There are more than 5000 management colleges in India which produces an upward of 5,00,000 management graduates every year. Most of these colleges are mediocre b-schools and their degrees don’t add much to the potential and calibre of students except bagging one more degree for them. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discuss and deliberate as to how these tier-2 and tier-3 b-schools can undergo a major metamorphosis of change so that they can create a real impact in the economy, business and society.

Students Perception

Most of the b-school aspirants in India take admission in a management programme with high aspirations for a top-notch job in an MNC, consulting or banking with a higher end pay package and fast track career growth. In this wake of aspirations, a kind of ‘halo effect’ works well and they get lured to lavish infrastructure with so-called happening learning experience (in the name of holistic development) along with big and tall claims by the management authorities of these b-schools, of lucrative placement opportunities. In an obvious corollary, when parents pay exorbitant fees against these management degrees, they (mis-)believe to have entered into some kind of a big deal with these colleges (aka placement agencies in their own version) which would guarantee placements for their kids (in addition to everything else), which of course, proves out, too good a claim to be hold true. Neither parents nor students ever enquire or have any knowledge about the curriculum, availability and competency of faculty, alumni network, the career roles and positions offered by companies that visits during campus placements and last, but not the least, the market standing of these b-schools. Mostly, they remain in the state of a disguise.

The real takeaway of ‘Experiential Learning’ is realized only when students apply theory into real practice as well as when it supports them into translating real practice to building new theories.

What works as a driving force to make students fall prey to these b-schools, lies in the background in the form of non-availability of employment either on the basis of their past non-professional basic degrees or because they are not fit and capable for the kind of jobs available or for the simple reasons of students tendencies to postpone their employment and continue with their studies as long as they can, as they can easily avoid responsibility and  carry on to enjoy their parents money. Undoubtedly, there is a herd mentality too to complete all studies at once and then opt for the job, of which a larger part of influence also comes as pressure from the family and through Indian cultural norms as the family want the kid to complete their studies in a single stretch, get settle in a job and in a family life too. However, it is a well-known fact that it makes more sense to have at least 3-5 years of experience before you enter into a management degree.

As soon as the programme comes to an end, not everyone gets placement, because of the fact that these sham management degrees don’t add much to their potential, calibre and readiness for the placement; on the other side, what is cited as reasons for non-placement of these students, is the poor job market conditions, less number of companies willing to visit the campus with limited placement openings, being a regular excuse. Students feel cheated, but the damage has already been done. Whom to blame for this situation? Nonetheless, the whole system is responsible for the poor fate of this young generation.

Students need to change their perception by taking charge of their own career at an early stage. Just paying exorbitant fees to the college and then, sitting relaxed might not work. They lose time and by the time they wake-up, it is too late. They need to understand that there can’t be short-cuts in life any more. Students need to identify their passion, their hidden talents as well as skills and competencies and then, choose a particular programme as a path to a successful career, very carefully. Students must remember that there are always ample job opportunities and work available in the market for those who are actually capable in terms of their KSA (knowledge, skills and attitude) and are willing to work.

Where have the Opportunities Gone?

There is a kind of myopic vision in the context of management education in India, due to wide disconnect between the industry and academia. The traditional MBA degrees come with a tag of being an approved and recognized degree; much of which lose sheen for not being aligned to what is expected by the economy, markets, industries and companies in the given context of ‘Think Global, Act Local’. For example, the curriculum of MBA Programme is highly geared towards teaching management lessons in the context of large companies; however, in the Indian context more than 60 percent of the job opportunities are available within MSME sector. On the other side, there are a whole lot of opportunities do exist in social sectors or in sustainable development. There is a large chunk of population at the BoP (Bottom of the Pyramid) or rural areas which are even hot targets for MNCs to expand their sales and businesses. Not only this, with the technological and digital revolution underway, there are tremendous opportunities to become entrepreneur too. Therefore, there is no dearth of opportunities; rather what is lacking is a perfect alignment between available opportunities and availability of managerial talent.

Revolutionize Curriculum

The curriculum of MBA Programme being offered, plays a very important role in the process of development of students. The product-centric approach of designing and delivering curriculum should become history very soon. There is an immediate need for revolutionizing the way the curriculum is looked into. Students must be offered wide choices in terms of subjects which they want to choose from. The curriculum must promote multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary interactions because most of the real-world problems have that kind of orientation. In this regard, blended learning, through identifying and incorporating online courses out of other disciplinary areas, can make the student experience most exciting.

There must be new perspectives added within the old curriculum; new ways of delivering the curriculum and of course, new curriculum should also be developed. The real takeaway of ‘Experiential Learning’ is realized only when students apply theory into real practice as well as when it supports them into translating real practice to building new theories. The availability of case studies related to Indian context, can greatly help. The case studies bought from some of the top business schools around the world like Harvard or Stanford might not suit to conditions in India. Hence, a lot of local content is required to be developed, included and embraced in the curriculum.

Also, apart from just teaching the pre-set curriculum and running examinations like a factory, there must be enough time and space available through which students and faculty can manoeuvre around, discover new facts, develop independent thinking and engage in fruitful discussions. The mechanised system of teaching which is also known as spoon feeding and then, testing for whether students had crammed it or not, must see the dust now. It is because of this delivery pattern of curriculum that majority of students read only during examination, that too overnight and they chase only marks, not the real learning.

Imbibe Entrepreneurial spirit

Most of the management programmes in India just prepare students to find a fit into some kind of a job into an existing organization. However, in the present situations, even employers look for such talent which can add more value to the existing systems and practices. Hence, students need to embrace entrepreneurial mindset. We need to equip students to think like an entrepreneur. Everyone might not start their own businesses, still the entrepreneurial perspective can create a lot of difference in the way students think, react and view a business organization. What is much needed in students is rather entrepreneurial experience, pragmatic problem-solving skills, resilience and persistence, and the capability to build relationships with people and communities. Therefore, some kind of entrepreneurship course is must for all students which would help them to operate in high-risk environments, thinking long-term and surviving in difficult times, and also, remain connected with the corporate social responsibility and the desired social change.

Deep Root Industry Academic Collaboration

The collaboration between Industry and academia particularly tier-2 and tier-3 b-schools has not yet taken-off in India, in the right shape. It is a kind of vicious cycle. Academia lives in their own silos as they are busy and pre-occupied with their teaching and administrative responsibilities. They are either not found valuable to the industry or otherwise, they are also not given time and resources by the college authorities, to connect with the industry. Industry also finds a mismatch between what faculty resources and students are theoretically capable of vs. the practical challenges which industry faces. This disconnected world between industry and academia is primarily the main cause of redundant and unproductive management programs, degrees and certificates.

The deep-rooted industry academic collaboration is the need of the hour. One part of solution lies with promoting the internships guided with the real-life projects from the industry. Alumni relations can be a key pillar of such networks to grab real-life projects. It is not just publishing research in top ranking journals, but what is more important is to translate research into registration of a patent and then, looking forward for commercialization of the research. Also, we need research to address the problems faced by our companies, industry, economy and society so as real time solutions can fix those problems. The tier-2 and tier-3 b-schools are completely disoriented and disconnected with these kinds of large-scale objectives.

As the world is changing, so do the industry and business models; the intervention of technology has necessitated to learning the new skill-sets. Every business is finding newer ways of becoming more competitive either through inducting more technology or building a new level of efficiency in operations and devising a completely new cost model to face cut-throat competition in the market. Unless, these b-schools closely interact with industry, how would they cope-up in delivering the right content to students which would make them competent enough to take-up jobs in the industry.

Prepare for ‘Black Swan’ Event

In most of the b-schools, students are being prepared for what is expected in the future. They are taught multiple tools of forecasting the future scenarios and trends. However, the ‘Black Swan’ logic makes an argument that what you don't know and don’t expect is far more relevant than what you know or you expect. Just take the example of Covid-19 – was it expected? Is it not the ‘Black Swan’ event? Nobody knows when Black Swans can be caused and exacerbated by putting a challenge to the human race. Are business schools equipped enough to train people to expect and deal with the unexpected? The answer is clearly ‘NO’. We never know when there could be another crisis because of any reasons, may it be due to climate change, technological changes, or cultural and social changes. These b-schools have to ensure that students become ready for the unplanned and black swan sort of events.

Therefore, it is required that students become “life-long learners" by their DNA for which enough capacity building is required. The kind of uncertainty and the speed of change which is happening all around, implies that MBA graduates would need to refresh what they learnt every few years. B-schools need to nurture this ability and habit among students. The students must be prepared for learning, self-learning, continuously learning and the last but not the least, practice of learning to learn new things.

The Ultimate Panacea - Faculty Development

Most of these b-schools overload their teaching faculties with multiple responsibilities which includes not only teaching responsibility of multiple subjects but also, huge administrative responsibilities related to documentation and administration of courses. The money-minded proprietors save money by keeping less faculty & staff on payroll and make supernormal profits. However, this short-sighted approach does more damage to them, to intellectual capital, students and society at large in the long run. The most severe outcome of this approach is, we are never able to build the faculty resources who become champions and leaders in a particular and narrower domain. Then, at the top of it, expecting these faculty members to do research, conduct MDPs, bring consulting and funded projects is a sheer mirage. The time has come to realize that teachers are not ‘superman’ or ‘superwoman’; but rather, human beings.

It is a dire need to develop ‘Faculty Champions’ in specific areas, those who can anchor a particular topic, teach as well as serve the industry and society. B-schools need to compromise their profit-orientation mind-set and the short-term approach. Rather, they should think about long-term survival and sustenance. Each Faculty should identify a core and super-specialization topic and master into it and also, align the teaching, research, consulting, MDPs, funded projects etc. in that topic only. For administrative roles, more staff members not to be appointed. The tendency of loading teaching faculty with multiple roles and responsibilities must be shun at an earliest.

Not only this, at many b-schools, there is biometric attendance system where each faculty is required to punch in the morning and then, stay back in the campus and finally, leave in the evening after duty hours by punching again. Are faculty members like factory workers?  Can you confine the talent into such boundaries? Where is the scope for free thinking and incorporating the contemporary developments happening all around the world? When you draft KRAs for each faculty, then why to hold them and their brains in duty hours? Do you want faculty brains to stop working after duty hours? This is a common and ubiquitous truth that when you bind and hold brains, brains stop thinking, people confine to the duties allotted and find themselves disconnected after duty hours are over; actually, they become puppets for the miniscule money they are paid for. Let faculty be set free, mobile and interactive with the outside world. Give them flexibility and freedom to operate, develop themselves and show results. Many of the faculty members are without any corporate experience; if they are set free, they can associate themselves with the corporates, later on, the same experience they would bring in the courses they teach.

The balance between the commercial mind-set of these b-schools vs the larger good for faculty, students and society, can happen if private institutes in a particular zone or area can come together and create a cluster of institutes where they can share ‘Faculty Champions’ to teach the same subject across different institutes and accordingly, share the commercials too among themselves. This would pave the way for upgrading the quality of teaching and learning across all institutes and develop the faculty too. As we say, faculty members are the biggest asset and intellectual capital, we should find path-breaking ideas and ways to nurture that asset and intellectual capital.

Conclusion

Aiming for such a radical change in the whole ecosystem of these tier-2 and tier-3 b-schools is not possible without involvement of all stakeholders, viz. Government, Regulators, Proprietors and Promoters, Principals and Directors, Faculty and Staff Members, and of course, Students, etc. The time is ripe and the time to take action is now, before it is too late.