In this interview with MBAUniverse.com, Dr Singh speaks on Indian MBA education, his approach to institution building and relevance of increasing hype over B-school Rankings & placements data. He also shares his strategy for growth of IMI which has been recently ranked at number 6 in the latest ranking released by the NHRD (National Human Resources Development) Network.
Excerpts:
Q: B-schools in India beyond top 20-25 are facing various challenges? What should be the focus of B-schools towards enhancing the value of their MBA programme?
A:
The B-schools have got three functions to perform. Three activities they must pursue:1. The creation of knowledge: Their first and foremost responsibility is to create knowledge. The reputed B-schools in Columbia, Cornell or Cambridge are known because of their capability to create knowledge.
2. Dissemination of knowledge: This is where the whole delivery of knowledge comes into play. You should develop a relevant pedagogy and your teachers should be able to communicate well to impart their knowledge to the students
3. Application of knowledge: The knowledge must be converted into creating wealth.
The B-schools which don’t perform well on these three, they don’t have chance to sustain in long term.
Q: Today B-schools are more concerned on showcasing their placement reports and rankings. MBA Aspirants also consider these two elements as major factors which influence their Admission decision. How do you see this approach for both B-schools and MBA Aspirants?
A: I believe that Placement and Ranking data should be one of the factors for MBA Aspirants while choosing a B-school. B-schools should also focus on building academic strength and developing capabilities rather than getting media highlights through their ranking.
Unfortunately, the increasing hype over Placements and Ranking has done a tremendous harm to the MBA Education in this country. It has done the damage more for the students. It creates a perception among the students that the moment they join a particular school ranked high in placements, they will get a good job. This thought process hampers their prospects of learning at the B-school. The moment you focus on placement, the quality of education goes down.
Q: But, isn’t it true that placement generally reflects the employability of B-school graduates?
A: It is not true. MBA Aspirants do consider the placement data as output but that can be misleading for them. In most of the cases, there is no tool for them to verify the accuracy of the same. Rather, it’s the academic strength and relevance of delivery model that matters for companies which recruit from a B-school.
Q: Still ‘Employability’ concern for MBA graduates is increasing. How should B-schools become more relevant to the industry?
A: There is a need to integrate the management schools with the corporate world. For example, a certain part of courses should be taught by industry people. Engaging industry people for course enrichment is also very important.
Every area of study should get an academic council in which about 50 per cent of the people should be from industry side. So, Academia and industry should co-create the B-school curriculum right from the designing of the programme to the delivery of the same.
Q: What are the challenges that tier-II B-schools are facing in India?
A: First of all, they struggle on creating knowledge due to lack of faculty strength. There is also a lack of commitment among the tier II B-schools.
Q: IMI has been growing and marching ahead under your able guidance. It received 70 per cent more application for admission year 2013-14. How did you make it possible?
A: Yes, we received a total of around 12,000 applications for the current admission year as compared to the last year number of 7000. Prior to that year it was only 4,000.
I attribute this increase in application to our increasing academic strength. There were 31 faculty members when I joined this institution. But right now, we have got 60 high quality faculty members. This has created a very different kind of wave in the Aspirants’ mind and also in the corporate world. The positive word-of-mouth also made a difference in the number of application.
I have also focused on improving the infrastructure of the institute. Last time about 70 per cent of our students were staying inside our campus. With our new facilities, 100 per cent students will be staying in our hostels. Hostel accommodation creates much more space for recreational and extra-curricular activities.
Q: What is your approach of institution building? How are you applying the same at IMI?
A: First, I strongly believe in building a strong team of right kind of people. If your team members feel they are liked and valued, they become more and more committed.
Secondly, I like decentralization of power. In IMI, I have created a system wherein all the decisions are first taken by individual departments and deans and then the matter is brought to me for my suggestion. This boosts the self-confidence of department heads and other individuals in the system.
Third, I believe in cohesive work culture. Here I ensure that there are at least two faculty meetings in a month. Last but not the least, I know the difference between investment and expenditure.
Q: What is your next target for IMI?
A: My next target is that if people are speaking about top three schools, they should talk about us also.
Q: How do you see the next phase of growth in MBA Education in India?
A: Given India’s economic growth and increasing market size and enormous untapped business areas, the future of MBA education is bright in India.
But, we should seriously look into how the quality of B-schools can be improved. MBA is a professional education and it needs to be regulated so that there is a limitation of numbers and quality check. We should have a management council and a prudent regulatory framework is required for the management education in this country.
Q: You have been raising bar in terms of building top institutions. What keeps you going even at this age?
A: I adore my work and truly believe that those people are really blessed who have got some work to do.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more special interviews of B-school Deans/Directors.
