From building functional capabilities, creating international business and regulatory environment to networking across the world, global MBA has been redefined to make it more relevant in today’s time. Jatin Bhandari beings you a report
Imagine, an MBA aspirant working with an IT firm in Bangalore suddenly gets an urge to start his career in investment banking. This urge stemmed from the IT systems that he created for a bulge bracket investment bank and was exposed to something bigger than his present work and he starts to picture a new future. He starts exploring courses in finance and zeroes in on an MBA.
An MBA is not about getting a functional understanding of finance, spending time on books and building spreadsheets is just as important. These are the necessary tools that are needed to work your way up. However, what an MBA does is much more than what one currently conspires in his or her mind. We are witnessing so many schools that are building academic partnerships with other MBA campuses and initiating the seamless exchange programmes. What is the need that we are addressing through these human transactionsIJ Why are programmes like Wharton, IIM-A, SP Jain, INSEAD, Duke, Darden, IMD, HBS and many others building competency in the global education modelIJ What are the necessary skills that these programmes are trying to give through the academic environmentIJ
An MBA is not a formal education in business. Neither is it about building the basic skills in marketing, finance, or operations. An MBA is that practical exposure that surpasses geographical boundaries. Economies have become more intertwined through trade and finance which has made business cycles more synchronised and not less. Companies are pooling into global resources for raw materials, capital, and human capital. All of us witnessed the 2008 recession and how the American housing market led to a collapse in the markets in Mumbai. In such a state of the world, more and more MBA programmes are venturing into creating programmes that prepare candidates to work in the global landscape. There are certain skill sets that are needed to operate in this marketplace. Some of them are —
Building a functional capability
Are their fixed equations in finance that one needs to cram while working on a deliverableIJ Do we need to learn any formulas in operationsIJ Is that enoughIJ Are their specific theories in marketing that will work while you are taking your product to the marketIJ Think about marketing a consumer product in India versus marketing a new famous in the world. Consumers have different and changing needs, and both these products have a different competitive landscape.
The definition of an MBA is severely misunderstood by many. An MBA is someone who can identify the need of the market, collaborate with different parties (investors, companies, technical teams, marketing and sales personnel), deliver the right product fulfilling that need and generate the promised shareholder returns. They should be able to create the self-sustaining linear equation known as business that will employ people and enable them to earn a living. This MBA will do it by delving deeply into key business functions such as strategy, marketing, finance and accounting and operations, and will learn how they interrelate and how to use them to lead change.
International business and regulatory environment
An MBA isn’t about getting an international job. It isn’t about getting an international work visa and working in a local company of another country. It’s about moving the things in a rapidly evolving volatile markets, changing regulatory structures and widely varying Government structures. Think about the regulatory machinery that Wal-Mart had to move while it was trying to gain entry to India. Managing local partnerships, complying with the FDI policies and creating shareholder value in an alien environment. How Amazon had to rethink its business model and had to evaluate whether it wants to be an online retail or a marketplace for the retailers and how the company contemplated changing its strategy to get the things up and running in a new environment. A global MBA should provide with a framework for structuring intuitive understanding of business environment in world markets.
International network and cultural sensitivities:
When you think of an MBA, think of the network that you will be a part of and the power it can help you create in business. Think of those thousands of MBA alumni that are spread across the world and how you could find your future partners, employers, investors, and may be mentors. Execution of an idea requires many tangents. Getting an idea is overrated. It is the ability to join the dots and assessing the arbitrage in the market and getting the right-minded people to come together.
An MBA can assess a profitable model in the US, get funding from an investors in South Africa, source a product from China and launch a business in India, and take it to the IPO route. In addition to the network, an exposure to the diversity in a business school will make one aware of the sensitivities of different cultures. If you need to lead your employer’s move into latin America, it is important to learn about areas like business culture, business etiquette, meeting protocol, and negotiation techniques in order to maximise the potential of the investments. Business gifts maybe accepted in China but may be misconstrued in India. Different cultures speak different business languages, and global MBA trains the managers into these sensitivities. Here are some key skills:
(The writer is the founder of Pythagurus)