1. Introduction – Purpose of an MBA Education:

            Today MBA seems to be the converging point for all students, after UG degrees, both arts and science, commerce as well as engineering. The reasons for the big rush into MBA program are:[i]

1. Higher Salary (Almost twice as much as one would expect to earn with a regular college degree);
2. Better career opportunities (About 70% of the board directors worldwide are MBA graduates);

• Better consolidated business network;

1. New skill and knowledge acquisition (since MBA education is usually pursued in a very specific situation/context); and
2. A holistic perspective over the business world (with constant challenge for the newest problem-solving capability)

2. Complicated, complex, and always changing business environments:

            The world we live in on a fast track. In the novel Siddharaha, the author Hermann Hesse quotes the words of Heraclitus: “No man ever steps into the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man”. It is very much true in the world of business and industries. Just take the example of mobile phones – By the time you decide to buy the latest model, another model pops up in the market. The so called ‘butterfly effect’ seems to have its impact all over, namely what happens in one corner of the world affects the rest of the world. And the media today has shrunk the world to a global village.

The call-centers have put us all in a virtual world – You think you are consulting someone in the USA, but he/she may be sitting in your neighbourhood with an American accent and perhaps with the American jazz music in the background. The daily account sheet of Lufthansa, I am told, is done in Bangalore.

During our last college day, Mr Hari Thalapalli, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, and Global Head Business Consultant from Tech Mahindra, Hyderabad indicated in his speech that the students should

1. first delearn what they have learnt in the college;
2. then, they should relearn what is needed for the industries/companies; and

• finally, they should strive to be entrepreneurs (need for thinking out of box).

This implies that our academic program, especially the syllabi, is outdated for the business world out there – While the business world is dynamic, our curriculum, however you tend to revise once in three years, seems to be static.  We need to prepare our students for a world of tomorrow – We cannot offer yesterday’s solution to tomorrow’s problem in our class today! We need foresight, far-sight, and insight in preparing our students.

The parents expect that their children should be well placed and the students prefer multinational companies (MNCs) to work for. But we need to form them holistically. We do not just impart academic information – That could be done better via Google or by any gadget of today’s media. But we aim at leadership formation with social responsibility. We assume that each of our students is potentially a leader and each should be formed in order to engineer a just society.

 2.1 Epicenter of Manufacturing:

Today we know that China is the manufacturing hub of the world. It is said that China could replicate any gadget or instrument or vehicle, except perhaps Mercedes-Benz car, and sell it in the world market for a throw-away price (and you throw it away anyway after a short use!). Almost 75% of the world’s toys are made in China.[ii] Further, 70% of world’s umbrellas; and 60% of world’s buttons are made in China.[iii] India leads the world-manufacturing in IT software. Now, China is manufacturing duplicate rice made of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and Chinese plastic. It is very difficult to distinguish this product from natural rice except by taste.[iv] The fake chicken eggs from China, though in existence since 1990, is now making into mainstream market. The fake eggs look like real chicken eggs but they are composed of coagulants, starch, and resin while the shell is made of gypsum powder, calcium carbonate, and wax.[v] Firecrackers manufactured in China seem to be cheaper than our own Sivakasi-produced firecrackers.

The factors involved in world-class manufacturing are:[vi]

1. manufacturing objectives and strategy;
2. usuage of management tools and technologies;

• manufacturing management practices; and

1. IT infrastructure and practices.

But one should make a choice, in the world-class manufacturing, between cost effectiveness and durability. That is, how long you need the goods or how much you could afford to spend. For example, products of Siemens and Bosch and automobiles of BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz etc (known as ‘the ultimate driving machine’) are a bit expensive but reliable and durable. The policy of China is cheap and affordable and the some of the established companies follow the principle of customer satisfaction based on sturdiness and durability.

It is very important that our students know the ethical principles of manufacturing, especially if they are seeking a job in some Multi National Company (MNC).

2.2 Lean Management/Manufacturing:

Lean management is a recent concept that helps run an organization with a system of continuous improvement, a long-term approach to systematic work improving efficiency and quality.[vii] And lean manufacturing is a systematic method for minimizing or elimination of waste.[viii]

Lean Manufacturing is a form of Ethics:[ix] It is more than simple right or wrong. The six-sigma principle is to be honoured if ethical principles are to be followed in the world market. And they are:

1. Respect for values (ethical values for the good of all);
2. Respect for people (customers, employers, suppliers etc);

• Respect for time (Time is the limiting commodity);

1. Respect for work-place (as sacred);
2. Respect for quality (credibility of product); and
3. Respect for problem (process of excellence).

2.3 Road travelled and Miles to go:

Whatever a company or a nation manufactures the ultimate responsibility rests with the individual who could make a difference in the world. And this difference should take place in the class room and the future entrepreneurs are being formed in our class rooms. We need to evaluate what we have done and what are expected to do in the future. We could look up to role models but the best role model each one should have is oneself. Ilanko in his book Jaipathu Nijam[x] distinguishes between inspiration and role model. According to him, many could inspire you but you should become your own role model. Sometime ago I read the book ‘Othaiyadipathai’ (by Gnanavel, Zha Media, Chennai, 2012): The founders of Sakthi Masala, Viking, KPN Travels, Pazhamuthir Nilayam etc had a humble and insignificant beginning. Their initial or capital investment was their interest and hard work and their recurring investment was their experience gained and their building an effective administrative team.

Taking up case studies and promoting entrepreneurship cells in the college would bring in a mini business world. Interaction with the CEOs of business companies as well as with emerging business celebrities would impart formative effect to the students. The road to an evolution in the business world begins at the doorsteps of the educational institutions. Just to give one example, could the institution take up training of employees for a call-center and in collaboration with a company could run a call-center in the campus? Could the college become marketing agency for a local product? Ways and means could be explored. Ethical values should become the principle and foundation of business education and practice.

Formation of students is more important than placing them in companies. The Constitutions of the Jesuits, which is used as text book in Indian Institute of Management in Ahemedabad, devotes more than 80% on formation of Jesuits. Relatively very little is written on administration. Still the Jesuit administration is acclaimed worldwide – even CIA seems to study the Jesuit administration which is having its foundation in the effective formation of the Jesuits. The philosophy is form them well and throw them into the storm – either you swim or sink. Of course, we form them to swim the tide. They need to learn something from the eagle: An eagle is not afraid of the storm but studies the storm carefully and spreads its wings so that it can soar high in the swirling of the storm. The eagle makes use of the storm to fly high!

2.4 Expectations of Companies:

We form our students as the future business architects. We strive for effective placement. Let us turn our attention to our partners, namely industries/companies who are expected to take in our students. The HR personnel indicate the following criteria for recruiting our students:

1. The first challenge is admission process: The student is not only expected to score high but he/she should not have negative marks. The implication is that you cannot make decisions in the business world at random. During the group discussion, you should neither keep quiet nor should you dominate the conversation. You drive home your point but take along others in your way of thinking.
2. Then the hurdle is academics: There should not be any standing arrear nor should there be any history of arrears. Even, due to accident or sickness, you have failed in English but eventually you have passed with good grades, you are considered to have a history of arrears. The CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) should be above 7.5 out of 10. A CGPA of 8+ would be desirable.

• The second challenge is what you have and what you give out: The recruiting companies expect domain expertise as well as communication skills. It is interesting to note that in their expectation, for example as Tech Mahendra officials explained, they expect 15% of domain expertise (ie subject knowledge) but 85% communication. So it is not how much you know but how effective you could communicate or make the other understand of what you know.

1. The reality is to be reckoned with: The industries no longer departmentalize the job market – Everywhere it is inter-disciplinary. For example, whether you are a mechanical engineer or a computer science engineer, you need to know programming languages (such as Java, C++ etc). As we know in any profession (whether you think of doctors, engineers, lawyers etc) about one-third would move over to another profession other than he/she has been prepared for. The industries expect this and they want over-all business graduates for their recruitment.
2. What is needed for companies/industries?: The world of business seems to be distanced from our education. Today knowledge and experience in programming is a must today for a business graduate. The best programming languages in 2015 are indicated as follows:[xi]

Python: 31.2% – Java: 19.6% – C++: 09.8% – C# : 07.4% – Ruby: 07.1% – Javascript: 06.5%

Now, how much of our academic syllabi reflect the requirement of the industries for effective placement?

1. Feedback of the Industries: The recruiting personnel give the general feedback that our students lack in the following areas:
2. Self-confidence;
3. Lack of interest to learn something new or more difficult;

• Fear to take a calculated risk;

1. Often they possess attitude or aptitude but both are desired; and
2. Lack of ability to take decisions.

The recruiting agencies would like these elements of formation in our students. We would miss the boat if we concentrate only on ‘covering’ the syllabi.

• Need for entrepreneurs: The problem in India is not unemployment but unemployability. In our institutions we are not training job-seekers but job-creators. There should be ample chance for the students to explore the possibility of entrepreneurship in our institutions – There could be possibilities of earning while learning such as part-time jobs either in the institutions or in other agencies. The students should also learn the dignity of work – The attitude should be: Any work is fine to start with.

3. Training of our Students to handle the Expectations of Companies:

In addition to our academic teaching, we need to form them as leaders with social responsibility. They should know the world they are going to work in and they should have the courage and confidence to grab the opportunity. As Dr Abdul Kalam used to repeat: They should have the courage to dream; but then, they should work hard to follow and achieve their dreams.

In addition, today our students should be men and women of 5C’s: Competence, commitment, creativity, compassion, and consciousness. One should be able to face, handle, and master any situation in the job. One more factor we need to take into consideration: Stress Management. Today, in general, people tend to succumb to stress in daily life. The youngsters today would like too early to soar high, but soon they loose steam. We see an exodus of technocrats quitting their jobs and seeking their opportunities in teaching milieu. The reason is that they are not able to handle stress, working long hours, completing a project on time etc. This is another area, not given in our syllabus, to form our students. Whatever they do, they should be innovative and creative.

They should be able to think out of box and they should be able to ask questions: Sir C.V. Raman asked the question – Why does the sea look blue? He discovered Raman scattering and got Nobel Prize. Albert Einstein asked the question: What would be the speed of light, if one sits on the light particle, namely photon? His theory of relativity changed the phase of our world in all aspects. The teacher in the class should encourage students to ask questions – No question is a stupid question.

Today’s youth need more than ever self-esteem and self-confidence. A few days ago Actor Jeyam Ravi came to our college for the students’ cultural events. In his address he drove home this point: More than the confidence you have in you, it is important that others should have confidence in you. Our students need to be trained in synergy. One may be good in making an excellent arrow; another one may be able to design an artistic bow; but the archer is needed to shoot the arrow accurately. Teamwork is something that keeps any organization progressing – One should learn the art of synergy. While egoism destroys oneself and the institution, team-spirit and collaborative work make progress for the better.

Further, hard work and perseverance would take one even beyond the skies. Limitation is what we set for ourselves. Jessica Cox in an American Pilot but she was born with no hands – Her legs are her hands. She holds black belt in Karate marshal art.[xii] Oscar Pistorius had his both legs amputated as an eleven-month old baby. Nothing stopped him from winning 400 m and 4 x 400 m relay races, setting world records in both events, in 2012 Summer Olympics.[xiii] Keep knocking eventually a door will open!

3.1 Four Agreements:

In his book ‘The Four Agreements’, Miguel Ruiz recommends ways and means to work on harmony (with oneself and with others), which is very essential for the good of the business world:[xiv]

1. be impeccable with your word (personal credibility);
2. don’t take anything personally (neither praise or criticism);

• don’t make assumptions (no prejudice but rational); and

1. always do your best (putting one’s heart and soul in work).

This helps one to build better relationship with people, paving the way for mutual respect and ethical business.

4. LICET Model:

In this juncture, I would like to say what we do at our college, Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology (LICET), for effective placement of our professional students. To start with, it is a hybrid institution in academic collaboration with a French engineering college ICAM (Institut Catholique d’Arts et Métiers). The following are some of the best practices at LICET:

1. The Jesuit pedagogy has five-fold focus:
2. Preparing the students as per the prescribed syllabi of affiliating Anna University;
3. Excelling in professionalism through interaction and integration with industries/ companies and conducting value-added certificate courses (such as from Red Hat Academy);
4. Personality development through communication skills, Time- and Stress-Management; Motivation and Goal-setting; valued-based outlook in life etc;
5. International exposure in universities and industries abroad; and
6. Imbibing God-quotient, through retreat and spiritual experience.

This gives an edge to the students of LICET over others with regard to placement as well as emerging as global leaders.

1. Right in the beginning of the academic year, the first years are asked to come up with a product according to the prescription (For example, a toy for a baby of 3 to 6 years old). The students work in groups of about 10 – They have to elect a CEO, design engineer, financial and marketing personnel etc. And they should know what type of toy a child of 3 to 6 years would like: a toy with contrast colours, that makes noise, that would not hurt when put into the mouth, that should be easy to handle, that would not break when dropped onto the floor etc. This sets the tone for their academic cum entrepreneur endeavor.

• Placement training is part of our timetable. One hour per week is allotted in the first and second years and two hours in the third years. Apart from our faculty members, trainers from industries are coming to form our students. And in the fourth year the students go to industries for projects and internship training.

1. We work at bulk-recruitment. For example, we are Premium Partner of Tech Mahindra. This not only enhances placement our students but also eventually the institution would become the training center for the industry/company. In other words, institution becomes an extension center of the industry/company.
2. Service learning is another area we encourage our students to involve in. This is to groom them as leaders with social responsibility. We are the cumulative product of the society – We take them to our adopted village and make them spend time with the simple villagers. We ask them to experience how the poor people dare to be happy with very little to live by. And they get inspired to extend their helping hands when they come to a position to educate their children and employ them in their own companies/industries.
3. Our students have global exposure. As we have academic collaboration with ICAM in France, we have MoUs with universities in the USA, Spain, and Germany. Our students go over to these universities for summer internship or for higher studies. A group of students from ICAM come to LICET for a semester and they stay with the families of our students. This cultural exchange and exchange of teaching-learning process make our students gain confidence in academic adventure.

5. Trends – Training the Trainers:

One needs to look at the emerging trends, especially industry-wise and function-wise placement:[xv] Regarding industry-wise placement consultancy and eCommerce are leading, while function-wise placement looks at consulting, general management, sales and marketing. The best way to keep up with the trends in the world is that the faculty members become consultants to companies, which implies promotion of research in and publication from the institution. There is need for Industry-Institute Networking. The annual Industry Meet where representatives from various industries could come in and share their feedback on our students employed there and their expectations. We need to work on a triangular modality: Keeping the parents in the loop, we let the industries train our faculty members. And this would lead to global synergy of education, employment, and economy. The institutions are the epicenter of the global changes. Though our students might keep in their mind their dream companies, we need to drive home the point that everyone needs expertise and working knowledge in software and programming.

5.1 Role of Institutions:

We need to rethink about our teaching-learning methods. We need to keep in focus the needs of the emerging trends in companies:

1. We need to build up collaboration with other business schools – both in India and abroad.
2. The syllabi, in the context of academic autonomy, could be designed in collaboration with other leading business schools and in deliberations with those who recruit most of our students – This should not be a problem in the context of academic autonomy.

• We need to shape up students in critical thinking, by encouraging them to take part in seminars, paper presentation etc. They should be trained not only in communication but also in group-discussion, which prepares the students to listen to others and to build up an effective team in business world.

1. Research should be promoted among the faculty members so that institutions become the Research and Development Wing of the companies and the faculty members become the consultants to companies. Eventually an institution becomes a service center for industries. There could be endowed research centers. For example, LIBA has Prahalad Research Center to promote ‘bottom of the pyramid’ concept in building up bottom-up leadership. Faculty members should become visiting faculties to other institutions, and consultants to companies.
2. Membership in professional associations is to be encouraged. And accreditation process with regard to national and international agencies should be initiated as soon as possible.
3. Through MoUs with leading companies and national/international universities, internationalization of education should be explored.

• Our alumni/ae, who are supposed to be the ambassadors of the alma mater, should be the source of inspiration and motivation for our students. We need to invite them often to speak about their success stories. We need to promote the spirit of ‘give back’ to the institution.
• The end product is to bring in something innovative in the business world. Instead of working on top-down administration, as in practice is most companies, we could promote bottom-up leadership.

6. Conclusion:

In order to keep up with the emerging trends business schools should work on the roadmap:

1. We need to provide with excellent infrastructure, excellent library, efficient faculty members, effective partnership with the companies etc for effective placement of the students.
2. There should be effective formation of faculty members. Staff development programs or faculty improvement programs are to be organized or encouraged. Performance based assessment could help the faculty members to keep themselves updated.

• Research should play a vital role for building up the industry-institution networking.

1. Efforts should be taken to enhance students’ innovations and entrepreneurship, through practical training, internship, and projects in companies.
2. As much as possible, we could evolve a curriculum in consultation with leading businesses both at national as well as international levels.
3. It is essential that networking with companies is built up and strengthened.

• Financial assistance to the deserving students would help the economically poor but intellectually gifted students to evolve as promising leaders in the business world.

Finally, students as techno-peasants should explore innovative ways of integrating scientific and technological advancements for the development of social requirements – as prophets in the business world our students should be able to read the signs of emerging needs and become trend setters as global leaders with social responsibility.

Francis P Xavier SJ

Director, LICET

Email: francisx@vsnl.com

(2305290915)

[i] http://www.mastersportal.eu/articles/340/5-very-good-reasons-to-do-an-mba.html

[ii] http://en.people.cn/200602/17/print20060217_243653.html

[iii] http://www.statisticbrain.com/china-manufacturing-statistics

[iv] http://www.yuvamind.com/china-export-duplicate-rice-plastic-india

[v] http://www.ibtimes.com.au/made-china-top-5-fake-gross-chinese-products-gutter-oil-viral-video-1322565

[vi] http://www.researchgate.net/publication/222526972_Managing_IT_for_world-class_manufacturing_The_Indian_scenario

[vii] http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/lean-management

[viii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing

[ix] http://www.isixsigma.com/community/blogs/lean-manufacturing-is-a-form-of-ethics

[x] Jaipathu Nijam, Ilango, Kizhakku Pathippagam, Chennai, 2014, p.69.

[xi] http://www.devsaran.com/blog/10-best-programming-languages-2015-you-should-know

[xii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Cox

[xiii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius

[xiv] https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/376130-the-four-agreements-a-practical-guide-to-personal-freedom-a-toltec-wis

[xv] http://www.isb.edu/pgp/careers/placement-trends