Faculty Speak: Prof. Saveeta Mohanty, XIM Bhubaneshwar

A dedicated academician, pilot and an entrepreneur, Prof  Saveeta Mohanty is not new to the trends that set the tone for management education and also the corporate world .Prof Saveeta is  the Placement coordinator  and also the coordinator for Management Development  Programmes  at the Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneshwar (XIMB). She serves as the member of the Local board, Orissa region of the State bank of India, and is an executive committee member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Prof Mohanty has also served as a member of the National Advisory committee of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). She is an alumnus of the prestigious XLRI.

Catch Prof Saveeta Mohanty sharing with Advanc’edge MBA her views on placements and  issues that plague B-Schools in the present recessionary times.

As the Placement co ordinator at XIMB you are definitely at the helm of a challenging task as we look forward to an uncertain market and the final placements. What according to you is the biggest challenge ahead of B Schools at this point as the global crisis seems to deepen ? How should students and faculty gear up for the challenge?
The market is uncertain, but it is really a good time for the budding managers to show their mettle. B-schools right now have to play a very important role in grooming students to take up new roles. The students also need to broaden their minds and be open to taking up different profiles in sectors like infrastructure, hospitality, pharmaceuticals etc. They need to look beyond the traditional roles that an MBA graduate had been entrusted with till now.

You have also been co-ordinating management development programmes at the Institute. In your opinion, how far do MDPs help executives in shaping their profiles?
In the new world order, a manager has to reinvent himself to stay competitive. He also needs to upgrade his knowledge with concepts that have developed in the recent past. MDPs also help executives who want to make a career switch.

How would you advise B-school students to enhance their exposure to industry even while they are studying?
The summer internship programme helps a student to gain industry exposure. But in addition to that, more and more companies today are giving challenging live projects to our students. This gives them an opportunity to assess and a feel of the kind of work that they could be doing when they join the company or sector.

You have immense experience in the field of Human resources, both academically and through your interactions with industry players; tell us about the traits that an HR manager should inherently possess to be successful in the field.
The objective of Human Resources is to maximize the return on investment from the organization's human capital. The traits required to excel in this field are multitasking abilities, discretion, ethics, a dual-focus on employee and management needs, trustworthiness, fairness, dedication, orientation towards strategy and team-skills.

How would you rate management education in India today vis-a-vis what is offered on the international front? Do you feel there is any need to revamp MBA education in India?
The education offered by Indian B-Schools is as good as that which you get from international programmes. An adequate testimony to this would be the number of Indian B-School graduates doing well in the international corporate arena. The MBA schools just need to continuously be aware of evolving industry requirements and update their pedagogy accordingly.

According to you who is a good fit for XIM? How do you gauge that in aspiring candidates during the admission process?
An aspiring candidate should have the zeal to learn. An MBA program at XIM is very rigorous and the candidate should have the right attitude for it so that he/she, after being groomed in our system, can become value-based leaders of tomorrow.

Would you like to share a few words of advice for aspiring managers of today?
The current economic scenario is not going to last forever. It is a temporary phase, but be ready to ‘look beyond’ and grab all the opportunities that come your way.