STRATEGIES FOR BEING A GLOBAL

MBA PLAYER
ABSTRACT: Global Competitiveness is the tool for success in all spheres.
Even education. Especially management education. This research paper
takes the positive favourable factors aiding the process of making our
management educational institutions globally competitive. The route taken is
the trend towards Indians making their mark as global citizens, on every
field globally. By identifying specific cases through primary research the
paper unfolds the possibility that we can become a global MBA player and
that there is scope for Indian management schools to become globally
competitive.

INTRODUCTION

The mantra today is globalization be it industry, economics, trade or

education. The world over energies is being synergized to become
successful global player in every field. The environment and the challenges
in the growing MBA education field with its tremendous growth
opportunities are exceptional and unique.

There has been a tremendous growth of management institutes in our

society. Every year about 20,000 students pass out of management schools,
the demand is very high.

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India has over 250 universities, deemed universities, institutes of national
importance and over 11000 colleges. This itself makes India’s education
system one of the worlds largest. The number of colleges for professional
education has gone up from a mere 208 in 1951 to over 2300 in 2001.

This paper attempts to unfold in the following manner:

1. India’s demand in the foreign markets

2. Current educational scenario

3. Challenges faced by Indian B schools

4. Best practices the world over

India’s Demand in the foreign markets

At the recent Nasscom conference in Mumbai, management guru Late

Sumantra Ghoshal began his presentation with a slide that stated, “Thank
You”. He was expressing his gratitude to the huge audience of software
industry professionals, whom, he felt, were largely responsible for the new,
respectable image that Indians now enjoyed globally. He was seeing, he
explained, a newfound sense of pride and confidence among the Indians in
the class he taught at the London Business School. Indians abroad were
finally proud to be Indian. And, the super success of the Indian software
exports industry was the reason.

Indians are going places, not just because they want to but also because they
are in hot demand. Increasingly, India heads of multinationals are being
asked to take charge of a larger chunk of global operations. It’s not increased
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multicultural sensitivity in the West that’s landing them the plum posts
abroad. Rather, it is the success of their Indian operations that is making
their international office choose them to replicate their marketing mantra on
an international scale.

Indian executives making it big and taking on global responsibilities come

from across all sectors: consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, information
technology, banking and even publishing. They all say there’s no place like
home, but hey, someone’s got to get the job done. Indian students are doing
a great job all over the globe.

The Global Citizens

India’s Demand for Indian Management Professionals

ƒ Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economist IMF, alumni of IIMA, PHD

Wharton and Professor at Chicago University.
ƒ Deepak Jain, Dean of Kellogg School of Management and Business
Week’s latest issue ranked him as the Best Dean.
ƒ Naina Lal Kidwai heads South East Asia for HSBC, the first Indian
women to pass out from Harvard Business School.

We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, even
faring better than the whites and the natives. There are 3.22 millions of
Indians in USA (1.5% of population). and,

ƒ 38% of doctors in USA are Indians.

ƒ 12% scientists in USA are Indians.
ƒ 36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
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 ƒ 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
ƒ 28% of IBM employees are Indians.
ƒ 17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
ƒ 13% of XEROX employees are Indians.

This is proof enough illustrating the glorious heights reached by educated

Indians.

India’s Educational Scenario

Our Rich Heritage

India has been the seat for learning and education since ancient times.
Though a great man like Aryabhatta didn’t meet the same fate as Socrates
and Galileo in their countries due to some reasons, India was a great learning
center with universities Nalanda and Takshishila, metropolises Pataliputra
and Ujjaini, emperors like Chandragupta Maurya and Samrat Ashoka,
scholars like Pannini, Aryabhatta and Kautilya. India has a fair share of
enriching the world's education with the techniques of algebra and
algorithm, the concept of zero, the technique of surgery, the concepts of
atoms and relativity, the game of chess etc.

Yuan Chawng and Tsing who resided as students at the Nalanda Center of
Learning, described it as a residential university with a population of 8500
students, 1501 teachers and other staff members. It provided food, clothing,
bedding, tuition and even free medicine to the residents. It was supported by
liberal grants for this purpose by royal and private philanthropy. This gives
some idea of the reputation of India as a learning center when there were no
roads, transport to travel from one country to another.
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The Arabs borrowed so much from India in the field of mathematics that
even the subject of mathematics in Arabic came to be known as 'Hindsa'
which means 'from India'.

Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages germinated in India.

Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software (report in
Forbes magazine, July 1987) and Indians have created it.

India’s Advent in Management Education

In 1950, the Department of Commerce of the Andhra University started the

first M.B.A. programme in India. In 1963, Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad was set up in collaboration with the Harvard Business School.
The 1950s and 1960s witnessed the growth of commerce education and
the1970s and 1980s witnessed the growth of Management Education in
India.

Management courses have become 'Academic Courses' rather than

'Professional ones'. Management Institutes, barring a few exceptions, have
been reduced to commerce colleges. There is an urgent need to restructure
management education to meet the new challenges of the 21st Century.

Probably the biggest challenges management education has to deal with in

the e-commerce explosion are how to train and develop experienced faculty,
how to recruit and nurture new faculty, and how to keep the classrooms
stocked with capable teachers while all that is going on. Clearly, what is
happening in business schools today is being very significantly affected by
e-commerce. What is important is that schools understand it better, use it
better, do more research on it, and have it in their curricula. E-commerce is
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going to be pervasive throughout the curriculum in every area.

One of the most important developments in recent times is India’s talks at

WTO on allowing opening up of foreign education services. The greatest
impact of WTO control over higher education would occur in developing
countries. These countries have the greatest need for academic institutions
that contribute to national development, produce research relevant to local
needs and participate in the strengthening of civil society. Once universities
in developing countries are subjected to an international market place
regulated by WTO, they would be swamped by overseas institutes and
programs intent upon earning a profit and not contributing to the national
income.

Non-traditional Service Providers

A significant global trend in the field of management education has been a

sharp increase in the number of nontraditional service providers offering
business programs. Corporate universities and alliances between businesses
and academic institutions are revolutionizing the offerings available to
students pursuing graduate management programs.

In order to produce graduates who are fully prepared to assume management

responsibilities, colleges and universities have realized the necessity of
offering management education directly applicable in the business world.
Alliances between academia and industry have been pursued in order to
provide students with an education that blends research with practical
application. These coalitions benefit everyone involved: corporations gain an
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element of research and scholarship from the presence of on-site professors,
while academic institutions are able to make their programs more applicable
to the real business world by offering courses taught by experienced
management practitioners.

According to Prof Dipak C. Jain, the Dean of Kellogg School of

Management, it is imperative that business schools link themselves
adequately with the corporate sector, or else they would find themselves far-
removed from the reality check. He believes that the time has come for
business schools to look at creating "corporate residency programmes" in the
second half of the second year of their Masters in Business Administration
(MBA). In his words, "henceforth, business schools are not to be
differentiated on the quality of analytical skills imparted by them. They will
have to be differentiated on the quality of intangibles (people skills) that
they can impart to their students".

These alliances have led to further innovations. When corporations

contribute input into academic programs, they often are able to pinpoint
where course redundancy occurs. This expert knowledge has resulted in a
new method of instruction. This trend in courses oriented to experienced
executives is a shift away from "just-in-case" learning-the traditional method
in which business students are taught everything they might need to do to
know - to "“just-in-time" learning, which provides students with just the
essential aspects of traditional business programs in a highly streamlined,
efficient package.

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The drivers accelerating the growth of Management Education are:

1) Executive Programs
A growing number of professionals and executives are turning to business
schools and corporate universities in order to upgrade their own knowledge
of the industry. Institutions are meeting this demand with a pronounced
increase of degree and non-degree programs to meet the needs of
professional clients.
Executive MBA programs and professional development courses are
growing in popularity among business professionals. Both types of learning
acknowledge the fact that individuals do not necessarily wish to leave their
jobs in order to pursue educational goals. As a result, most programs for
executives are extremely streamlined and operate as much as possible
outside conventional business hours. The increasing demand for executive
programs underscores the importance of lifelong learning. As careers
advance and interests evolve, lifelong learning allows business professionals
to keep up-to-date with modern trends and advances in their particular field
of interest.

2) Management and Social Development

A growing trend in management studies is in providing a synergy between
the corporate and social development sector. Take the case of the S.P.Jain
Institute of Management and Research. Their DOCC Program provides an
opportunity to network with the local community, meet challenging
situations and endeavor to provide solutions that are beneficial to the
organization as well as to the under-privileged sections of society.

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3) Global Tie-ups

For those who prefer the tag of a foreign degree without the stepping out of
India, students now have the option of an overseas degree, right here at
home.

CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIAN B – SCHOOLS TO BEING

GLOBAL PLAYERS

Once upon a time this nation’s ancient universities in Nalanda and

Pataliputra attracted students of mathematics and the sciences from around
the world. But after a brief, post-indepen-dence period when there was a
surge in the inflow of students from several newly independent, especially
African countries, India’s institutions of higher education have been
banished to the corners of the radar screens of students around the world.
Currently despite relatively rock-bottom tuition fees payable, there are a
mere 8,145 foreign students in the country’s 12,500 colleges and 305
univer-sities, an almost 50 percent fall from the peak number of over 13,000
in 1993-94.

Certain factors contribute to this. They are:

1) Infrastructure
One of the single most important factors which contribute to the inability of
Indian B-schools to compete with their global counterparts is the lack of an
infrastructure. Often, one finds that a B-School’s growth is impeded on
account of its poor infrastructure – which may be in terms of an information
infrastructure, i.e. providing students with dedicated terminals having high

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speed access to the internet or more basic issues pertaining to providing
classrooms and learning environments which simulate a pseudo corporate
environment. The austere “comfort levels” provided by India’s perpetually
cash-strapped institutions of higher education which are pathetically
dependent upon handouts from indifferent central and state governments, is
a major disincentive to foreign students who tend to believe that there is
more to education than class attendance.

In addition we need to construct more special hostels for foreign students to

create an inviting and conducive environment for them. Right now only a
few universities — Delhi, Pune and MAHE (Manipal Academy of Higher
Education) have built hostels which cater to the needs of foreign students,”
admits Dr. Veena Bhalla under secretary of the Delhi-based Association of
Indian Universities (AIU).

2) Faculty
A lack of talented faculty prevents most B-Schools from providing quality
education which truly adds value to the Indian MBA student. One of the
reasons for this might be the disparity in salaries drawn by a teaching faculty
and that offered by the corporate world. This predictably leans heavily
towards the latter. This prevents top – notch talents from India Inc. from
entering the teaching arena. A recent trend started by the much talked about
ISB or The Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, is to bring in faculty from
the US or other international destinations. However, with an average
compensation which is barely about half of what is being offered for a

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similar position in a US university, the quality of teaching staff obtainable is
debatable.

Another problem is the shortage of ‘core’ faculty. A number of management

institutions operate with a skeletal staff of four to five core faculty members
while the rest are visiting faculty, who often do not have the time or
inclination to commit to individual needs of students.

Besides, Indian universities have a significantly larger student to faculty

ratio than their global counterparts. This makes it difficult for students to
have individual attention and discuss their problems with professors on a one
– to – one level.

3) Poor Management
Most B-Schools in the country are managed by traditionally run educational
trusts who lack the vision to take Indian B – Schools to a global platform.
For competitiveness on a global scale it is imperative that these institutions
are professionally managed, just as a company must be professionally
managed in order to maximize its profits.

4) Lack of Industry interface

Indian B-Schools provide little interaction with corporates as compared to
their global counterparts. This tends to leave students only with academic
knowledge but with little or no idea of what goes on in the real world.

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5) Funding
Funding is a major issue for most business schools across the country.
Besides the Indian Institutes of Management and a handful of other institutes
which are government funded, most institutes are privately funded. More
often than not such institutes are plagued by problems of inadequate funds
for developmental activity. Institutes need to find innovative ways to raise
funds such as taking on live industry projects and obtaining funding from the
industry.

6) Lack of students with work experience

The average age of the Indian MBA student is about 23 years, as compared
to the average MBA student in say, the US, which is about 28 years. While
most US business schools of repute stress on a minimum of two years of
work experience as a prerequisite, the same does not hold true for Indian B-
Schools. A large percentage of Indian MBA students have little or no work
experience, which perhaps does not let them identify with business situations
as well as their American counterparts.

7) Overregulation

A number of management institutes operate under the jurisdiction of various

state universities. Such institutes are invariably bogged down by red-tapism
which is an unmistakable feature of most State Universities. The result,
students end up learning old and outdated syllabi, sometimes unchanged for
as much as 10 – 20 years.

Likewise even for students coming in through central government

organizations or ministries, the admission process is complex and cumber-
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some. Moreover there’s no promotion abroad of India’s higher education
system by our embassies and high commissions,” says Prof. S.C. Lakkad,
deputy director of the highly rated Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
(IIT-B).

8) Redefining the student – teacher relationship

The relationship between the institutions and the student community,

between the teachers and the students must undergo major changes. For
instance, The students’ active participation in the process of learning on their
own initiative will remove the one-sided authoritarian teacher-student
relationship. The teacher’s authority will now be based on his ability and
creativity to contribute and help students to learn on their own.

Though there is a dawning awareness within the somnolent education

ministries of the central and state governments of the importance of
attracting larger numbers of foreign students into India’s tertiary education
institutions, inevitably there isn’t a sense of urgency about promoting
campus diversity. Yet commonsense dictates that in a rapidly globalizing
world in which trade barriers are collapsing, it is important to attract scholars
from abroad to study here and go back with positive images of the country.
The dividends of campus diversity will be diplomatic and trade benefits in
the long-term and higher academic standards and upgraded facilities for all
in the immediate future.

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Best practices

A B -School should be a research-driven school because thought leadership

holds the key to change management and excellence in management
education comes through extensive research.

I.) Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

ƒ Tie up with Wharton Business School, Kellogg School of Management

and London Business. A unique partnership with world’s leading
business schools: Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern
University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and
the London Business School(LBS) has infused the best and latest in
global management techniques and thinking into the school’s academic
programmes.
ƒ Rajat Gupta, Sr Partner, Mckinsey is the Founder member
ƒ Boards of Members are prominent business houses from India.
ƒ High profile Professors of Practice like C Rangarajan, Narayanmurthy
and Rajat Gupta
ƒ Faculty of International repute from UCLA, University of Texas,
Minnesota University, Chinese University, Hongkong.
ƒ The Dean, Vijay Mahajan is the Ex - Dean of McCombs Business
School, University of Texas, Austin
ƒ International mix of students from Asia, USA and India with an average
4 years experience.
ƒ Final degree is signed by all the Deans of Wharton, Kellogg and ISB.
ƒ Global scale campus with all self-contained facilities for students and
faculty for on going interaction beyond the classrooms.
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 ƒ Global Practicum: 7-10 students from ISB and 7-10 students from
Wharton work together on a live project in any country
II.) Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research

ƒ 55 (23%) students completed their Global internships in 2003 in USA,

Japan, Kenya, Ghana and Dubai.
ƒ Some of the students are placed globally (Executive level)
ƒ Alliances with 4 International Universities through IMBA Programme;
Temple University, Philadelphia, USA (since 2002).Hamamatsu
University, Japan (since 2002).CASS, Graduate school of International
management in SCM and also Bamberg University, Germany.
ƒ Alliances with 2 International bodies: Association of Overseas Technical
Scholarships (AOTS), Japan (since 1998),Information System Audit &
Control Association (ISACA-USA), Mumbai Chapter (since 2000)
ƒ Global Practicum for the IMBA Programme; where the students work on
start up companies exclusively.
ƒ Campus has a recreation centre, gym, yoga and meditation cell,
amphitheatre besides a world-class wireless IT infrastructure.

Recommended Strategies to Become A Global MBA Player

ƒ Visionary Strategic Leadership

ƒ Enhanced B school Industry Interface
ƒ Nurturing Intellectual Capital
ƒ Global Accreditation and Best Practices
ƒ Promotional Strategies with Roadshows and Embassies marketing India
as a destination abroad.

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CONCLUSION

As we can judge, the times are exciting as well as turbulent. To be in the

education sector as an MBA player, is a path strewn with thorns, with
blooming orchards laden with fruit, noticed in the distance. MBA institutes
will need strategic leadership and leaders who need to be more than mere
academicians.

They need to be leaders of action and global vision to leverage the core
competencies of the Indian management ethos and merge it with
international flavour.

BIBLOGRAPHY

• Business World 2003

• The Times Of India
• www.minisrtyofeducation.com
• www.educationonline.net

[Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe is the Director of Welingkar Institute of

Management Development and Research, Mumbai. Prof Ms Ketna L Mehta
is the Associate Dean, Research and Ms Muskan Mittal is the first year
Management student]

Author’s Profile

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Prof. Dr. Uday Salunke Director - Welingkar Institute of Management is a

mechanical engineer with a management degree in 'Operations', and a

Doctorate in 'Turnaround Strategies'. He has 12 years of experience in the

corporate world including Mahindra & Mahindra, ISPL and other companies

before joining Welingkar in 1995 as faculty for Production Management.

Subsequently his inherent passion, commitment and dedication toward the

institute led to his appointment as Director in 2000. Dr. Salunkhe has been

invited as visiting fellow at the Harvard Business School, USA and

European University, Germany. He has also delivered seminars at the Asian

Institute of Management, Manila and has been awarded "The Young

Achievers Award-2003" in the field of Academics by the Indo American

Society recently.

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