A critical view on what the MBA lacks[/b]
The beginning of every New Year ushers with it the apprehensions of making the cut for admissions to top B-schools in India. Millions of Indian graduates throng social networking sites such as Pagalguy and MBA Universe, desperately seeking advice on application procedures, cut offs etc. Liberalization and privatization of colleges seems to have created one of India’s biggest fads – an MBA degree. The lure of money is enough to entice most students to pursue MBA as a career program. I am one among them.
What I am going to be doing is try to dissect the MBA program and see if students actually take this opportunity to become future leaders. The article is purely based on my experience and observations. This is not an opinion towards MBA programs/colleges. I am in no ways castigating the MBA and my article is simply to highlight how to make the most of an opportunity we call the MBA. It is a critical review of some aspects of such programs that I have experienced and covers only some parts of the program.
[/b]Misconceptions about MBA ROI[/b]
Business schools have long sold the promise that, like an F1 driver zipping into the pits for fresh tyres, it just takes a short hiatus on an MBA programme and you will come roaring back into the career race primed to win.
The problem is that these days it doesn’t work like that. Rather, more and more students are finding the promise of business schools to be hollow. The return on investment on an MBA has gone the way of Greek public debt. If you have a decent job in your mid- to late- 20s, unless you have the backing of a corporate sponsor, leaving it to get an MBA is a higher risk than ever. If you are getting good business experience already, the best strategy is to keep on getting it, thereby making yourself ever more useful rather than groping for the evanescent brass rings of business school.
An MBA is not necessary for business/corporate success. Nobody said it was. But in today’s world, an MBA certainly helps, probably only terms of meeting people who might be interested in paying you generously. Consider the cost of doing a 2 year full time program at a top B-school. It would cost you between 6-15 lacs (not counting lost earnings) depending on the ranking of the B-school. Do you know how long on average it takes to pay this debt back, for those who did take educational loans? A really long time! While an average MBA apparently sees around 60% hike increase from before he did his MBA, the recession and inflation eat away this number. You can figure out the rest yourself.
[/b][/b]
What I have always wondered is why Engineers would want to do an MBA? After spending 4 years of their life on a highly technical education, why wouldn’t they want to pursue it further? If they were not into engineering then why did they do it in the first place?
I have two theories to answer these questions. The first is that students go for MBA post engineering is because that’s what their parents did or what they think their children ought to be doing. Or because many other students seem to be opting for such programs. There exists huge parental pressure on students to do these courses simply because their friend’s children are also doing these courses. And students who are not sure what they what to do in life; MBA seems life a safe choice in the current job market.
The second is because engineering jobs are not as lucrative as an MBA. Again, the race for higher packages and better jobs make MBA programs a preferred choice in our education system. Companies also show a strong preference for candidates from B schools. So what?
In my opinion the MBA program is cannibalizing other programs. Since the advent of privatisation of B schools, students flock to MBA programs each year. An engineer getting to B schools is a very common sight. How would a growing economy like India, looking forward to being a global super power, do all that without quality engineers/architects?
If our students keep leaving their technical education to do MBA programs, who would build our towns and make technology products? The security offered by the MBA program is much higher than other courses so it’s but obvious that more and more students would opt for it. Courses such as MA, MCA etc seem to be losing their shine as the job market is heavily biased towards MBA programs.
Good B schools are very careful about selecting the kind of faculty they have. A part of why a student would pick one school over another could be due to the profile of faculties they both have. Most faculties are PhD’s with some of them having industry experience. But a good part of them have no industry experience whatsoever. So how could they teach us about what is going to happen in the outside world of business? The books we study are at least outdated by 2 years.
So we actually are studying something that happened in the past and might not be as relevant to our present and the future. Marketing theories and techniques, financial models, HR issues evolve from time to time and it is essential for a management student to be up to date with the latest trends in the business world.
Our books and professors on the other hand, contain knowledge which could be outdated. Most of the professors stick to what they have learnt over the years and what is mentioned in so called management books. How many actually teach us about the NOW? That is why if you look at the curriculum of the world’s best b schools you will find that case studies and real time projects form a major part of the learning process. This is because they know that an education could be got from a book but the learning only happens through hands on experience. They expect their students to refer their books and then use the material when working on caselets or projects.
Indians on the other hand are traditional and risk averse when it comes to curriculum design. They want to go the safe way of ensuring that students mug up their books and exhibit the illusion of management enlightenment.
[/b]“Forced Learning” & the “Mandatory Attendance” Theories[/b]
In the treacherous and rewarding arena of adult education, teachers often find themselves at a crossroad. On one side lies a bounty of motivated learners ready to engage in the most thrilling of activities, and on the other lays a gray mass of drones preparing to be pushed into the next mandatory session. It for the latter that exists a theory called the “Forced Learning Theory. “ This theory states that teachers may excise their right to try and shove some education down our throats. Now why would a student want to come to class? A couple of reasons; for attendance, to learn and because they have nothing else to do.
In my educational experience of around 15 years, I have come across many teachers who are hell bent on making you listen to what they are saying. I think the objective of an MBA class should be to foster learning through discussion and not through forced learning.
As one of my friends says, “An MBA faculty needs to be a moderator.” So true but it rarely happens. Have you seen overloaded trucks with oversized cargo running on our highways? And how many of them are later seen off road and overturned? That’s how an MBA classroom lecture feels like. I don’t think our faculties want us to learn. I don’t even know if they know the difference between educating someone and motivating them to learn.
I am presently sitting in a class, oblivious to what’s happening here. But from an evaluation perspective I am not worried because I know I can go back my to my dorm room and mug up everything that has been covered today. But what excites me is that while sitting in this class I actually utilized my time to write this paper and prepare a survey questionnaire for the same. So for me personally, this class has been very productive and could lead to some amount of learning, all though not related to my class.
Evaluation Methods[/b]
The Examination system that we have seems to have worked well for all of us. It tests how well we have understood the theories we’ve learnt in class and how well we are able to articulate these in a written examination. A vital aspect is the how well a student can recall whatever he has studied during the term. We have evolved into using MCQ’s in most of our competitive exams coupled with essay type questions for some like the GMAT. The CAT is a good example of the new age evaluation system which not only tests your mathematical and verbal skills, but also your time management and analytical skills.
Talking about the MBA evaluation system, here’s what my opinion is. I came up with a list of evaluation methods that could possibly be used in an MBA program. They are listed below:
1. Theory questions as they exist now
2. Case Studies
3. Research Projects
4. Presentations
5. Assignments
6. Group Discussions
7. Online MCQ’s and essay type questions
As of now most of our evaluations are conducted based on point number 1. The problem with this method, in my opinion, is that it is too memory based. It is limited to the point where it checks mostly how good a student’s memory is. Most students often get into the mode of mugging up books and notes as it comes handy during examinations. The problem is that this method doesn’t actually make us think. It makes us good memorizers.
Not all the methods mentioned above are suitable for all subjects. They need to be customized according to the pedagogy and subject being covered. Group discussions, I feel are good for topics where we need to develop our communication skills. GD’s test how well we speak as well as how well we are able to convince others. It is also about how well I can articulate my thoughts. So if I am looking forward to improve my communication, confidence and apply what I have learnt in subjects such as Business Communication then this would be a great approach.
Case studies on the other hand, are suited to all subjects. They present us with a real life problem and help us mould our theoretical knowledge towards solving these issues. In subjects such as Organizational Behaviour and Marketing, these are of great help. They not only encourage a student to apply his learning but also create opportunities to think out of the box.
Research Projects should also be utilized properly. I recently wrote a research paper on how social networking sites have revolutionized the communication process. I did extensive research which involved going through numerous other case studies and research papers. I also conducted a survey to analyse how these sites are used.
What did I learn? Not only did I learn about my research topic but I also learnt how to develop surveys, how to convince people to take my survey and to gain a broader understanding of how communication evolved over the years.
So in my belief the system should not be restricted towards the use of only one method of evaluation. We have such amazing tools at our disposal and should utilize them to the full extent. The objective of an evaluation system should be to check understanding of a subject and how well it can be applied not how well we can memorize it.
In my experience, my education has taught me how to do stuff. Academicians have long written books and followed books written by others. Management gurus sell their way of thinking through highly published books such as “7 Habits of highly successful people.” It is said that one of the ways to learn is to emulate what others are doing and I guess this is our learning process right from the time we are born.
Our education system lays the foundation by telling us how to do things. But how often are we encouraged to think? In our B schools too we are taught to follow what is written in our text books and what our faculties want us to study. Why don’t we have courses which are thought provoking or create an environment where original ideas are encouraged?
Take the evaluation system. Most faculties check whether we have used bookish language in our test papers. It’s not their fault to expect that or our fault to write that because that’s the expectation that has been created.
How many times have you written an answer with your own concepts? It is also easy to do because for our brain to come up with original concepts is much tougher than recalling what we have learnt from others, or acquired learning. So when we are put in a situation where we are expected to behave in a certain way, the brain pulls out that information which has been fed through this acquired system of learning.
Creativity is hard to produce at a constant level and that’s why we as a culture don’t have many inventions to our credit. If the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, tells us that being the first in the market is better then that’s the way we think it is. How many of us would think otherwise? Failure is to be expected and accepted and unless we fail we wouldn’t learn half the things we’ve learnt today.
Probably that’s why we see so many entrepreneurs in America. We see products or services or new age concepts coming from America or other European nations because their culture and academic system fosters creativity and innovation.
The education system, it is said, was developed to meet the needs of the industrial world. So today the most useful subjects like Maths and Sciences are at the top and the ones like Art are at the bottom. People wouldn’t encourage you to take music because they say you wouldn’t be a musician.
In the next 30 years, according to UNESCO, more people worldwide will be graduating through education than since the beginning of history. Suddenly degrees aren’t worth anything and everybody would do the same things they have been taught to do. So how do we ever have creative ideas and innovations? [/b]
[/b]
Competency is the ability of an individual to perform a job properly. It is the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually. So what are some of the competencies that help us becomes successful at whatever we do. Some are listed below:
· Initiative and Creativity
· Decision Making Skills
· Teamwork
· Quality of Work
· Reliability
· Communication
· Customer Service
· Problem Solving/Analytical Skills
· Self Development
· Innovation
· Values and Ethics
· Strategic Thinking
· Resource Management[/b]
How many institutes have the capability to help us develop these competencies? As management students, our main purpose is to find our competencies and develop them further for us to be able to become good managers. It’s a self realization journey where you need to discover and understand what you are good at and how you can leverage it to enhance your knowledge.
It’s for you to understand and identify your weaknesses so that they can be turned into opportunities .But how often do we get time off from the rigmarole of attending classes and filling in assignments to concentrate on self development?
Conclusion[/b]
All in all, I feel the MBA has a lot of potential in grooming our young towards future leaders. It provides us with an outlook that we wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. The learning outcomes from an MBA could be much higher than any other professional degree. But we also have a long way to go to make our management education world class. Our system seems to be too outdated and focused towards only one approach of learning. If we need to train our young to lead India into the future then we must help them understand their capabilities and facilitate their improvement.
Our generation needs good strategists, something that we have lacked for a long time. And for us to do so, also requires a revaluation of how our current educational system is designed. The Harvards and Oxfords are famous not only for their brand but also for their teaching methodologies. India needs to go the Harvard way. Our industry too should leave behind this conservative approach towards education and demand something different from the B Schools. Only then can we produce a better breed of managers who can make a difference in the world.
***More to come in this paper as my survey of B-School students is currently going on. The survey address some of the points mentioned in this paper.**
[/b]