In an endeavour to help its students overcome the stress and pressure of learning in MBA programme, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has appointed Dean of Student Life whose job is to keep the students happy and cheerful all through their MBA education and beyond. The result! More contributions and appreciations from happy alumni are received at Wharton. Shouldn’t IIMs and other top B schools follow such arrangement to keep their students stress free and cheerful all along their PGDM/MBA, is sure a big deal to bank upon.
CAT 2015 aspirants no doubt are going to struggle hard to get a seat in their preferred IIM-A,B,C, L or others. Apart from high percentile in CAT 2015 exam and excellent academic profile, aspirants would need good writing skill and an aptitude to ace the PI round.
The legacy, learning and placement at an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) always allure the MBA aspirant to perform his best to get into the top notch B school. On getting to the dream B school, the tough and unpredictable study pattern at the IIMs keeps the MBA aspirants under pressure and on their toes.
The 2 years PGDM at an IIM seldom gives time to its student to engage in tit bits and some doing-nothing type of activities. On one day till afternoon you may just start feeling relaxed at IIM A, when the message to appear in surprise test, not a single one but in a series of them suddenly arrives. It not only shatters your evening plan but also leaves you scratching your head where to begin with to do well in the test. On the top of it some field type of jobs are to be followed ruining your weekend.
Unless Happy: Wouldn’t enjoy
The list of ongoing activities never ends and you start gasping for time to prepare before test but this is the rarest item available with you. How to keep your cool and cheerful attitude alive in stress & pressure in the IIM which was your dream destination is sure a big question. Either your faculty or seniors come to your rescue when you think you are drained. Students at most of the top B schools, Medical colleges, IITs suffer from this phenomenon, but remain helpless.
Wharton resolves, so can IIMs
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has solved this problem with Kembrel Jones, dean of student life. All the serious problems and student hardships according to Jones can be summarised in 2 words “Champagne problems”. The only difference is that the problem can be singular or plural. It could be “Champagne problem” or “Champagne problems”.
Described as Dean of Happiness, Jones can help students according to their temperament. Probably this is what is needed at IIMs in India. If a student has an exam, or has 5 different interviews on a single day with 5 different consulting firms, these are Champagne problems according to Jones and he specifically points to the bottle to find the solution.
One of the many lessons that Dean of Happiness imparts to the almost 1,700 students at Wharton is to lighten things up at the historically serious B school.
IIM students with no less pressure
According to Jones “At Wharton, when you get up in the morning and you think you’re going to have a bad day, think about why”. Sure the thought could turn the bad day into not such a bad day if not a very good day. The elite business schools like IIMs need ‘a Jones on staff’ and should devote administrative resources to cultivate loyalty among MBAs.
‘Dean of Happiness’ can drive more benefits to IIM
- If can confide well and with belonging, the students are the best source who can share what they exactly want from their B school right from the shape of their MBA curriculum to life at the B school. Wharton, Stanford and many more have been successful to cut down on required courses, added several classes on start ups, and beefed up faculty to keep class size down. All changes requested by students while sharing with the dean of students.
- Donations and giving always depend upon the learning experience the students have during their MBA course at IIMs. While after the appointment of Jones at Wharton, the donations rose from $8.8 million to $12.6 million, IIMs may not lag behind. According to Jones “To be blunt, they’ll write a check, they’ll write a big check, if they had a good experience here”.
IIMs have to find out the appropriate person who can become the biggest fan of their MBA students and the dean of happiness at IIMs should be capable to create the interactive learning environment conducive for the students and the IIM alike to carve a place in the hearts of the students and a hole in their wallets once they become alumni. The job of highly paid cheerleader at IIM is not easy but is a must for all the top B schools in their own interest with a broader goal in mind.
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