Leading in Turbulent Times: Role of Management Education

Today’s challenging times and economic crisis calls for some unusual thinking. It is imperative that business schools need to make themselves and their graduating MBAs more relevant in a new economic era. For this b-schools need to do a total rethink on their offerings, how they identify skill gaps, the solutions conceived, development and teaching. Naturally, many are even wondering whether business schools themselves are in some way responsible for the current crisis.

However the silver lining across the turbulent skies is the ‘Rainbow theory’. The optimism that the Sun will shine again and perhaps more radiantly. Globally, planners, educationists, economists, academicians and policy makers are confluencing to deliberate on ways to make sure that this chapter of our history does not repeat again. It is time for a rethink, to take action and accept a portion of moral responsibility for the future, if not the past. That’s called: Thinking Forward!
 
The current financial crisis has also set the think line on the mission of business schools and their flagship management programmes. Why do not we seize this opportunity to reshape the essence of management education, reorient it beyond the just knowledge gains, skills and giant pay packets and perks, and invest in growing leadership through lifelong learning?

Today, high, higher and the highest salaries are the main reasons for choosing an MBA programme.  One question worth pondering: why have business schools turned a blind eye to the imbalance between technical knowledge and individual development in their overall value offerings? In many instances, the consequences or the warning signals are either too bad or too late.  This calls for schools to ‘Think Beyond’ and account for how well their graduates do in their career span rather than the present focus on starting salaries.
 
So, can we assume that the current crisis, although a turbulent chapter could be a catalyst for business schools to revisit their role and moral responsibility in training future business leaders? MBA programmes need to go through a mandatory disciplining process. The very process and the ‘how’ of ‘how they train future leaders’ is now being questioned. Professional development is an ongoing process. As new challenges emerge, it is imperative that leaders and managers think solutions, not simply unique or smart. They need to be instrumental in finding solutions that have a long term perspective and mesh with the global and national economy, environment and development process. 

All this is not to account for many gains in this area. In the last decade, there have been many initiatives focussing on innovating management education. Due to these there is a more drill down to ethical dilemmas, challenges, and conflicts into learners than ever before. Curricula and course content are reviewed and upgraded constantly to make sure that we have developed courses in social responsibility, ethical thinking and sustainability - courses which did not exist before. Today, MBAs also have the opportunity of practical field experience, to enhance their business understanding in different environments, including stints at various non profit organisations. 

But in the backdrop of the current crisis, the question that we ask is: Are we doing enough? Are we doing right? Are we travelling down the right lane?
 
Looking ahead, can we travel that extra mile to motivate young professionals towards a value-driven career focus? B-schools need to revise their curricula, reinforce and update their courses on ethical practices, corporate and social responsibility, leadership and responsibility, compensation systems and their impact on short versus long-term value creation and corporate governance.

Every downslide is followed by a silver lining. The current crisis we hope is not different. Learners today have begun to recognise the need for a deeper purpose and set of values for their professional development. We also come to another key question that is the subject of many debates and discussions. Should business schools develop a curriculum for continuing education post-MBA?

In the above backdrop, the 21st Annual Management Education Convention of AIMS will focus on the theme, “Leading in Turbulent Times: The Role of Management Education” along with some key sub-themes. The Convention hopes to pose the right questions and elicit answers as to how management schools can play a more constructive role in leading in turbulent times.

Some of the key issues that will come up for debate and deliberations are:
 
Rethink: Governance for B-schools, Governance in B-schools, A New Agenda
 
A new Vision…A new Value System: How can management education inculcate ethics and corporate social responsibility?
 
Recreating a new Culture: Is there too much focus on executive pay and placements?

Human Capital Plus: Investing in people and beyond; seeing more than immediate Return on Investments
 
Let’s deliberate on the following set of concepts. Are these doable? We hope that this Convention will throw up ideas versus conventional solutions and think beyond, think forward to form the rainbow in a turbulent sky.