An integrated approach has to be taken and courses like design thinking and creative problem solving, have to be offered in MBA programmes as a core subject which will help students think holistically, says Dr Ramakrishnan Raman
If one ponders about the job that a middle level and a senior manager does in any organisation, then it would be evident that they solve problems and try ensuring that those problems do not occur again. One of the critical skills that a manager must have is the ability to solve problems. The issues can be related to process or people or procedures — but solving them needs creative thinking and excellent people management skills.
In an MBA programme which is offered by many Indian B-schools, faculties are usually arranged in functional silos, where specialised knowledge-such as finance, accounting, operations and HR is taught in specialised courses by subject-specific technical experts. But when it comes to the real-world scenario, complex problem solving is integrative, and it cuts across these silos. This means that all departments are responsible for helping students become better problem solvers, but none of them owns the challenge and takes the lead in addressing it. Consequently, a typical b-school doesn’t teach complex problem solving as part of the core curriculum or provide the opportunity to practice and get feedback on it. Hence an integrative approach has to be taken and subjects like Design Thinking and Creative Problem solving, have to be offered as a core subject which helps students to integrate and think holistically.
B-schools must ensure that problem solving becomes an integral part of the MBA programme and must equip the students with skills related to problem-solving. There are several theoretical approaches which give insight about several methods to solve problems in a structured manner. While imparting this 'knowledge' the students must also be trained in tools and technologies that can help them approach, understand and solve problems in a better fashion. Today every organisation has a large amount of unstructured data available at disposal. Using this data can help in understanding the root cause of many issues that the organisation are grappling. Analysis of this data and correlating it with the problems can bring a different perspective to the organisations. If this skill is imparted to a management graduate, then, their employability quotient would increase by many folds.
Many managers go with their gut feeling when they face a problem which needs an immediate solution. Whenever one depends only on the gut, then the answer might go wrong in the long run. Hence ability to quickly look at the available data and analyse it to get some insights can help in solving the problem in a better fashion. This is a key aspect which must be ingrained in the students while they pursue their MBA degree.
In the present VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world problem-solving is in demand. It’s considered the top skill for success at management consulting firms and it’s increasingly desired for everyone, not just MBA graduates. A case-based curriculum that is followed by some premium B Schools in the country orients the students towards problems solving in real-time. With the internet and access to it via mobile a lot of data that is available at disposal for the graduates while they join the workforce. Hence there is no point in making the graduates cram up mundane stuff; instead, they must be made to learn on how to apply the concepts to solve real-time practical problems. By ensuring that problem-solving becomes the default in all subjects offered at the MBA level, the next generation managers will be well equipped to innovate and bring innovative solutions to perennial problems.
The writer is Director, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
