He was the first full time Director of IIM Lucknow (1984) and has been a faculty of IIM Calcutta in 1963, and later in IIM Ahmedabad.
Prof Dayal has also held several positions including the Founder Dean of International Management Institute, New Delhi and Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. He also served several business organizations for about 15 years in companies like Philips India and Metal Box.
Prof Dayal is a mechanical engineer from University of California, and he later shifted to clinical psychology. He has published 27 books and monographs and over 240 papers in journals and periodicals in India and abroad.
MBAUniverse.com, India’s leading management portal, conducted an exclusive interview with Professor Ishwar Dayal where he spoke about his life and works, current trends of MBA education domain and IWSB.
Excerpts from this exclusive interview by Sreetama Datta of MBAUniverse.com:
Q: You have been one of the pioneers of management education in India. You started the fourth IIM, IIM L. You started teaching at IIM C & A way back in 1960s. How has been this long journey? What were some important milestones in your journey?
A: Pioneer or not I don’t know about that but indeed it is a long journey and I had some milestones. I started in IIM Kolkata where they had collaboration with Sloan School of Management, MIT and they helped us in building up the programme. The good thing about them was they did not impose on us what they were having in Sloan School. They responded to the problems what Indian industry was having at that point of time. I think that experience of working with Sloan School of Management, MIT was a remarkable one as I was new in the industry and never thought of being a teacher; it gave me a new insight.
Then I went to IIM Ahmedabad. IIM A was associated with Harvard Business School. Again that was also a rewarding experience as they never imposed. They discussed everything with us but finally any decision which had to be made regarding any of the courses, methodology etc. was taken by us. I learnt a great deal about research from them.
I had experience of working with extremely competent people, like in IIM Kolkata like Prakash Tandon and Vikram Sarabhai. There was a combination of teaching, researching and consulting which according to me are very important to pursue together.
When I went to Lucknow in 1980s, new programme was developed at IIM Lucknow, independent of IIM Kolkata and IIM Ahmedabad. This was based on the research we carried out to understand the industry requirements at that point in time. It was a very good learning experience.
Q: Moving on to the present day, the demand for MBA study is increasing by the day. Each year the number of candidates for CAT and other competitive exams are increasing. How would you judge this phenomenon?
A: In my view, the growth has to be much faster! The current numbers are nothing compared to what is required. We need to increase the number of MBAs in India. India needs more young managers.
Q: India now boosts of about 1800 MBA institutes…how do you see the MBA education domain?
A: The question is not about the growth of the number of institutions but the quality of education imparted in these institutes. The effort should be to increase the quality of education - not only within the Management schools but in the University system as well. Basically increasing the scope of Research and development in Post Graduate programmes is a key to that. The recent development by the University Grants Commission is moving in that direction.
Q: What are the key challenges facing management education in India today?
A: One of the main challenges is the curriculum which is taught in the Management Institutions. It needs to be updated with time. For example, in the IIMs when the curriculums were developed, it was suitable for that particular industry situation. But updating it is also equally necessary.
Secondly, the approach to management education needs to be Indian in nature. We cannot work on the knowledge that was developed in America or Europe because the context of that knowledge is directly related to their culture and tradition. If the knowledge is acquired within one’s own culture and environment, it is more applicable and produces faster results.
Another aspect is that more teaching material should be developed in India. The number of Indian text books should increase and their quality has to be better. At the moment we are using text books that are based on the foreign experiences. Though the number of Indian textbooks is increasing, the quality of writing is not as good as some of the books by international authors. This should be taken care of.
Another concern is the quality of research. We have very poor research going on in the field of management in India. Institutions are not trying to undertake meaningful areas of research. Without that the required result is not possible.
Q: With collapse of icons like Lehman Brothers and financial sector meltdown, Western (especially US model of management education) has come under some criticism. How do you see India as the possible leader in management education space in next two decades?
A: USA faced such a situation due to lack of its regulatory system. We are safe as our system has regulation. But even our system has some problems like over-regulation and corruption.
As far as our management education system is concerned, there is a problem, as we don’t have enough properly qualified teachers. This is due to lack of PhD programmes. In this context, Professor Yashpal’s report also emphasized on more focus on Post Graduate education. Until and unless this problem is solved, India cannot reach the top in management education.
Q: How should MBA aspirants choose the right B School?
A: I would suggest three criteria for choosing the right B School for the MBA aspirants. Firstly, the faculty and their contribution to the institute. Secondly, the teaching material which is used to provide knowledge to the students. And last, but not the least, the students must also enquire in what manner the institute is developing knowledge.
Q: CAT is going to be held in the new Computer Based Test format from this year. What is your take on that?
A: Given the increasing number of MBA applicants, sooner or later computer based testing had to come. But, in my judgment, this is not the right time. This format is going to be very difficult for candidates from distant rural locations and for those who are not very comfortable in handling computers. So this is a cause of some concern.
Q: You are now associated with Indus World School of Business which focuses on Entrepreneurship Development. The focus here is on Entrepreneurship. What is the methodology of fostering the entrepreneurial spirit in the students?
A: Entrepreneurship requires knowledge of technology, markets, finance, dealing with people, exploring new markets and so on. Risk-taking and innovation are the main keys of this course. Strong focus is given on the lab-based courses. It is compulsory for all the students of this course to take up an independent project. The faculty is extremely dedicated and helpful. The institute also provides economic support to students who need it. Some of the students have already started their own business.
Research is an important part of our activity. This is one institute giving continuous review for the progress of work.
Q: As the Chairman of the Academic Committee at IWSB, what is your focus?
A: A Chairman just holds the chair. But most of the thinking should be done together with faculty members and administration. My focus is on the course presentation, integration and consulting other faculty members. Most of the decision should be taken by the faculty.
Q: What are the principles instilled in the IWSB students?
A: The key principles which the institute tries to instill in its students are innovation and tolerance. People should have that self confidence and self reliance to stand on their own. They should not be dependent only on the class lectures but must have an independent thought process as well. Without innovation of new ideas and tolerance, it is not possible to succeed.
