The biggest challenge of the management institutions is to produce efficient managers. We are in an era when knowledge is expanding at an unprecedented rate. The essence of good management education is to train people for managerial positions in corporations, says Dr Daviender Narang
Different parts of the world are now in the process of globalisation in technological, economic, social, political, cultural, and learning aspects. New technologies are emerging every day and everything is turning towards globalisation. In such challenging situation, young managers possessing management degree turn out to be survivors. The biggest challenge of the management institutions is to produce efficient managers. Management education is roundly criticised today for fragmentation and atomisation of subject matters and overemphasis on analysis at the expense of skills related to managing and leading.
We are in an era when knowledge is expanding at an unprecedented rate. Mastering theoretical and practical business skills among the real beneficiaries of business education programme is indispensible for developing core competencies and giving them competitive edge. The essence of good management education is to train people for managerial positions in corporations.
In order to maximise the opportunities for development of management education for students, globalisation, localisation, and individualisation in education are important and necessary. The major issues include how to develop research focused institutions, career focused institutions and foundation institutions in India to serve the society at large. Developing good governance and regulatory framework in management education is the biggest challenge in India.
Though the Government has set up Hari Gautam committees to review the UGC Act 1956 .With the changing scenario in management education, the utmost need is to develop institutional leadership for B-schools across the country. Creating new strategies, steering organisation to right direction, generating funds, building global partnership with the stakeholders, designing industry oriented course curriculum is the emerging challenge in management education. Envision a new future for the management education is possible only with the mantra of globalisation, localisation and individualisation of management education.
Community engagement
In order to develop a worldwide reputation as a provider of cutting-edge business education, Indian institutions have to engage with the business community both nationally and internationally. Deep and sustained relationships with businesses afford the opportunity for institutions to gain insight into the ever evolving needs of organisations that, in turn, provide opportunities to develop/enhance educational programs, identify problems/issues that can be addressed through academic research and student field projects and competitions, and opportunities to aid organisations with the commercialisation of discovery and innovation.
Faculty quality is an extremely important factor of an institute’s reputation. Nurturing and sustaining quality faculty with industry experience, teaching ability, international exposure, and research outputs is one of the pillar of management education development in the country. There is scarcity of quality faculty in the country.
Faculty with industry exposure makes it easy for students to understand application of theory to real life business situations. Teaching ability of a faculty combines various parameters like subject knowledge, communication skills, curriculum coverage and pedagogy so as achieve overall satisfaction of students with respect to teaching.
Context is key
In the context of globalisation and localisation, the focus should be on ideas and concepts that have been effective in the countries of their origin may be less effective in India. While many industrialised countries have tested and adopted management practices that are in perfect harmony with their culture and tradition, India is yet to do this exercise through systematic research and study. Management education has to give emphasis on making management education relevant to the Indian context, the themes to be covered, and the way the topics have to be dealt with. Management is a practice oriented domain, management education has to incorporate an element of on-the-job training.
This will need a mix of concepts, cases, exercises as well as simulations for themes such as business strategy, market planning, business negotiations, leadership, business ethics and team work.
Management education should develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustain-able value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.
Go digital
The destiny of India is being shaped in her classrooms. In fact, classrooms are the places where the future citizens of the country are reared, trained, educated and motivated to accept the new challenges and to face the changing situations. There is urgent need of transforming the classrooms into digital classrooms for providing a platform to students for generating industrial skills. Digitalisation in classrooms enable the faculty to adopt innovative teaching pedagogy.
This will help in developing skills among students as well as build the reputation of management education of India across globe. Management education should develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustain- able value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.
(The writer is director of Jaipuria Institute of Management, Vasundhra).