ABSTRACT
Many authors have defined about leadership in various ways. But this article focuses about the ways and means by which any lay man can cultivate and inculcate this much sought after trait. It clearly differentiated between talent and skill and it concluded at the end that leadership is a skill that can be cultivated by a common man. It highlighted about the qualities needed in any leader. It laid emphasis between a manager and a leader. It has come out with novel strategies and secrets and tools and techniques by which an ordinary person can become an extraordinary person. This article is highly useful for CEOs and aspiring leaders in the corporate world.
- - - - - - - -
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”, John Quincy Adam.
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
“Research on leadership indicates that 50 – 75 per cent of organizations are currently managed by people sorely lacking in leadership competence. They are hired or promoted based on technical competence, business knowledge and politics not on leadership skill”.
Before explaining in detail about leadership it is worthwhile to identify whether it is a skill or a talent. If it is a talent then leadership is an inborn quality as talents are innate by nature. If it is a skill, then it can be acquired by voracious reading, learning, continuous practice, by training and by experience. If it is a talent then the leaders are born if it is a skill then the leaders are made.
Leadership is more of an action rather than by preaching. Leadership is the ability to lead from the front despite many successive setbacks with a passion and with a conviction of a great vision. It is also taking a sense of responsibility, setting as a role model with qualities like courage, commitment and conviction. Leadership is also a way of calling ‘we’ not ‘I’ because no leader is successful as an individual. Whenever there is a success the leader ascribes it to his team behind and in case of a failure, he owns the sole responsibility. There are many dimensions and definitions to the concept of leadership. In this context, it is pertinent and relevant to classify the types of leadership.
LEADERSHIP STYLES/TYPES:
Traditionally there are three types of leadership - Dictatorial or Autocratic leadership, Democratic or Participative leadership and Delegative or Free reign leadership. In the case of the autocratic leadership, the leader takes decisions of his own based on his gut feeling and intuition and orders the execution of his instructions. And the followers have to accept and execute whether they like the same or not. There are no consultations or discussions with subordinates in this style. And in the case of any debacle he is held solely responsible for his actions and instructions. That is the reason it is also called as dictatorial style and it is unique in military organizations.
In democratic leadership, the leader consults with his subordinates on various occasions and takes them into confidence. A consensus is generated after weighing the pros and cons of the matter. Entire team is held responsible either for success or failure of the decision making. Since many key heads are involved in decision making it is called as democratic type of leadership.
Thirdly, in the delegative style of leadership, the decision making is delegated by the leader to his subordinates. The second in command takes the decision and executes. Even if there is any failure, the leader is held responsible as he delegated the decision making power to his lieutenant. It is also known as free reign leadership.
All leaders make use of all the three styles and types as per the situation. It is not prudent to declare that a specific style is wrong.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LEADER:
First and foremost quality of any leader is to have passion to lead the people and the passion to serve the people. Passion is nothing but a burning desire to contribute his best for the people without expecting any returns. Only when he is passionate he can ignite passion amongst his followers.
He should have a vision and a common goal or objective for which people should have interest to come forward to realize the goals and objectives. Only when the vision is strong then the mission can be strong. He knows ‘where to go’ and he directs his followers continuously by showing ‘how to go’.
He should be a self-motivator and only self motivators become self starters. He should be filled with strong convictions and should be highly motivated so that he can maintain higher levels of energy amongst his followers.
Zig Zigler Zig said, 97 per cent people live in comfort zone and only 3 per cent of the people live in effective zone. The leaders always live in the effective zone and they get excited by being always in effective zone. They love to face challenges continuously. They continue shifting from one orbit to another at ease.
Leaders always look for excellence not for perfection. They always look at the things positively and are firm optimists.
They experiment a lot and make many mistakes and learn a lot from the same and for them every big fall is a big rise. They rise like phoenix. Robert Francis Kennedy rightly quoted, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly”.
They are excellent networkers and thrive on network. Even if they fall they rise because of their strong network. And the network helps either because he has helped them in the past with altruism or because their network is fascinated with his altruistic and leadership style.
They are men of integrity and strong character. They are very firm in their commitments and convictions. They have higher tolerance levels and have a positive bent of mind towards other people’s sentiments and cultures.
They maintain stoic silence and display mental and emotional stability even in extreme provocations or failures. They are excellent listeners and listen to different people with different dimensions and yet maintain independent thinking in arriving at solutions.
Good leaders always talk of positive things and make positive statements like ‘you can do it’, ‘it is possible’, ‘you will achieve big’ and so on. And they never make negative remarks like ‘it is impossible’, ‘it is doubtful’, ‘you can never improve’ etc.,
They are open to change and they know very well that change is always constant. They become the champions of change and are very effective change masters.
For them, success is not outsmarting others but setting their own goals and touching their upper limits. Once they reach their upper limits they raise the bar automatically and again touch their upper limits.
They never beat around the bush and always stay focused. Neither can they be neither distracted nor diverted from their cherished goals and objectives. They know how to hit the bulls’ eye.
They always radiate positive energy and are expert at visualizing opportunities from threats. They know how to capitalize on their strengths, how to overcome from their weaknesses, manage both the internal and external threats effectively and effectively and last but not the least they are good at spotting the opportunities.
They strongly believe in others and trust their subordinates or followers. As trust begets trust, the leader in turn is trusted by his followers.
They always look at the big picture. If a lay man thinks about the repercussions, implications and complications of a decision making just after a step. The leader thinks, imagines the same, number of stages and steps ahead based on his abilities in problem solving and also because of his experience.
All great leaders are strong at communication skills. They mesmerize their followers with their oratorical skills and abilities and they continuously ignite and excite their followers to reach their goals.
”Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other”, quoted John F. Kennedy. They learn and grow continuously. They regularly update their skills and abilities. Most of the great leaders are great readers. Apart from providing motivation and inspiration books also provide great ideas.
Leaders create their own set of advisers and consult them whenever they are confronted with complicated situations. Their team of trusted advisors provides various comments and after having brainstorming discussions the right solution is arrived and the leaders adopt the same.
They find out the unexplored and unexploited areas and they build up mindset, skills set, tools set so as to excel in those areas and people follow them as they are specialist in those area. They rarely follow the road and rather they make a road for their followers and leave a mark behind. In this context, it is apt to quote, “Don’t follow where path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”.
Neither are they dominant nor submissive and are flexible and are assertive in their dealings. They respect people and love people and they do not hesitate to go extra mile to please their people.
Leaders are socially adept and have social intelligence and they know the value of people and value of relations. John C.Maxwell rightly quoted, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”.
Leaders are sound at judgment. They know the strengths and weaknesses of their subordinates and utilize them according to their skills and abilities so as to meet the desired goals and objectives. They are smart at converting ordinary people as extraordinary people.
They know how to balance their lives and good at leading balanced life. They have self discipline and do the things proactively without prompting of others. They move like a clock in a systematic and organized manner and are competent time managers.
Leaders know how to motivate their followers and they know the knack of uncorking and unlocking the hidden potential amongst the people. It is aptly said, “A leader is someone who helps others do and become more than they ever thought possible. Leadership is about unlocking potential, whether individual potential or that of a group, company, or organization. It is not about telling people what to do, but inspiring them to see what they are capable of, then, helping them get there”.
Good leaders are effective motivators and they understand the gravity of the situation and don the hat as per the situation and give their best to provide win-win situation for all without hurting anybody. They are excellent in persuasive skills, goal setting skills and soft skills.
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT:
Both are closely related although there are a few basic differences.
Peter F.Drucker said, “Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things”. It clearly demarcates the difference by saying that management deals with how efficiently the work is done and leadership deals with how effectively the work is done. Management insists on performance where as leadership talks about productivity.
While leadership focuses more on vision the management lays stress on mission. While the leaders talk of where to reach the goals, the managers talk of how to reach. The leader derives power the manager acts as per the authority. When the manager provides the direction the leader sets the pace and speed. The manager always follow the road where as it is the leader who creates road. The manager is involved in execution while the leader is involved in delegation. It is the leader who is always the high risk taker where as the manager has limited risk to take.
The manager always does the different things where as the leader does the things differently with his unconventional attitude. The manager is with in the hierarchy where as the leader is the creator of the hierarchy. Ultimately to put it in a nut shell, if the manager puts efforts in climbing the ladder and it the role of the leader to see that the ladder is on the right side of the wall. To sum it up in the words of Stephen R.Covey, “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall”.
Fed Express Corporation, the world’s largest express transportation company believes in nurturing the leadership skills of its employees. Any one aspiring to become a leader has to undergo LEAP (Leadership Evaluation and Assessment Process) test. All organizations are laying emphasis on leadership development programs and many companies are conducting workshops on Leadership in order to enhance productivity and performance in this cut throat competitive world.
HOW TO CULTIVATE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES?
• Take someone you love the most and the one who is successful and when you remember him you get ignited spontaneously as your role model and learn to behave like a leader. Of course, you make mistakes and people have reached to the level of leadership after learning a lot from their mistakes.
• Possess passion to become a leader because leadership is more of a state of mind than that of an action and again more of an action than that of theory. Participate in group activities and slowly you develop the skills. Whenever there is an opportunity to organize group activities like functions, seminars, meetings take proactive posture. Involvement is essential.
• Visualize yourself as a successful leader standing on the top of the world with so many followers around you applauding you. This visualization will motivate you to strive towards building leadership qualities.
• Read number of motivational books, biographies and autobiographies of great leaders across the world, you learn new ideas and concepts and try to put the same which were untried and unexplored.
• Have clarity of mind and approach because it is leader who should first understand the way, should go the same way thereby paving the path for his followers.
• Always cultivate and inculcate the in built attitude like what best can you give to people not what can you get from the people.
• Never shy away from shouldering responsibilities. Given the opportunity, shoulder the responsibilities and you can learn many lessons out of it.
• You need to display constant levels of energy and enthusiasm and must take initiative in all your endeavors.
• Knowing in depth about your field or areas of study will provide you the arms and ammunition like competence; confidence and courage which over a period of time make you rise from the rest. Having knowledge in your chosen area along with integrity will bring effective results as both are coupled. Failure to bring synergy between these two will prove to be a great disaster. In this context, Samuel Johnson aptly said, “Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless. And knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful”.
• M.K.Gandhi became a Mahatma Gandhi only by involving himself in the freedom movement and by moving along with common people and he motivated the people to participate in the freedom movement. He won success because he practiced what he preached. He was a Karma yogi. You have to be part of the people in order to motivate, inspire and provide a right kind of direction.
• You need to display a lot of endurance because things will not go as per your plans. At times, problems crop up due to your internal forces and factors which can be manageable up to certain extent and the problems do arise due to external forces and factors and endurance is an imperative in this context.
• Develop emotional intelligence as this trait will help you get along with people and develop social adjustment. Enhance edge and this will toughen you mentally very strong. And when the going gets touch, the tough gets going. Develop perseverance and move like a marathoner because you know where you are going and why you are going.
• Conduct SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis. It is a wonderful tool and by this you can analyze your strengths and weaknesses which will help you to maximize your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses. Manage the most of your time in capitalizing your strengths and less of your time in converting your weaknesses into strengths and the least of your time in delegating the weaknesses that can not be overcome to your subordinates.
• Whenever you are wedded with success share the same and pass on to your team members and followers. No leader attained success by himself independently. Whenever success comes it comes purely because of collective efforts, team efforts and all the people involved in the movement.
• Last but not the least never misuse your authority for your personal ends or to settle your scores with your rivals. Never let down the trust and confidence of your followers. So far in the history of mankind, no followers let down their leaders but it is only a few leaders who let down their followers.
CONCLUSION:
Leadership is a skill not a talent which can be acquired by reading, learning, training, continuous practice and experience. Every one should know that leaders are not born but are made due to external environment and circumstances. The road to leadership is not an easy but an uphill and an Herculean task. Anybody can become a leader but everybody can not become a leader.. The leaders lead their lives with lot of struggles and sacrifices and they live larger than life even after their death because they live more in the hearts of the people rather than in the minds of the people.
MESSAGE:
More than half of all CEOs of all Fortune 500 companies had an average academic educational background. The boss of Microsoft, Mr. Bill Gates is a college drop out and also the boss of Dell Corp, Mr. Michael Dell is also a college drop out. Half of all millionaire entrepreneurs never finished their college. But what made all of them to tick as leaders? The answer is a simple 7 letter word, - PASSION. It is the first and last eligibility to attain the status of a 6 letter word – LEADER.
T H E E N D
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH IN B SCHOOLS?
ABSTRACT
Indian management education system, no doubt, survived and succeeded in establishing its wings spread across all sectors in India. Yet there are number of grey areas to be addressed. We produce quantitative management graduates but not qualitative. It is a matter of great regret to note. The article highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the present management education. It focuses on ‘what they do not teach in B schools?’ in detail because the author has rich experience in this field being a visiting faculty for ICFAI University as he takes classes for management graduates (MBA). And also he is a permanent faculty in an engineering college and he regularly takes classes for engineering graduates (B.Tech). He found out various tools and techniques to improve upon the present method of management education based on his 25 years of previous work experience that includes business experience apart from his multiple academic qualifications in management and other diversified fields. At the end, there is a clear-cut message to bring out the best leaders and gurus in management from India across the world.
INTRODUCTION:
India has around 1400 Business schools accredited by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and produces management graduates seven times than that of United Kingdom. But we could not produce the best business leaders and managers across the world from our B Schools. We often glorify frequently about our quantity of management education but not about the quality. Presently Harvard University stands first in the top US list of B schools and INSEAD stands first in the non-US list of B schools in the world. What is the official ranking of Indian management institutions across the world? Unfortunately none of our B schools stands in the top 100 list. What ails our B schools? It is high time we introspected honestly and thoroughly.
B SCHOOLS AND MBA:
Every year nearly two lakh MBA aspirants take part in Common Admission Test (CAT). Right now there are 1.25 lakh full time students and one-lakh distance education students pursuing MBA. What makes them to be crazy after MBA tag? Is it because it offers wider opportunities to grow professionally or to get fat pays and perks? It is, in fact, a debatable issue. Especially after the opening up of Indian economy in early nineties, many private players jumped into the bandwagon of creating many B schools with money spinning attitude. It is very difficult to predict how many institutions will survive and succeed and how many will go into the dustbins of history. The institutions are in a great hurry to create managers in quantity but not quality.
Students are also, in general, find it fancy to go for such courses so as to have firm foothold in their career. Statistics reveal that IIM-A selects one out of 400 aspirants as against the one in 20 aspirants of US B schools. Newspapers and magazines also come out with screaming headlines about the prestigious degree. Such headlines make the students crazier after MBA degree.
The MBA degree has its brainchild of American educational system and in early fifties, Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) has been established in India to provide management education. Ever since, IIMs have become the official, authoritative and commendable institutions in India. Although it is nearly more than half a century, we could not produce Indian management gurus across the globe and it is a matter of great regret to note. The business education system is American in content and context and also by nature thus resulting in creating critical gaps in the system.
MANAGEMENT EDUCATION FOR ENGG. STUDENTS:
The present trend indicates that there is more number of people of technical background (B.E and B.Tech) entering B schools. The MBA enhances career prospects for engineering graduates. Engineers, by qualification, are sound technically and can excel as technical leaders. But having an MBA becomes another extra lifeline to scale the corporate ladder quickly. The combination of technical and managerial skills will prove handy and make the people as an effective business leaders and managers. It is because of these reasons the engineering graduates need to pass in managerial subjects to groom them as effective managers.
MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN NON-PROFESSIONAL DEGREES:
In India, there is a strong need to encourage students of Arts, Commerce, Science and Computers to go for MBA courses. And also inclusion of management subjects or topics or concepts in these areas will enhance their exposure to the field of management so that they can gradually develop an aptitude for management. When these non-professional degree holders go for placement they find fully equipped to face the day to day challenges at their work place. In fact, the strength of non-technical graduates outnumbers technical graduates. As a result, there will be steady and strong growth of appetite for MBA qualification. Ultimately we can expect more number of managers from all fields of study.
WEAKNESSES IN PRESENT MANAGEMENT EDUCATION:
Henry Mintzberg is one of the strongest critics of MBA degrees. He found out many defects in the present management education system. The present system does not encourage entrepreneurial skills and abilities. It does not lay stress on ethical part of education. It is not able to inculcate or cultivate industry or sector specific skills. There are set of skills required for each sector, segment and industry. The inability to focus on the same became a major area of weakness. Real industrial problems are neither thought nor taught. It is not able to cater to Indian type of education and on the contrary, it began to believe in aping American method of education, which at times found to be highly irrelevant and superfluous. It does not focus on Total Productive Maintenance (TQM) where teams are forged and motivated to contribute their best without any egoistic considerations. It is devoid of multicultural experience. It is highly commercialized and commoditised. It is like a shop where goods and services are offered in exchange for money. Of course, no qualifications can be provided without money, as it is essential to ensure circulation of the entire organizational set up effectively. The degree of commercialization and commoditisation has become rampant. It is filled with antiquated, outdated and condemned pedagogic and teaching skills and needs to be overhauled thoroughly and immediately.
STRENGTHS:
The present management education survived for nearly five decades in India and struggling to expand beyond national and geographical boundaries. With the boon of rapid changing technology and communication, the educational system is undergoing drastic changes although the pace is slow. The students in B schools develop the ability to network and grow fast. The alumni links serve as strong launching pad.
WHAT THEY DO NOT TEACH IN B-SCHOOLS?
B schools teach the theoretical concepts and aspects, which will help the people to get tuned with the corporate terminology right from the school itself and also the meanings of the related concepts. The tools and techniques, which were taught in school, help them equip to take over the managerial/leadership roles in the corporate world. In fact B schools’ objective is to groom the business leaders for tomorrow.
It is always an well-admitted fact that there is vast chasm between theory and percept. The B school product when he finds himself in the hot seat in the industry, he finds himself suffocated as he finds vast gap in his dreams and realities. He needs to get his hands dirty in the real organizations, which he might have fantasized, from a totally different perspective.
The ability to deal with the people can not be taught in B schools and even if it was taught, it is very difficult to implement, as there would be so many bottlenecks. B schools only teach how to do but the corporate world only, indeed, teaches the practical way of learning. It is like learning how to swim, i.e. whatever the student learnt such as tools and techniques by way of theoretical explanations in school, he can only learn when he gets into the deep waters of the corporate world.
Traits like diplomacy and tactness and emotional intelligence can be learnt only by practical experience. The books and B schools have certain limitations. The efficiency and efficacy can be learnt only by involving oneself in real like situation. However the case studies one might have come across by way of thorough reading in school, the real life is total different from fantasized reel life. In a nutshell, a person comes from reel life to real life.
The concepts like brainstorming, reverse brainstorming, lateral thinking, vertical thinking, out of the box thinking, emotional intelligence, change agents, mind mapping, morphological analysis, six thinking hats, synectics, Type A personality and Type B personality could be better be understood and felt in the real corporate life.
B schools equip tons of information, data, knowledge, and case studies, which can help to get tuned with the real problems in the organizations to some extent. But it can not be summed up altogether that they produce the best managers in the industry.
B schools do not teach entrepreneurial skills and risk taking abilities. They teach about soft skills and communication skills, which can best be experimented in the battleground of corporate life and can be perfected. If the tools of efficiency are taught in B schools, the tricks of effectiveness is learnt in corporate world.
B schools do not talk much about building relations. Whatever the little so taught becomes too little in the practical life. In real business, it is always the products or services, which speak in volumes to the customers initially and the subsequent transactions, depend on relationships to a greater extent. Ultimately it is the satisfied customer who turns again and gives business. Therefore, much of the business solely depends on building relationships, which is again missing in B schools. B schools do highlight on evolutionary approaches but not revolutionary. But the practical business mostly talks of revolutionary approaches.
To lay more stress, if ‘what B school teaches’ is one side of the coin then the other side of the coin is ‘what one learns in organizations’. And the coin will have complete value only when these two are clubbed together. The combination of two sides creates a complete corporate personality.
FILLING THE CRITICAL GAPS:
There is a strong need to lay stress on the Indian-industry oriented management education. This does not mean to do away with the American methodology of concepts and teachings. What is now needed is glocal approach i.e. the combination of global and local approach.
The visiting faculty usually teaches in more than one institution and teaches more than one subject. As a result their approach is short term oriented and less focussed. Where as the permanent faculty works under one roof in the same system and subjects resulting in staying highly focussed in his approach. These people tend to have long term orientation and it pays off heavily for the students.
There is vast chasm between the salaries of academic and non-academic professions. At the industries, pay and perks are heavy and the best brains are naturally going to non-academic line. This does not mean totally that those who work in academic profession do not posses brighter talents and skills. There may be a segment of brains that would like to work in academic line because of their taste for teaching. The vast gap between these two in terms of salaries needs to be narrowed down and addressed. Sometimes, the teaching faculty may work outside on part time basis to generate more income. This again contributes in less concentration in teaching.
Recruiting the faculty who possess diversified academic back ground, experience and expertise will bring quality of education as these people can combine their multiple skills learnt from academic field along with their industrial or business experience. Similarly industries must come forward to encourage the trainee management graduates to do project work in their organizations which will enhance competency and confidence.
The present management education refers to many case studies related to other countries. Although it is good to have a feel of the case studies of foreign land, there is an element of nativity lost in teaching. It is necessary to generate our own case studies and explain the concepts or topics with native examples for understanding and enhancing the qualitative education. It is like, when you in Rome do as Romans do, but not as Greece do. The need of the hour is to create glocal mindset in the minds of management graduates.
Indian B schools must evolve its own tools and techniques in teaching and tune its B schools as the battlegrounds to create global management gurus.
CHAK DE! INDIA:
The Shah Rukh Khan’s starrer, ‘Chak De! India’ has been included as a case study in a management institute for showcasing leadership, motivation, human resource management and other excellent skills. There is a need to encourage such case studies, which can be well understood and practiced to make effective managers and leaders. Encourage reel like heroes like Amitabh Bachhan, Shah Rukh Khan and so on into real life heroes by participating once in a while in management education. They can narrate their own practical problems related to film industry which become the best case studies for the students thereby adding a touch of glamour and knowledge in management education.
Turn around heroes who are instrumental in making their companies profitable like Mr.R.Seshasayee, the Managing Director for Ashok Leyland, Mr. Krishnamurty of SAIL, and Mr.Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Union Railway Minister should be invited to provide guest lectures at B schools (Of course, Mr.Laloo Prasad did take part in such lectures). These people can come out with practical problems they faced while turning around their institutions. Like wise, the successful leaders and managers across various Indian industries, sectors and segments should be invited to management institutions who can become source of inspiration and motivation for the students. What is needed is the practical business education not ivory tower type of education. And the leaders need not to be MBAs. There are leaders who became corporate czars not because of MBA but because of their business acumen, dedication, discipline and determination.
CONCLUSION:
AICTE has a pivotal role to play in streamlining and overhauling Indian management education system with many checks and balances. Late Dhirubhai H Ambani and Laxmi Niwas Mittal have become corporate legends not by doing MBA but by business acumen and right application of available resources. MBA helps in enriching the minds of the business managers and leaders. MBA does supplement and does not substitute business acumen. Sound academic background with strong business and industry insights along with stimulated and simulated case studies can bring out the best results in quality of management education in India.
MESSAGE:
The best business managers and leaders can be created only by a successful synthesis of academic theory and business practice or industrial experience. The business education should be based on practical or simulated and effective case studies. If the educational infrastructure is sound then one can expect a strong superstructure in future. Imagine an India with a population of a more than a billion can produce how much number of Jack Welchs’, Philip.Kotlers’ and Peter F Druckers’.
T H E E N D
Indian management education system, no doubt, survived and succeeded in establishing its wings spread across all sectors in India. Yet there are number of grey areas to be addressed. We produce quantitative management graduates but not qualitative. It is a matter of great regret to note. The article highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the present management education. It focuses on ‘what they do not teach in B schools?’ in detail because the author has rich experience in this field being a visiting faculty for ICFAI University as he takes classes for management graduates (MBA). And also he is a permanent faculty in an engineering college and he regularly takes classes for engineering graduates (B.Tech). He found out various tools and techniques to improve upon the present method of management education based on his 25 years of previous work experience that includes business experience apart from his multiple academic qualifications in management and other diversified fields. At the end, there is a clear-cut message to bring out the best leaders and gurus in management from India across the world.
INTRODUCTION:
India has around 1400 Business schools accredited by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and produces management graduates seven times than that of United Kingdom. But we could not produce the best business leaders and managers across the world from our B Schools. We often glorify frequently about our quantity of management education but not about the quality. Presently Harvard University stands first in the top US list of B schools and INSEAD stands first in the non-US list of B schools in the world. What is the official ranking of Indian management institutions across the world? Unfortunately none of our B schools stands in the top 100 list. What ails our B schools? It is high time we introspected honestly and thoroughly.
B SCHOOLS AND MBA:
Every year nearly two lakh MBA aspirants take part in Common Admission Test (CAT). Right now there are 1.25 lakh full time students and one-lakh distance education students pursuing MBA. What makes them to be crazy after MBA tag? Is it because it offers wider opportunities to grow professionally or to get fat pays and perks? It is, in fact, a debatable issue. Especially after the opening up of Indian economy in early nineties, many private players jumped into the bandwagon of creating many B schools with money spinning attitude. It is very difficult to predict how many institutions will survive and succeed and how many will go into the dustbins of history. The institutions are in a great hurry to create managers in quantity but not quality.
Students are also, in general, find it fancy to go for such courses so as to have firm foothold in their career. Statistics reveal that IIM-A selects one out of 400 aspirants as against the one in 20 aspirants of US B schools. Newspapers and magazines also come out with screaming headlines about the prestigious degree. Such headlines make the students crazier after MBA degree.
The MBA degree has its brainchild of American educational system and in early fifties, Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) has been established in India to provide management education. Ever since, IIMs have become the official, authoritative and commendable institutions in India. Although it is nearly more than half a century, we could not produce Indian management gurus across the globe and it is a matter of great regret to note. The business education system is American in content and context and also by nature thus resulting in creating critical gaps in the system.
MANAGEMENT EDUCATION FOR ENGG. STUDENTS:
The present trend indicates that there is more number of people of technical background (B.E and B.Tech) entering B schools. The MBA enhances career prospects for engineering graduates. Engineers, by qualification, are sound technically and can excel as technical leaders. But having an MBA becomes another extra lifeline to scale the corporate ladder quickly. The combination of technical and managerial skills will prove handy and make the people as an effective business leaders and managers. It is because of these reasons the engineering graduates need to pass in managerial subjects to groom them as effective managers.
MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN NON-PROFESSIONAL DEGREES:
In India, there is a strong need to encourage students of Arts, Commerce, Science and Computers to go for MBA courses. And also inclusion of management subjects or topics or concepts in these areas will enhance their exposure to the field of management so that they can gradually develop an aptitude for management. When these non-professional degree holders go for placement they find fully equipped to face the day to day challenges at their work place. In fact, the strength of non-technical graduates outnumbers technical graduates. As a result, there will be steady and strong growth of appetite for MBA qualification. Ultimately we can expect more number of managers from all fields of study.
WEAKNESSES IN PRESENT MANAGEMENT EDUCATION:
Henry Mintzberg is one of the strongest critics of MBA degrees. He found out many defects in the present management education system. The present system does not encourage entrepreneurial skills and abilities. It does not lay stress on ethical part of education. It is not able to inculcate or cultivate industry or sector specific skills. There are set of skills required for each sector, segment and industry. The inability to focus on the same became a major area of weakness. Real industrial problems are neither thought nor taught. It is not able to cater to Indian type of education and on the contrary, it began to believe in aping American method of education, which at times found to be highly irrelevant and superfluous. It does not focus on Total Productive Maintenance (TQM) where teams are forged and motivated to contribute their best without any egoistic considerations. It is devoid of multicultural experience. It is highly commercialized and commoditised. It is like a shop where goods and services are offered in exchange for money. Of course, no qualifications can be provided without money, as it is essential to ensure circulation of the entire organizational set up effectively. The degree of commercialization and commoditisation has become rampant. It is filled with antiquated, outdated and condemned pedagogic and teaching skills and needs to be overhauled thoroughly and immediately.
STRENGTHS:
The present management education survived for nearly five decades in India and struggling to expand beyond national and geographical boundaries. With the boon of rapid changing technology and communication, the educational system is undergoing drastic changes although the pace is slow. The students in B schools develop the ability to network and grow fast. The alumni links serve as strong launching pad.
WHAT THEY DO NOT TEACH IN B-SCHOOLS?
B schools teach the theoretical concepts and aspects, which will help the people to get tuned with the corporate terminology right from the school itself and also the meanings of the related concepts. The tools and techniques, which were taught in school, help them equip to take over the managerial/leadership roles in the corporate world. In fact B schools’ objective is to groom the business leaders for tomorrow.
It is always an well-admitted fact that there is vast chasm between theory and percept. The B school product when he finds himself in the hot seat in the industry, he finds himself suffocated as he finds vast gap in his dreams and realities. He needs to get his hands dirty in the real organizations, which he might have fantasized, from a totally different perspective.
The ability to deal with the people can not be taught in B schools and even if it was taught, it is very difficult to implement, as there would be so many bottlenecks. B schools only teach how to do but the corporate world only, indeed, teaches the practical way of learning. It is like learning how to swim, i.e. whatever the student learnt such as tools and techniques by way of theoretical explanations in school, he can only learn when he gets into the deep waters of the corporate world.
Traits like diplomacy and tactness and emotional intelligence can be learnt only by practical experience. The books and B schools have certain limitations. The efficiency and efficacy can be learnt only by involving oneself in real like situation. However the case studies one might have come across by way of thorough reading in school, the real life is total different from fantasized reel life. In a nutshell, a person comes from reel life to real life.
The concepts like brainstorming, reverse brainstorming, lateral thinking, vertical thinking, out of the box thinking, emotional intelligence, change agents, mind mapping, morphological analysis, six thinking hats, synectics, Type A personality and Type B personality could be better be understood and felt in the real corporate life.
B schools equip tons of information, data, knowledge, and case studies, which can help to get tuned with the real problems in the organizations to some extent. But it can not be summed up altogether that they produce the best managers in the industry.
B schools do not teach entrepreneurial skills and risk taking abilities. They teach about soft skills and communication skills, which can best be experimented in the battleground of corporate life and can be perfected. If the tools of efficiency are taught in B schools, the tricks of effectiveness is learnt in corporate world.
B schools do not talk much about building relations. Whatever the little so taught becomes too little in the practical life. In real business, it is always the products or services, which speak in volumes to the customers initially and the subsequent transactions, depend on relationships to a greater extent. Ultimately it is the satisfied customer who turns again and gives business. Therefore, much of the business solely depends on building relationships, which is again missing in B schools. B schools do highlight on evolutionary approaches but not revolutionary. But the practical business mostly talks of revolutionary approaches.
To lay more stress, if ‘what B school teaches’ is one side of the coin then the other side of the coin is ‘what one learns in organizations’. And the coin will have complete value only when these two are clubbed together. The combination of two sides creates a complete corporate personality.
FILLING THE CRITICAL GAPS:
There is a strong need to lay stress on the Indian-industry oriented management education. This does not mean to do away with the American methodology of concepts and teachings. What is now needed is glocal approach i.e. the combination of global and local approach.
The visiting faculty usually teaches in more than one institution and teaches more than one subject. As a result their approach is short term oriented and less focussed. Where as the permanent faculty works under one roof in the same system and subjects resulting in staying highly focussed in his approach. These people tend to have long term orientation and it pays off heavily for the students.
There is vast chasm between the salaries of academic and non-academic professions. At the industries, pay and perks are heavy and the best brains are naturally going to non-academic line. This does not mean totally that those who work in academic profession do not posses brighter talents and skills. There may be a segment of brains that would like to work in academic line because of their taste for teaching. The vast gap between these two in terms of salaries needs to be narrowed down and addressed. Sometimes, the teaching faculty may work outside on part time basis to generate more income. This again contributes in less concentration in teaching.
Recruiting the faculty who possess diversified academic back ground, experience and expertise will bring quality of education as these people can combine their multiple skills learnt from academic field along with their industrial or business experience. Similarly industries must come forward to encourage the trainee management graduates to do project work in their organizations which will enhance competency and confidence.
The present management education refers to many case studies related to other countries. Although it is good to have a feel of the case studies of foreign land, there is an element of nativity lost in teaching. It is necessary to generate our own case studies and explain the concepts or topics with native examples for understanding and enhancing the qualitative education. It is like, when you in Rome do as Romans do, but not as Greece do. The need of the hour is to create glocal mindset in the minds of management graduates.
Indian B schools must evolve its own tools and techniques in teaching and tune its B schools as the battlegrounds to create global management gurus.
CHAK DE! INDIA:
The Shah Rukh Khan’s starrer, ‘Chak De! India’ has been included as a case study in a management institute for showcasing leadership, motivation, human resource management and other excellent skills. There is a need to encourage such case studies, which can be well understood and practiced to make effective managers and leaders. Encourage reel like heroes like Amitabh Bachhan, Shah Rukh Khan and so on into real life heroes by participating once in a while in management education. They can narrate their own practical problems related to film industry which become the best case studies for the students thereby adding a touch of glamour and knowledge in management education.
Turn around heroes who are instrumental in making their companies profitable like Mr.R.Seshasayee, the Managing Director for Ashok Leyland, Mr. Krishnamurty of SAIL, and Mr.Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Union Railway Minister should be invited to provide guest lectures at B schools (Of course, Mr.Laloo Prasad did take part in such lectures). These people can come out with practical problems they faced while turning around their institutions. Like wise, the successful leaders and managers across various Indian industries, sectors and segments should be invited to management institutions who can become source of inspiration and motivation for the students. What is needed is the practical business education not ivory tower type of education. And the leaders need not to be MBAs. There are leaders who became corporate czars not because of MBA but because of their business acumen, dedication, discipline and determination.
CONCLUSION:
AICTE has a pivotal role to play in streamlining and overhauling Indian management education system with many checks and balances. Late Dhirubhai H Ambani and Laxmi Niwas Mittal have become corporate legends not by doing MBA but by business acumen and right application of available resources. MBA helps in enriching the minds of the business managers and leaders. MBA does supplement and does not substitute business acumen. Sound academic background with strong business and industry insights along with stimulated and simulated case studies can bring out the best results in quality of management education in India.
MESSAGE:
The best business managers and leaders can be created only by a successful synthesis of academic theory and business practice or industrial experience. The business education should be based on practical or simulated and effective case studies. If the educational infrastructure is sound then one can expect a strong superstructure in future. Imagine an India with a population of a more than a billion can produce how much number of Jack Welchs’, Philip.Kotlers’ and Peter F Druckers’.
T H E E N D
TEAM BUILDING SKILLS
Andrew Carnegie said, “Team work is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results”.
Formation of homogeneous group out of heterogeneous for achieving organizational goals and objectives can be defined as team work. Working in teams is a fun and frolic. Team work touches upon our hidden talents. It is here people communicate more freely and work together in a team resulting in more efficient and effective results. It is nothing but synergy of strengths of diversified people. Every individual is blessed with unique qualities, abilities, talents and skills and when they work in teams with passion, we can expect unique results. Although numerically one plus one is two, but in team work it gives rise to more than two. It is here where people of diversified backgrounds and faculties come together to do their best forgetting their egos, differences of opinions, views and ideas so as to keep the objectives of the team paramount. Effective team work develops team spirit, flexibility, openness, adjustability and adaptability.
Characteristics of an Effective Team:
Basically a team must possess four elements such as purpose, duration, structure and membership. The leader or the manager must be very clear in his or her goals and objectives to avoid ambiguity. He or she must be a risk taker for conducting such an exercise. Creation of conducive and relaxed climate is an imperative to get desired results. The entire members are to be interdependent and independent to make the team building exercise relevant. There should be a provision for positive and creative ideas. All members must be free to air their opinions and ideas. There has to be collective responsibility and accountability.
How to Build an Effective Team?
It is basically the team leader or manager who should create. He must know group behavior and must be good at group psychology. He must build the team so as to achieve the organizational goals and objectives which are measurable, realistic and attainable. He needs to be an excellent jockey till the race is completed. Resolving conflicts in the team, encouraging relevant meetings, sharing goals and objectives, creating a conducive climate, clear demarcation of the roles and responsibilities , providing adequate training, strengthening bottom lines, communicating effectively and efficiently - a powerful team can be built. There is a team facilitator who provides required guidance and support to the team members. An efficient team member can become a successful team facilitator and then as a team leader. The leader must build members who believe in smart work rather than hard work.
There is a subtle difference between smart work and hard work. For instance, there are two teams each containing three members and are asked to cut two different trees of same size shape and width. The members of team A immediately took their axes and started cutting the tree at the root as the time frame fixed is one hour for both to complete the task. Whereas the members of the team B took around 15 minutes to grind their axes and then they began cutting the tree. And they could cut it with in 15 minutes of starting the activity and finished with in 30 minutes by cutting at the base of the tree. The team A began cutting the tree but failed to do with in an hour and took more than that to fell the tree. Here the difference between the team A and B is: The team A did not plan well, coordinate well and on the other hand they worked very hard but could not achieve the result with in the time frame. It is a clear indication of hard work and their sincerity can not be questioned. Where as the team B, planned well, coordinated properly, ground their axes, worked smartly and got the result much before the deadline. It is a clear indication of smart work. And in this growing technological and competitive world it is not the hard work but the smart work that counts.
Merits of Team Work:
According to Herb Kelleher of South West Airlines – “Team play is a fundamental concept ….. If you want to succeed, if you want to win, you have to play as a team.”
The results can be maximized and expedited due to the strength in synergy. When the team members consult one another during the process, they learn to come out openly and learn to respect others’ ideas. Members start believing with each other shedding their inhibitions and hesitations. The outcome will be in exponential proportions. There will be supplementary and complementary of skills and abilities. At times, the team members come out with ideas which they themselves never thought of, from their subconscious minds. The member also realizes his strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis other members and tries to overcome his weaknesses and strengthens his strengths.
People working in teams develop using two letter word ‘we’ instead of one letter word ‘I’. Stephen Covey, in his book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effectively People’ wrote about the terminology of synergy and it is one of the greatest habits across the successful people in the world.
Working in groups or teams promotes esprit de corps (loyalty), camaraderie, and problem solving ability. People, when work in teams develop the ability to resolve the conflicts amicably. Due to the physical proximity in teams, the members derive job satisfaction by various means and they gradually develop multitasking abilities. By way of discussions and dialogues, bags of information are generated and team members become more knowledgeable. It is here cooperation replaces competition with in the team members. Ability to stay focused is an efficient trait; the members tend to hit the bulls’ eye accurately. No repetition of the work takes place as all are aware of what is going on right under their noses.
Employee turn over is thorny issue in all sectors of the industry and it can be minimized by inculcating team spirit as people do not feel to quit their organizations when they develop good relations with their colleagues. Optimum utilization of time and available resources can be ensured. There will be enhancement of qualitative work and the recognition of hidden potential amongst the employees.
Team Spirit as a Skill Tested In Interviews:
When the students go for employment, the employers look for the team spirit. The employers will be on the look out for this trait and they try to examine whether the candidate possesses this characteristic. Non possession becomes a major liability and the candidate gets rejected. The psychologists and other interviewing officers try to find out this ability by posing questions from different directions and dimensions and when the candidate demonstrates constantly then only there is a possibility to get into the slot. All organizations whether it is civil or military organizations lays great emphasis on this quality.
Soft skills are a cluster of many skills and abilities and it is said that possession of team spirit is one of the major skills. In order to inculcate this quality, the students must learn to work in teams’ right from their childhood itself by participating in sports, cultural activities, in academic careers to avoid displeasure at the time of interviews. To put it in the words of Stephen Covey, “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities”.
T H E E N D
Formation of homogeneous group out of heterogeneous for achieving organizational goals and objectives can be defined as team work. Working in teams is a fun and frolic. Team work touches upon our hidden talents. It is here people communicate more freely and work together in a team resulting in more efficient and effective results. It is nothing but synergy of strengths of diversified people. Every individual is blessed with unique qualities, abilities, talents and skills and when they work in teams with passion, we can expect unique results. Although numerically one plus one is two, but in team work it gives rise to more than two. It is here where people of diversified backgrounds and faculties come together to do their best forgetting their egos, differences of opinions, views and ideas so as to keep the objectives of the team paramount. Effective team work develops team spirit, flexibility, openness, adjustability and adaptability.
Characteristics of an Effective Team:
Basically a team must possess four elements such as purpose, duration, structure and membership. The leader or the manager must be very clear in his or her goals and objectives to avoid ambiguity. He or she must be a risk taker for conducting such an exercise. Creation of conducive and relaxed climate is an imperative to get desired results. The entire members are to be interdependent and independent to make the team building exercise relevant. There should be a provision for positive and creative ideas. All members must be free to air their opinions and ideas. There has to be collective responsibility and accountability.
How to Build an Effective Team?
It is basically the team leader or manager who should create. He must know group behavior and must be good at group psychology. He must build the team so as to achieve the organizational goals and objectives which are measurable, realistic and attainable. He needs to be an excellent jockey till the race is completed. Resolving conflicts in the team, encouraging relevant meetings, sharing goals and objectives, creating a conducive climate, clear demarcation of the roles and responsibilities , providing adequate training, strengthening bottom lines, communicating effectively and efficiently - a powerful team can be built. There is a team facilitator who provides required guidance and support to the team members. An efficient team member can become a successful team facilitator and then as a team leader. The leader must build members who believe in smart work rather than hard work.
There is a subtle difference between smart work and hard work. For instance, there are two teams each containing three members and are asked to cut two different trees of same size shape and width. The members of team A immediately took their axes and started cutting the tree at the root as the time frame fixed is one hour for both to complete the task. Whereas the members of the team B took around 15 minutes to grind their axes and then they began cutting the tree. And they could cut it with in 15 minutes of starting the activity and finished with in 30 minutes by cutting at the base of the tree. The team A began cutting the tree but failed to do with in an hour and took more than that to fell the tree. Here the difference between the team A and B is: The team A did not plan well, coordinate well and on the other hand they worked very hard but could not achieve the result with in the time frame. It is a clear indication of hard work and their sincerity can not be questioned. Where as the team B, planned well, coordinated properly, ground their axes, worked smartly and got the result much before the deadline. It is a clear indication of smart work. And in this growing technological and competitive world it is not the hard work but the smart work that counts.
Merits of Team Work:
According to Herb Kelleher of South West Airlines – “Team play is a fundamental concept ….. If you want to succeed, if you want to win, you have to play as a team.”
The results can be maximized and expedited due to the strength in synergy. When the team members consult one another during the process, they learn to come out openly and learn to respect others’ ideas. Members start believing with each other shedding their inhibitions and hesitations. The outcome will be in exponential proportions. There will be supplementary and complementary of skills and abilities. At times, the team members come out with ideas which they themselves never thought of, from their subconscious minds. The member also realizes his strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis other members and tries to overcome his weaknesses and strengthens his strengths.
People working in teams develop using two letter word ‘we’ instead of one letter word ‘I’. Stephen Covey, in his book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effectively People’ wrote about the terminology of synergy and it is one of the greatest habits across the successful people in the world.
Working in groups or teams promotes esprit de corps (loyalty), camaraderie, and problem solving ability. People, when work in teams develop the ability to resolve the conflicts amicably. Due to the physical proximity in teams, the members derive job satisfaction by various means and they gradually develop multitasking abilities. By way of discussions and dialogues, bags of information are generated and team members become more knowledgeable. It is here cooperation replaces competition with in the team members. Ability to stay focused is an efficient trait; the members tend to hit the bulls’ eye accurately. No repetition of the work takes place as all are aware of what is going on right under their noses.
Employee turn over is thorny issue in all sectors of the industry and it can be minimized by inculcating team spirit as people do not feel to quit their organizations when they develop good relations with their colleagues. Optimum utilization of time and available resources can be ensured. There will be enhancement of qualitative work and the recognition of hidden potential amongst the employees.
Team Spirit as a Skill Tested In Interviews:
When the students go for employment, the employers look for the team spirit. The employers will be on the look out for this trait and they try to examine whether the candidate possesses this characteristic. Non possession becomes a major liability and the candidate gets rejected. The psychologists and other interviewing officers try to find out this ability by posing questions from different directions and dimensions and when the candidate demonstrates constantly then only there is a possibility to get into the slot. All organizations whether it is civil or military organizations lays great emphasis on this quality.
Soft skills are a cluster of many skills and abilities and it is said that possession of team spirit is one of the major skills. In order to inculcate this quality, the students must learn to work in teams’ right from their childhood itself by participating in sports, cultural activities, in academic careers to avoid displeasure at the time of interviews. To put it in the words of Stephen Covey, “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities”.
T H E E N D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
