“Overall, the inexorable shift from simple digitization
(the Third Industrial Revolution) to innovation based
on combinations of technologies (the Fourth
Industrial Revolution) is forcing companies to reexamine
the way they do business. The bottom line,
however, is the same: business leaders and senior
executives need to understand their changing
environment, challenge the assumptions of their
operating teams, and relentlessly and continuously
innovate.”
Klaus Schwab,
Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
(World Economic Forum, 2016a) |
"India is really at the beginning of Fourth Industrial
Revolution… The foundation of this revolution is
Connectivity and Data. We are at the beginning of
an era where Data is the new Oil... With our large
talent base, we will have a competitive advantage
in this era.”
Mr Mukesh Ambani
Chairman, Reliance Industries at NASSCOM Summit 2017
(The Economic Times, 2017) |
"Job creation is a real challenge going forward for
India. I would say it is a looming crisis. I say this
quite frankly for India, and there have to be major
and concerted and urgent measures taken to tackle
the skills challenge; otherwise, there will be a real
problem in our hands and a demographic dividend
will become a demographic deficit or crisis in the
years to come”
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Singapore's Deputy PM
(Delhi Economics Conclave, July 2017) |
|
Imagine that today is 2025, and a new batch of graduates from your business school is entering the workforce. How will their careers
different from those of graduates of 2017? What skills and competencies will the employers value most? What kind of curriculum
and learning experiences will these graduates need in their MBA program to excel?
To generate debate and create a possible blueprint of what our Future MBA curriculum should be, the 8th Indian Management Conclave 2017 has adopted the theme of ‘MBA Curriculum for New Era’. This pre-conclave discussion paper aims to highlight some key
challenges and possible approache. Enriched by the inputs from experts obtained at the deliberations during the conclave, this paper
will be revised and published for wider dissemination.
To think about the Future MBA Curriculum, let’s examine the issues in three interlinked parts:
1. Changes in Economy, Business & Industry
2. Future of Jobs
3. Possible contours of MBA Curriculum for New Era
Changes in Economy, Business & Industry
The first industrial revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to 1840. The second
industrial revolution came in the early 20th century, when Henry Ford mastered the moving assembly line and ushered in the age of
mass production. The third industrial revolution was the change from analog, mechanical, and electronic technology to digital
technology which began in the last 50 years. We are now at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
This Fourth Industrial Revolution, a period of digital transformation, will have a profound effect on businesses, jobs and by implication
on management education. By 2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution would have brought us advanced robotics and autonomous
transport, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced materials, biotechnology and genomics. These developments are
expected to transform the way we live, and the way we work. Some jobs will disappear, others will grow and jobs that don’t even exist
today will become commonplace. What is certain is that the future workforce will need to align its skill-set to keep pace.
According to World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, technological megatrends like Mobile Internet, Cloud Technology, Big
Data, New Energy technology, IoT, Sharing Economy, and demographic trends like change in nature of work, rise of middle class, climate
change are key drivers of change. |