Your Full Name: Dattaprasanna M Marathe
Institute you teach at : Alkesh Dinesh Modi, Jankidevi Bajaj, IBS Mumbai, SIBM Bengaluru, Balaji Institutes Pune etc
· Tell us something about yourself and your institute?
I have graduated from IIT Bombay in Chemical Engineering & completed my MMS Operations from Mumbai University. I worked in Industry for 11 years & then switched to Academics since 2000. I was Deputy Director of METIM till June 2011. Since then I am working as a Visiting Faculty at many Institutes.
· When did you join teaching profession? Why did you choose to be a professor?
I switched to Teaching because of my liking & I wanted to find relevance of academics with Industry. I noticed that many students joining as Management Trainees lack basic concepts learnt during graduation as well as communication & presentation skills. They are weak in logical & analytical skills. I was always interested in Teaching & I decided to contribute by working as a Full time faculty .I try to help the students to overcome these drawbacks.
· What about teaching at b-schools inspires you the most?
The students entering this kind of education are more focused in their goals & know what lies ahead. They are more mature , well exposed to Indian & Business economy & possess good command in computer skills. It is very enjoyable experience teaching them .Actually one only works as a facilitator and it is a challenging job . Sometimes it is mutual teaching -learning process.
· Which subjects do you teach? Which ones do you like the most?
I teach all subjects of Quantitative nature. The list includes following subjects:
Statistics for Management, Operations Research, Research Methodology,
Quantitative Models or Techniques in Marketing / Finance / HRM/ Operations, Marketing Research
Project Management
I like to teach Statistics & Operations Research most.
· What is your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is based on student or customer requirement. Today the cost of education is very high. Naturally student expects to have faster & larger returns on investment in terms of salary. He or she needs to be competitive to enter Industry. I teach in every subject Why-the necessity to learn , How - the methodology & Where- the application situations. I follow this in every subject I teach. It is very possible to teach quantitative subjects through Case Method. I have developed cases myself for this purpose.
· Do you believe teaching should be more application based than theory? If yes, then how do you support it?
I absolutely believe that teaching at every level must be application based. It has to be well supported by theory. I use plenty of teaching material available on You Tube as well of many websites . I am a member of many such websites. I use this material for academic purpose.
· Who in your life has influenced you the most?
My teachers have influenced me in my life in academics. In private life I have been grateful to my parents ,wife & children. Prof B. Banerjee for Statistics, Dr. S. Salunkhe for Research Methods, Prof Mahulikar for Marketing Research & Dr Vijay Page for Project Management have made me enter these subject areas.
· What suggestions would you like to make in the course of MBA?
MBA course is taught today by any post graduate in Management as it is basic requirement by AICTE .It will be very difficult & perhaps impossible to teach concepts with Industrial examples for a person who is lacking Industry experience. Most of students are well exposed to computer skills. It is possible to teach all quantitative subjects with help of computer software .In future online learning will become more popular & faculty must get trained to apply. The students should be exposed to Management Games as it give a snap shot of Industry in real life situation.
· As a faculty, what kind of projects do you expect students to work upon?
The students must do all possible projects in relevant subjects. It should begin with literature search & data collection. They should work independently & apply theoretical concepts learnt to project data collected.
· How are current technological advancements changing your teaching style?
I use many computer softwares in teaching the subjects.I have designed Management Games myself .I participate in Q & A sessions of many websites & I get many practical ideas . These I use as teaching aid or material . Many time I ask students to solve assignments using only computer without using pen & paper.
· What is the impact of mobile technologies boom influencing your area of specialization?
It is very easy to transfer knowledge & have access to internet with mobile phone. One can download basic softwares such as MS Office with all parts of it. Hence one can teach my subjects with only mobile phone in hands of students.
· How are social networks influencing your discipline?
Few students are actually interested in quantitative subjects though they are very well used in Industry .Hence not much material gets loaded on social networking sites.
· How does the economy story of India change your discipline?
In case of recession most probably Marketing will be in demand. Once the cycle moves then Finance & then HR will be in demand. It is essential to follow cost cutting in recession & it requires best usage of all available resources. Hence Operations probably will always be in demand. It is expected that this current Indian economic conditions may stay till start of 2015 . It becomes essential for me to modify my own syllabus to include certain topics.
· What changes do you see on the horizon in your area of discipline?
I feel all subjects like Statistics & Operations Research / Management will be entirely taught using PC & case Method. These changes are very much required today for survival of students.
· One touching incident that happened with you in your teaching career?
I was awarded a cash prize for consistent academic & administrative performance in 2005 by METIM.
· 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?
MBA has already become only an extended qualification. No wonder the quality of student has gone down drastically. It is expected that 400 odd no. of Institutes across India are expected to have no or marginal Intake in academic year 2013.
· Do you think the course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
The curriculum of any academic programme cannot meet Industry demands ever entirely. It is essential that students are taught all the topics in the syllabus & ensure that they have understood the concepts. The current syllabus almost meets Industry demand.
· If you hadn’t been a professor, what would you be? What are your professional/career goals?
If I was not a professor , I would be a Consultant. My goals are to teach at different locations & get exposed to various students. I would like to work as Consultant in areas of Statistical forecasting or Marketing Research as I have done earlier
· What message would you like to give to students across the globe?
Spend your time judiciously to learn, grasp & master the basic concepts in all subjects. Treat each assignment as Project & do backward planning to execute it with time & resources in mind.
· Any feedback for ManagementParadise.com?
The site can be made more popular as it offers many things to students . One can hold student competitions for projects done in Summer
. How can our readers contact you? Facebook or Twitter Id
One can see my linkedIn or Facebook profile with dattaprasanna marathe