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STRATEGIES FOR BEING A GLOBAL

MBA PLAYER

ABSTRACT: Global Competitiveness is the tool for success in all spheres.

Even education. Especially management education. This research paper

takes the positive favourable factors aiding the process of making our

management educational institutions globally competitive. The route taken is

the trend towards Indians making their mark as global citizens, on every

field globally. By identifying specific cases through primary research the

paper unfolds the possibility that we can become a global MBA player and

that there is scope for Indian management schools to become globally

competitive.

INTRODUCTION

The mantra today is globalization be it industry, economics, trade or

education. The world over energies is being synergized to become

successful global player in every field. The environment and the challenges

in the growing MBA education field with its tremendous growth

opportunities are exceptional and unique.

There has been a tremendous growth of management institutes in our

society. Every year about 20,000 students pass out of management schools,

the demand is very high.

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India has over 250 universities, deemed universities, institutes of national

importance and over 11000 colleges. This itself makes India’s education

system one of the worlds largest. The number of colleges for professional

education has gone up from a mere 208 in 1951 to over 2300 in 2001.

This paper attempts to unfold in the following manner:

1. India’s demand in the foreign markets

2. Current educational scenario

3. Challenges faced by Indian B schools

4. Best practices the world over

India’s Demand in the foreign markets

At the recent Nasscom conference in Mumbai, management guru Late

Sumantra Ghoshal began his presentation with a slide that stated, “Thank

You”. He was expressing his gratitude to the huge audience of software

industry professionals, whom, he felt, were largely responsible for the new,

respectable image that Indians now enjoyed globally. He was seeing, he

explained, a newfound sense of pride and confidence among the Indians in

the class he taught at the London Business School. Indians abroad were

finally proud to be Indian. And, the super success of the Indian software

exports industry was the reason.

Indians are going places, not just because they want to but also because they

are in hot demand. Increasingly, India heads of multinationals are being

asked to take charge of a larger chunk of global operations. It’s not increased

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multicultural sensitivity in the West that’s landing them the plum posts

abroad. Rather, it is the success of their Indian operations that is making

their international office choose them to replicate their marketing mantra on

an international scale.

Indian executives making it big and taking on global responsibilities come

from across all sectors: consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, information

technology, banking and even publishing. They all say there’s no place like

home, but hey, someone’s got to get the job done. Indian students are doing

a great job all over the globe.

The Global Citizens

India’s Demand for Indian Management Professionals

Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economist IMF, alumni of IIMA, PHD

Wharton and Professor at Chicago University.

Deepak Jain, Dean of Kellogg School of Management and Business

Week’s latest issue ranked him as the Best Dean.

Naina Lal Kidwai heads South East Asia for HSBC, the first Indian

women to pass out from Harvard Business School.

We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, even

faring better than the whites and the natives. There are 3.22 millions of

Indians in USA (1.5% of population). and,

38% of doctors in USA are Indians.

12% scientists in USA are Indians.

36% of NASA scientists are Indians.

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34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.

28% of IBM employees are Indians.

17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.

13% of XEROX employees are Indians.

This is proof enough illustrating the glorious heights reached by educated

Indians.

India’s Educational Scenario

Our Rich Heritage

India has been the seat for learning and education since ancient times.

Though a great man like Aryabhatta didn’t meet the same fate as Socrates

and Galileo in their countries due to some reasons, India was a great learning

center with universities Nalanda and Takshishila, metropolises Pataliputra

and Ujjaini, emperors like Chandragupta Maurya and Samrat Ashoka,

scholars like Pannini, Aryabhatta and Kautilya. India has a fair share of

enriching the world's education with the techniques of algebra and

algorithm, the concept of zero, the technique of surgery, the concepts of

atoms and relativity, the game of chess etc.

Yuan Chawng and Tsing who resided as students at the Nalanda Center of

Learning, described it as a residential university with a population of 8500

students, 1501 teachers and other staff members. It provided food, clothing,

bedding, tuition and even free medicine to the residents. It was supported by

liberal grants for this purpose by royal and private philanthropy. This gives

some idea of the reputation of India as a learning center when there were no

roads, transport to travel from one country to another.

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The Arabs borrowed so much from India in the field of mathematics that

even the subject of mathematics in Arabic came to be known as 'Hindsa'

which means 'from India'.

Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages germinated in India.

Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software (report in

Forbes magazine, July 1987) and Indians have created it.

India’s Advent in Management Education

In 1950, the Department of Commerce of the Andhra University started the

first M.B.A. programme in India. In 1963, Indian Institute of Management,

Ahmedabad was set up in collaboration with the Harvard Business School.

The 1950s and 1960s witnessed the growth of commerce education and

the1970s and 1980s witnessed the growth of Management Education in

India.

Management courses have become 'Academic Courses' rather than

'Professional ones'. Management Institutes, barring a few exceptions, have

been reduced to commerce colleges. There is an urgent need to restructure

management education to meet the new challenges of the 21st Century.

Probably the biggest challenges management education has to deal with in

the e-commerce explosion are how to train and develop experienced faculty,

how to recruit and nurture new faculty, and how to keep the classrooms

stocked with capable teachers while all that is going on. Clearly, what is

happening in business schools today is being very significantly affected by

e-commerce. What is important is that schools understand it better, use it

better, do more research on it, and have it in their curricula. E-commerce is

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going to be pervasive throughout the curriculum in every area.

One of the most important developments in recent times is India’s talks at

WTO on allowing opening up of foreign education services. The greatest

impact of WTO control over higher education would occur in developing

countries. These countries have the greatest need for academic institutions

that contribute to national development, produce research relevant to local

needs and participate in the strengthening of civil society. Once universities

in developing countries are subjected to an international market place

regulated by WTO, they would be swamped by overseas institutes and

programs intent upon earning a profit and not contributing to the national

income.

Non-traditional Service Providers

A significant global trend in the field of management education has been a

sharp increase in the number of nontraditional service providers offering

business programs. Corporate universities and alliances between businesses

and academic institutions are revolutionizing the offerings available to

students pursuing graduate management programs.

In order to produce graduates who are fully prepared to assume management

responsibilities, colleges and universities have realized the necessity of

offering management education directly applicable in the business world.

Alliances between academia and industry have been pursued in order to

provide students with an education that blends research with practical

application. These coalitions benefit everyone involved: corporations gain an

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element of research and scholarship from the presence of on-site professors,

while academic institutions are able to make their programs more applicable

to the real business world by offering courses taught by experienced

management practitioners.

According to Prof Dipak C. Jain, the Dean of Kellogg School of

Management, it is imperative that business schools link themselves

adequately with the corporate sector, or else they would find themselves far-

removed from the reality check. He believes that the time has come for

business schools to look at creating "corporate residency programmes" in the

second half of the second year of their Masters in Business Administration

(MBA). In his words, "henceforth, business schools are not to be

differentiated on the quality of analytical skills imparted by them. They will

have to be differentiated on the quality of intangibles (people skills) that

they can impart to their students".

These alliances have led to further innovations. When corporations

contribute input into academic programs, they often are able to pinpoint

where course redundancy occurs. This expert knowledge has resulted in a

new method of instruction. This trend in courses oriented to experienced

executives is a shift away from "just-in-case" learning-the traditional method

in which business students are taught everything they might need to do to

know - to "“just-in-time" learning, which provides students with just the

essential aspects of traditional business programs in a highly streamlined,

efficient package.

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The drivers accelerating the growth of Management Education are:

1) Executive Programs

A growing number of professionals and executives are turning to business

schools and corporate universities in order to upgrade their own knowledge

of the industry. Institutions are meeting this demand with a pronounced

increase of degree and non-degree programs to meet the needs of

professional clients.

Executive MBA programs and professional development courses are

growing in popularity among business professionals. Both types of learning

acknowledge the fact that individuals do not necessarily wish to leave their

jobs in order to pursue educational goals. As a result, most programs for

executives are extremely streamlined and operate as much as possible

outside conventional business hours. The increasing demand for executive

programs underscores the importance of lifelong learning. As careers

advance and interests evolve, lifelong learning allows business professionals

to keep up-to-date with modern trends and advances in their particular field

of interest.

2) Management and Social Development

A growing trend in management studies is in providing a synergy between

the corporate and social development sector. Take the case of the S.P.Jain

Institute of Management and Research. Their DOCC Program provides an

opportunity to network with the local community, meet challenging

situations and endeavor to provide solutions that are beneficial to the

organization as well as to the under-privileged sections of society.

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3) Global Tie-ups

For those who prefer the tag of a foreign degree without the stepping out of

India, students now have the option of an overseas degree, right here at

home.

CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIAN B – SCHOOLS TO BEING

GLOBAL PLAYERS

Once upon a time this nation’s ancient universities in Nalanda and

Pataliputra attracted students of mathematics and the sciences from around

the world. But after a brief, post-indepen-dence period when there was a

surge in the inflow of students from several newly independent, especially

African countries, India’s institutions of higher education have been

banished to the corners of the radar screens of students around the world.

Currently despite relatively rock-bottom tuition fees payable, there are a

mere 8,145 foreign students in the country’s 12,500 colleges and 305

univer-sities, an almost 50 percent fall from the peak number of over 13,000

in 1993-94.

Certain factors contribute to this. They are:

1) Infrastructure

One of the single most important factors which contribute to the inability of

Indian B-schools to compete with their global counterparts is the lack of an

infrastructure. Often, one finds that a B-School’s growth is impeded on

account of its poor infrastructure – which may be in terms of an information

infrastructure, i.e. providing students with dedicated terminals having high

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speed access to the internet or more basic issues pertaining to providing

classrooms and learning environments which simulate a pseudo corporate

environment. The austere “comfort levels” provided by India’s perpetually

cash-strapped institutions of higher education which are pathetically

dependent upon handouts from indifferent central and state governments, is

a major disincentive to foreign students who tend to believe that there is

more to education than class attendance.

In addition we need to construct more special hostels for foreign students to

create an inviting and conducive environment for them. Right now only a

few universities — Delhi, Pune and MAHE (Manipal Academy of Higher

Education) have built hostels which cater to the needs of foreign students,”

admits Dr. Veena Bhalla under secretary of the Delhi-based Association of

Indian Universities (AIU).

2) Faculty

A lack of talented faculty prevents most B-Schools from providing quality

education which truly adds value to the Indian MBA student. One of the

reasons for this might be the disparity in salaries drawn by a teaching faculty

and that offered by the corporate world. This predictably leans heavily

towards the latter. This prevents top – notch talents from India Inc. from

entering the teaching arena. A recent trend started by the much talked about

ISB or The Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, is to bring in faculty from

the US or other international destinations. However, with an average

compensation which is barely about half of what is being offered for a

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similar position in a US university, the quality of teaching staff obtainable is

debatable.

Another problem is the shortage of ‘core’ faculty. A number of management

institutions operate with a skeletal staff of four to five core faculty members

while the rest are visiting faculty, who often do not have the time or

inclination to commit to individual needs of students.

Besides, Indian universities have a significantly larger student to faculty

ratio than their global counterparts. This makes it difficult for students to

have individual attention and discuss their problems with professors on a one

– to – one level.

3) Poor Management

Most B-Schools in the country are managed by traditionally run educational

trusts who lack the vision to take Indian B – Schools to a global platform.

For competitiveness on a global scale it is imperative that these institutions

are professionally managed, just as a company must be professionally

managed in order to maximize its profits.

4) Lack of Industry interface

Indian B-Schools provide little interaction with corporates as compared to

their global counterparts. This tends to leave students only with academic

knowledge but with little or no idea of what goes on in the real world.

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5) Funding

Funding is a major issue for most business schools across the country.

Besides the Indian Institutes of Management and a handful of other institutes

which are government funded, most institutes are privately funded. More

often than not such institutes are plagued by problems of inadequate funds

for developmental activity. Institutes need to find innovative ways to raise

funds such as taking on live industry projects and obtaining funding from the

industry.

6) Lack of students with work experience

The average age of the Indian MBA student is about 23 years, as compared

to the average MBA student in say, the US, which is about 28 years. While

most US business schools of repute stress on a minimum of two years of

work experience as a prerequisite, the same does not hold true for Indian B-

Schools. A large percentage of Indian MBA students have little or no work

experience, which perhaps does not let them identify with business situations

as well as their American counterparts.

7) Overregulation

A number of management institutes operate under the jurisdiction of various

state universities. Such institutes are invariably bogged down by red-tapism

which is an unmistakable feature of most State Universities. The result,

students end up learning old and outdated syllabi, sometimes unchanged for

as much as 10 – 20 years.

Likewise even for students coming in through central government

organizations or ministries, the admission process is complex and cumber-

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some. Moreover there’s no promotion abroad of India’s higher education

system by our embassies and high commissions,” says Prof. S.C. Lakkad,

deputy director of the highly rated Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

(IIT-B).

8) Redefining the student – teacher relationship

The relationship between the institutions and the student community,

between the teachers and the students must undergo major changes. For

instance, The students’ active participation in the process of learning on their

own initiative will remove the one-sided authoritarian teacher-student

relationship. The teacher’s authority will now be based on his ability and

creativity to contribute and help students to learn on their own.

Though there is a dawning awareness within the somnolent education

ministries of the central and state governments of the importance of

attracting larger numbers of foreign students into India’s tertiary education

institutions, inevitably there isn’t a sense of urgency about promoting

campus diversity. Yet commonsense dictates that in a rapidly globalizing

world in which trade barriers are collapsing, it is important to attract scholars

from abroad to study here and go back with positive images of the country.

The dividends of campus diversity will be diplomatic and trade benefits in

the long-term and higher academic standards and upgraded facilities for all

in the immediate future.

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Best practices

A B -School should be a research-driven school because thought leadership

holds the key to change management and excellence in management

education comes through extensive research.

I.) Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

Tie up with Wharton Business School, Kellogg School of Management

and London Business. A unique partnership with world’s leading

business schools: Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern

University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and

the London Business School(LBS) has infused the best and latest in

global management techniques and thinking into the school’s academic

programmes.

Rajat Gupta, Sr Partner, Mckinsey is the Founder member

Boards of Members are prominent business houses from India.

High profile Professors of Practice like C Rangarajan, Narayanmurthy

and Rajat Gupta

Faculty of International repute from UCLA, University of Texas,

Minnesota University, Chinese University, Hongkong.

The Dean, Vijay Mahajan is the Ex - Dean of McCombs Business

School, University of Texas, Austin

International mix of students from Asia, USA and India with an average

4 years experience.

Final degree is signed by all the Deans of Wharton, Kellogg and ISB.

Global scale campus with all self-contained facilities for students and

faculty for on going interaction beyond the classrooms.

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Global Practicum: 7-10 students from ISB and 7-10 students from

Wharton work together on a live project in any country

II.) Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research

55 (23%) students completed their Global internships in 2003 in USA,

Japan, Kenya, Ghana and Dubai.

Some of the students are placed globally (Executive level)

Alliances with 4 International Universities through IMBA Programme;

Temple University, Philadelphia, USA (since 2002).Hamamatsu

University, Japan (since 2002).CASS, Graduate school of International

management in SCM and also Bamberg University, Germany.

Alliances with 2 International bodies: Association of Overseas Technical

Scholarships (AOTS), Japan (since 1998),Information System Audit &

Control Association (ISACA-USA), Mumbai Chapter (since 2000)

Global Practicum for the IMBA Programme; where the students work on

start up companies exclusively.

Campus has a recreation centre, gym, yoga and meditation cell,

amphitheatre besides a world-class wireless IT infrastructure.

Recommended Strategies to Become A Global MBA Player

Visionary Strategic Leadership

Enhanced B school Industry Interface

Nurturing Intellectual Capital

Global Accreditation and Best Practices

Promotional Strategies with Roadshows and Embassies marketing India

as a destination abroad.

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CONCLUSION

As we can judge, the times are exciting as well as turbulent. To be in the

education sector as an MBA player, is a path strewn with thorns, with

blooming orchards laden with fruit, noticed in the distance. MBA institutes

will need strategic leadership and leaders who need to be more than mere

academicians.

They need to be leaders of action and global vision to leverage the core

competencies of the Indian management ethos and merge it with

international flavour.

BIBLOGRAPHY • Business World 2003

• The Times Of India

• www.minisrtyofeducation.com

• www.educationonline.net

[Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe is the Director of Welingkar Institute of

Management Development and Research, Mumbai. Prof Ms Ketna L Mehta

is the Associate Dean, Research and Ms Muskan Mittal is the first year

Management student]

Author’s Profile

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Prof. Dr. Uday Salunke Director - Welingkar Institute of Management is a

mechanical engineer with a management degree in 'Operations', and a

Doctorate in 'Turnaround Strategies'. He has 12 years of experience in the

corporate world including Mahindra & Mahindra, ISPL and other companies

before joining Welingkar in 1995 as faculty for Production Management.

Subsequently his inherent passion, commitment and dedication toward the

institute led to his appointment as Director in 2000. Dr. Salunkhe has been

invited as visiting fellow at the Harvard Business School, USA and

European University, Germany. He has also delivered seminars at the Asian

Institute of Management, Manila and has been awarded "The Young

Achievers Award-2003" in the field of Academics by the Indo American

Society recently.