Redesigning MBA curriculum

Redesigning Management Education for the next decade

            Abstract

Management education is one of the important aspects for every business manager to go along and sustain in this fast and changing technologies of the corporate world. According to the current scenario taking into consideration the Management education and required status of the corporate world there is a lot of gap being extended day by day. In recent years there is been a lot of growth in IT sector, implementation of new technologies, research methodologies in developing business strategies and so on.

This study is taken to show the extracts and views of both the sectors that are, on one side which is the education, which gives the inputs to the business managers. And on the other side is the corporate world or the business world which really requires managers that are highly skilled in order to meet with the qualities of the fast growing and day by changing technologies and the most important competition.

This study is conceptual in nature. And all the data is studied, analyzed, and presented keeping in view about the current scenario.  

Introduction

Now a day businesses are facing lot of pressures from their stakeholders. This is because of the continues changes in the business environment which have created threats to all of today's organizations. Keeping view of this, managers have to find the best possible ways to get along with the implications brought by the changes. 

This totally depends on the education and update about the kind of knowledge they have been through. And converting that knowledge into today's competencies required for best possible strategies. This study is an attempt to understand the changing need of management expertise and corporate world to face the challenges of management and the roles of the business schools in this concern.

First of all the business has to know the implications of the changes, accordingly prepare the managers by their capabilities to meet the changes and implement the required strategies.

The business schools have to put all the necessary efforts to come with the proper management skills of the challenges faces by the businesses. And also cope with the needs of the changing situations to produce future managers with all necessary and required skills.

Current scenario

The Diminishing MBA:-In the current scenario students are shifting from MBA to other PG courses. The question is that, is MBA loosing the focus offered by various universities and institutions. Or is the requirement of the managers by the business world is losing the focus.

Compared to previous years this year there has been a huge decline in the admissions to MBA programs. Of the total 18,470 seats available in the institutions/colleges affiliated to 10 in the Karnataka state, only about 41 percent have been filled so far.

The VTU conducted the Post-Graduate Common Entrance Test (PGCET) 2010 in the state for admission to MBA and other courses to determine the merit of both Karnataka and non-Karnataka candidates for admission to the first year/first semester of the course in 198 government colleges, University departments and private unaided institutions, which are affiliated to various Universities.

The total intake in these institutions accounted for 18,470 seats, of which 8,470 seats are under management quota and the remaining 10,010 under the government quota. During the first and casual rounds of counseling, of a total 7,582 seats were allotted which included 389 management seats. So there is a huge decline in the MBA admissions . The decline in the popularity of MBA courses is being attributed to several reasons.

Some of them are:-

• Salary packages offered by the industry are no longer attractive and are very less, where in, the investment is very high for MBA.
• The cost of MBA course ranges from Rs 3 to 10 lakhs which is not balanced with the salary packages. And it takes a very long period to regain the invested amount.

So considering, where these are not the only reasons, where there are no admissions to MBA course, but there is a lack in the education system where the industry is not possible to produce the kind of the quality of managers which is really required by the fast growing business world. So here by we say that the curriculum of the MBA plays a major role in the shaping of students. So that the students proficiency is increased and gains a kind of quality which is required by the corporate, where there is a high demand for these kind of managers and there will be an increase in the pay scale, and again by these factors there will be demand for MBA  and increase in the admissions.

The MBA curriculum's critical analysis.

In the coming two decades, 55% of Indian population will be below the age of 25, so it is necessary to give the quality education to built future leaders for India. In the growing competitive world, India attracts all other Nations' eyes because of highly skilled labour and other resources, which make India rich in every source. And it is required to develop Management and technical education.

We have one question in our mind, is present educational system in the field of management are really suitable to achieve dream of Abdul Kalama's of the country India in 2020 "Developed India". We think 75% of people answer is no, because today's management curriculum does not carry the quality education which is required to the business or corporate world.

So here we have the critical analysis about the Management curriculum.

Draw Backs of Management curriculum:-

1)      Exposure:-

The class room study does not impart the actual working experience; one who is good in studying may not be good in field work. The current MBA curriculum generally offer a maximum of three months exposure to outside side world that is the practical work, but this three months time is not sufficient to learn And understand the corporate world. Lack of exposure becomes hindrance to student to adjust with the working environment. When a student cannot be able to relate the concept what he studied in the class room, the whole education become utter waste.

 On the other hand when student studies practically he is able to understand easily and it helps him to retain and recollect easily.

2)      Updates:-

The current MBA curriculum is out dated it is just able to give basic information about the concept it does not provide any information about the current corporate practice.

For Eg; Today's MBA student don't do their account in tally or excel, they study trough maintaining accounts in books only.

But these practices do not help when we go to corporate world.

That means student do not have technological updates

Even some of the concepts in the theoretical subjects are also outdated. For eg; in tax we studied three types of resident but in the practical tax treatment we consider only Two types of the resident.

When there is a lack of updates the performance of the student in the corporate world will be decreased and student not able to relate the concept studies to practical. So it creates a large gap between the theory and practices.

3)      Repetitions:-

     As per our knowledge more than 30% of curriculum what we studied in undergraduates are repeated. During the first year MBA we studied all most all in BBM or B.com or BBA. So repetition of curriculum is a waste of time and does not create any interest in studying the MBA curriculums.

4)      No standardization:-

The different university and colleges practices different types of curriculums. So it differentiates the students expertise and it also makes difficult to measure the performance. The lack of equality in curriculum practices creates large gap between IIM students and other university students.

5)      Time Constraints

The two year MBA program cannot be sufficient to learn the whole management concept. Even now a day's some institution offer one year and six month MBA program.

Revamping the MBA curriculum

Management education cannot be compared with studying other subject areas like chemistry, physics, mathematics or law etc. Management education can rather be compared with medicine. No doctor is allowed near a patient purely on the basis of theoretical knowledge. Doctors learn the professional skills by acquiring the practical knowledge that is taught by practicing doctors and hence they become experts in diagnosing the real physical condition of patients. In the similar way, in a business scenario also you have to do things, take decisions, take actions, and monitor results. You cannot operate any business by just planning what to do on paper. Planning is, though an important step in the process, there are many examples of businesses with excellent plans having failed because of non-implementation of proper ideas.

 Management education should actually supplement on job training being given by the companies to the management trainees. It should also develop the analytical skill and improve the ability to assimilate complex external and internal factors influencing an organization.

India is on the brink of becoming a global leader, and for India to take the next step has a world leader, it needs educational institutions that produce highly skilled individuals and innovative thinkers. Then only India can produce the new googles of the world, create patents for innovations such as environmental friendly cars, discover cures for deadly diseases, and discover the much needed alternative energy sources.

 In the modern and current scenario all over the world- "Management" – as a stream of education and training has acquired new dimensions. Management is an exciting field where you can have an immediate impact on the operations and profitability of any business. The field of Management is fast growing and dynamic in nature. New tools and techniques are continually being updated to improve the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of any organization.

All organizations and their departments, functions, or groups use Management methodologies, which include problem solving techniques and guidelines for various related activities.

Education in management should have mainly following aims:

• Increase the understanding of the factors which influence the operation of organizations
• Provide students with the tools and techniques that they may use to develop and influence organizational efficiency. Influence the economy in general, and the society, and which may lead to the development of the country as a whole.
• A student centric approach where the student joyfully seeks knowledge.
• Differentiated instruction that focuses on the uniqueness of each learner.

A modern day Business Manager is required to have proficiency in:

• Functional knowledge of a business organization
• In-depth knowledge of minimum one discipline of Management.
• Analytical skills of business situations.
• The ability to adapt to new environments.
• Problem analyzing and solving.
• Knowledge of functional interdependencies and adaptability.
• Communication skills.
• Self-confidence and motivational skills.
• Drive to succeed and control with initiatives.
• Entrepreneurial Skills
• Management skills

From the perspective of the business world, the most important aim of MBA curriculum is not to get the student a job, but rather it should be to develop the capacity for judgment and broaden student perspective and help them see from the larger point of view that what business do and what connection they have to society and what are the knowledge and skills they require.

Conclusion

So taking into consideration all these factors we can clearly say that there is a lot of gap between the outcome product of the MBA and the requirement by the business world. So we say that the current MBA is not meeting the complete requirement of the business world. So the MBA curriculum should be updated with new and present ongoing business concepts.

As per our knowledge MBA course should not be allowed to all graduates, only commerce background should be taken. If still other graduates want to take MBA graduation they should be given another aptitude test which should consist of only business aspects. After that they should be given the opportunity of the MBA entrance exam. Later all the students taking the entrance exam should pass with minimum of 40% marks which would be the minimum eligibility to qualify for MBA. May be group discussions and personal interviews should be added to qualify for MBA admissions.

And in the present MBA curriculum consist only 40% of the corporate requirement. So the curriculum should be updated with current aspects like technology, new view of management gurus, practical exposure at least for 6 months where we see it in CA, and other technical courses.

Finally its we who need to change our perspectives and attitudes towards the fast and rapidly changing world adopting accordingly and changing ourselves to compete with the developed global business world. To make our nation a leading world and achieve Dr. Abdul Kalam's  ‘'DREAM INDIA'' and be a global business leader.