He has taught at some of the best global B-schools including Wharton, MIT and Chicago Graduate School of Business. Prof Vohra also consults for blue-chip companies like AT&T, Kraft Foods and Microsoft.
Last week he was honored as the Professor of the Year for the ‘core term’ at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. ISB says that this award is in recognition “not only of excellence in teaching, but also the ability to motivate students, and create a passionate interest in the respective subject.” Professor Oded Sarig of The Wharton School of Business was the other of the two professor recognized at ISB this year.
MBAUniverse.com caught up with Prof Vohra to know his reactions on this recognition, his impressions of ISB grads and his recommendations. Excerpts from the interview:
Q: You have recently won the best core course award at ISB Hyderabad. Did you see it coming?
Flattered, naturally. Surprised, as well. The caliber of faculty who teach at ISB is very high and so I had not the faintest idea or expectation that I was even in the running.
Q: Kindly share more about the ISB course, and its contents. We believe it was on managerial economics…
Yes, it was managerial economics. The first half of the course was taught by Prof Amit Bubna, who is a full time faculty at the ISB. I covered the second half.
The second half is devoted to ‘imperfect competition’. This is a rather ungainly description of the analysis of how firms make both pricing and capacity expansion decisions in competitive environments. It relies heavily on game theoretic reasoning.
For students not previously exposed to this form of analysis it can be quite a shock since it challenges some of their long held (and incorrect) intuitions about how the World works.
Q: What was your impression of the students at ISB? How do they compare with say Kellogg’s or any other school you teach?
Excellent. Intellectually, certainly as good as. They don’t have the polish that top students at programs with longer histories in the West have. However, since I see/saw them at the start of the program, they may acquire it at the end. I ascribe this deficiency to Indian undergraduate education rather than to the students themselves.
Q: What is a recommended text and advice for those MBAUniverse.com readers who wish to do well in your subject area: Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences?
I would not recommend any particular texts but there are two books that do a good job of conveying the reasoning style that is needed. The first is the `Armchair Economist’ by Steven Landsburg. This is a good illustration of economic reasoning. It should be read carefully because some of his conclusions are so provocative. The devil is in the details of the assumptions made and much can be learned by trying to pick holes in the logic of his arguments. The second is `Thinking Strategically’ by Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff, which is a good read on the airplane, is a introduction to Game Theory.
Q: You have a stellar track record as an academician. What would be your advice to those students who wish to pursue a career in academics?
My advice is obvious but is still correct: Don’t become an academician unless you love the subject you intend to make your life’s work and love telling other people about why they should love it. To succeed, talent is important but there is no substitute for hard work.
Q: Finally, please share your future plans. Would you plan to return to ISB?
I fully expect to return for another stint at the ISB. I’ve done it twice now already. As to the long term, that is easy. An academic’s life is unchanging. It alternates between sitting and thinking and standing and speaking. I expect this to continue!
