They are ruling India Inc. but how many believe their B-School learning & faculty contributed to their current work? and how many wish to contribute back to those very b-schools? angshuman paul writes
“I was only seventeen when I enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was confused and sceptical about what its management course could teach me. But I was wrong; and today, I don’t regret going to a business-school as it helped me a lot in modernizing our family business,” announces Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Rs.75 billion Godrej Group, when asked by B&E. What worked to his benefit was his openness to learning from the B-school professors. Being a son of a teacher, he was always attracted by the role of a teacher; and wherever possible, Adi says he has tried to play this role. For example, the birth anniversary of his mother, late Jaiben Godrej, is commemorated as English Day in Udayachal High School (where she used to teach). During this day, he religiously meets up with students and talks to them about the benefits of learning and mastering the English language. But Adi accepts he has never thought about teaching at a B-school.
In general, an MBA qualification is something which is not common in MDs and CEOs of India Inc (only 46% CEOs on the 2009 B&E Power 100 list are MBAs). But the question here is, how much of their B-school learning is actually implemented in their corporate journey? Do their B-school lessons actually help them in drafting strategies inside the board room? And are today’s white collar angels willing to manage time to act as business gurus? B&E’s interactions with 15 such CEOs/MDs from various sectors revealed that most of them believe that their B-school has laid the keystone for their corporate journey. This is similar to a finding conducted by FICCI in 2008, which showed that 60% of today’s CEOs and MDs believe that their B-school lessons have helped them in the practical world.
“Definitely, my B-school has contributed to my personal and professional growth in every way,” confirms Govind Shrikhande, President and CEO, Shopper’s Stop Limited – one reason perhaps why a majority of these CEOs like Shrikhande are moving towards taking classes in B-school. They believe that such a move back into teaching (or mentoring, as companies like Infosys call it) not only allows current students to understand management on a contemporary real time basis, but also allows the CEOs to put forward the relevance (and irrelevance) of various facets of classroom teaching to the students.
Of course, an added benefit for the CEOs is that they too get a first hand feedback of dynamic ideas and views from the youthful students. “I want to deliver lessons in such a way that even difficult subjects become easy to understand and interesting – these are the keys to be a successful teacher,” feels Shrikhande. He misses a lot of his faculties from his B-school, who, through their excellent business knowledge, made his lessons very interesting. Even Indra Nooyi, the Chairperson of PepsiCo, tells B&E how she was mesmerized by her faculties from the Yale School of Management, who through their theoretical knowledge, connected her to the practical world.
In general, CEOs of India Inc. tell B&E how Indian B-schools are more or less working well towards delivering long term learning. Says Subrata Dutta, Chief Operating Officer of Samsonite South Asian Pvt Ltd, “Indian B-schools do give the right balance of theory and practical knowledge. I remember and will always remember Professor G K Valecha at IIM Bangalore, who used to teach us Organisational Behaviour. I remember his lectures on ‘empathy’ very distinctly. He would get us completely involved in the subject while teaching us.” And even Dutta wants to teach – and has done it in the past – as teaching business students, he believes, is a good way for a person to get fresh ideas.
Dutta’s idea is prevalent within India’s CEO pool. For instance, the marketing honchos of brands like Adidas, Reebok, Nike always make sure they visit business schools to get fresh launch ideas from the students. Subhinder Singh Prem, MD, Reebok India, and an alumnus of IMT Ghaziabad, uses the teaching platform for another wonderful purpose, “The students of the MBA colleges come from many spheres of life and have ideas to contribute. Push yourself as a faculty, and you can even get your new team from within the classes.” Prem believes that interactions within classes are a better method of selecting your future employee than stereotype interviews.
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