Special Article by Amit Agnihotri
In a recent hard-hitting Harvard Business Review article ‘MBA Programs Need an Update for the Digital Era’ Prof Vijay Govindarajan, one of the world’s leading Innovation & Strategy Guru, wrote “…MBA education must keep evolving from algorithmic learning — teaching predetermined answers to predetermined questions — to meeting the higher-order needs of the changing corporations…” This influential article prompted soul-searching in B-schools around the world. So, what led to this critique? And what are the implications for Indian B-schools, who have tremendous opportunity in this India’s ‘Techade.’ Finally, how is all this connected with Indian Management Conclave!
To answer these questions, we will have to go back in time, and then spring back into the present day, where Artificial Intelligence is threatening to transform industries, and eat more than half the jobs.
Evolution of MBA Education
The origin of MBA education and Business Schools can be traced to the rise of industrial companies in the US. Set up in 1914, MIT Sloan School of Management was named after Alfred Sloan, the ex-CEO of General Motors. University of Pennsylvania’s business school is named after Joseph Wharton, a leader in manufacturing. To prepare managers for these corporations, and similar others, B-schools were organized in departments, such as production, finance, marketing, and, later, human resources. While this model worked well for almost 75 years until the onset of the digital era, there is a growing dissatisfaction amongst business leaders today.
MBA at an Inflection Point
Business leaders are increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with the talent being produced by B-Schools today. Elon Musk famously said: “As much as possible, we avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies… we hire someone in spite of an MBA, not because of one.” As the founder of Tesla, Co-founder of Open AI, and Owner of X (formerly Twitter), Musk’s words deserve close attention in MBA community.
Closer home, Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO of Zerodha, India’s largest stock-broking platform and one of the few profitable new-age companies, said “We’ve never hired a single person from IIT and IIM till now because we’ve found it very tough to fit such people within the organization.”
So, what is creating this chasm….
The New Rules of ‘Business Value Creation’
A key reason for this growing chasm between businesses and business schools is that while corporates have been fast to adapt to the Digital Era, and are gearing up for Artificial Intelligence, most B-schools are still teaching the old way of doing business.
How do businesses create value today, and is it really different today, you may ask... “Business Value Creation”, or BVC, which encompasses strategic activities and initiatives undertaken by the organizations to generate stakeholder value, is a good prism what’s going on. BVC involves leveraging resources, capabilities, and innovative approaches to create products, services, and experiences that meet customer needs, drive revenue growth and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. In last two decades, BVC process has undergone a massive transformation, and understanding the same is critical for B-schools who produce talent for enterprises.
For such dramatic changes in management education, there is a need for deeper appreciation amongst MBA educators of how business is being done today – by both the digital-natives and the incumbents -- the traditional companies.
To understand these trends, management academics rely on books and journals, that are often out-dated, and media reports, which often fail to give the complete perspective.
IMC Theme 2023
As a pioneering conference, IMC is known for capturing the Zeitgeist in choosing the theme, and convening the best minds to discuss it. For instance, between 2017 and 2022, IMC focused on sequential themes of MBA Curriculum, Pedagogy, Faculty, Student Engagement and Outcomes, thus covering the entire MBA value chain. These conferences created greater awareness on critical aspects of management education, and led to many institutional initiatives.
Looking into the future, INDIAN MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE has adopted the overarching theme of how businesses are creating value in today’s age of disruption, and how can MBA Education align with these mega-trends. Specifically, IMC 2023 theme is “Business Value Creation in the Age of Disruption; Implications for MBA Education”. Business Leaders from key industries including Consulting, Banking & Financial Services, Analytics & IT and Digital Platforms, are invited to share their approach to creating business value.
Keynote by Innovation Guru Vijay Govindarajan
We are honoured that Prof. Vijay Govindarajan has accepted to deliver a keynote address, virtually, on the conference theme. Prof. Vijay Govindarajan, affectionately referred to as VG, holds a prominent global position as a foremost authority in Strategy and Innovation. VG is the author of influential and best-selling management books including Three Box Solution and Reverse Innovation. He is also a two-time winner of the prestigious McKinsey Award for the Best Article published in Harvard Business Review. In recent times, VG has authored influential articles concerning management education. He recently wrote a comprehensive two-part examination titled Business School's Role in the Metaverse.
IMC reaches Mumbai after a long wait
In addition to cutting edge theme, and top speakers, there is another highlight in store. The 13th edition of INDIAN MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE will be held in Mumbai, the business and finance capital of India. SPJIMR, one of the Top Business Schools in India, is the ideal host, and Mumbai is the perfect city, for the 13th IMC 2023, which is focused on Business Value Creation in the Age of Disruption.
We invite Founders, Chancellors, Vice-chancellors, Directors and Academic Leaders to partake in this annual sojourn for insights, and inspiration!
Author Amit Agnihotri is Founder & Convenor of INDIAN MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE & Founder of MBAUniverse.com.
