in Hong Kong impressed me with his unique and ‘sure success’ business methods. Of course in my personal life, my mother has the most influencing part in shaping and grooming me, to the level, what I am today, and I am for ever indebted to her departed soul.
· What suggestions would you like to make in the course of MBA?
My suggestions are simple and very easy for every professional graduate to follow:
Don’t cram up subjects for getting excellent grades, but strive to learn the concepts in each subject, thoroughly.
Link up the theory to your practical real life situations and then try to handle them. You will find it easy to handle any situation.
Be honest / sincere / diligent at your assigned tasks. Never try to fool your superiors, for you will be immediately caught and that will cause you a great embarrassment.
Be always empathetic towards your sub-ordinates and don’t ever win favours by cheap means.
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· As a faculty, what kind of projects do you expect students to work upon?
I expect students to work on live projects for which they can see / feel tangible results. Further, anything creative and innovative must be their favourite choice compared to theoretical projects.
· How are current technological advancements changing your teaching style?
In this ‘tech savvy’ World, e-gadgets, and e-resources are a great boon, to limitless accession to knowledge and teaching pedagogy. I follow, Dale Carnegie’s Mission 10X, ‘high impact’ teaching methodology, and make all class room sessions into totally interactive active learning sessions. It is resulting in a high degree of well learned students appreciating the subjects taught to them in MBA course.
· What is the impact of mobile technologies boom influencing your area of specialization?
Mobile Technologies are boom tools in areas of Supply Chain and Projects management for on line tracking of dynamic activities associated within these two areas
· How are social networks influencing your discipline?
In my book, “Multi currency Savings : Culture and Society’s impact on Projects management– Chinese perspective “ with ISBN: 978-3-659-19458-0 published by Lambert Academy Publishers, Germany and available under Management books section in amazon.com web portal, I have shown that societal impact plays dominant role in deciding success outcomes in large projects. This has been empirically proved in the case of Chinese projects and other nations too can emulate the Chinese model to reap the benefits.
· How does the economy story of India change your discipline
Best management practices are the result of great deal of research in those niche areas of management disciplines. Any empirically established study, if diligently put to practice is bound to bring in the required positive results. Same goes in Projects Management disciple as well. It is however a pity, that good management experts are not consulted when the Government launches multibillion dollar projects, resulting in their fiasco most of the times.
· What changes do you see on the horizon in your area of discipline?
Time – Cost – Performance are the paramount factors in any Cost vs. Work scenario. May be over next few years, more honest people are in the horizon in Indian scene where large scale ventures are selected, planned, and Implemented with greater ‘finesse’.
· One touching incident that happened with you in your teaching career?
In most of my classes during the concluding phase of the Course, students become highly emotional and wish me to teach them again some other courses. This situation is simply ‘over whelming’ for me as a teacher to cope up with.
· 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?
If Quality of education is compromised to sycophancy at Institutes of higher learning, MBA will become ‘just another degree’. What we need today is to rate the teacher, as per the ‘feed back’ from students, rather than superiors judging his performance.
· Do you think the course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
In some subjects, YES, but in most of the other subjects, there seems to be an ‘eye-wash’.
· If you hadn’t been a professor, what would you be? What are your professional/career goals?
The passion for teaching made me a Professor. Since I passed through three distinct and digressing Professional fields, viz: Army / Industry / Teaching, I can say.. that one can excel in any field, so long he is committed and sincere in that field.
· What message would you like to give to students across the globe?
Be always an optimist; never miss any opportunity in life, for it only knocks once in life. Above all, be bold and act – success will be yours and don’t ever shy away as a ‘timid’.
· Any feedback for ManagementParadise.com?
An excellent web portal and very informative indeed.
. How can our readers contact you? Facebook or Twitter Id
I can be contacted by email: [email protected] and same ID hold good for the Face book too.