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To work or not to work

ISB v/s DMS, IIT-D

"Trying to teach people who have never practised is worse than a waste of time - it demeans management."

Henry Mintzberg

FOR
Priyank Modi
ISB, Hyderabad


UTOPIA

"I will get good marks in my university exams; I will then do my MBA. A top notch MNC in London or New York will recruit me and then I will make millions and then I will start my own company in India, which of course will make gazillions!!!" Snap out of it.

THE REASON

Let's start with the reason - the purpose of doing a Masters in Business Management is that you want to become a person who knows how to conduct business, manage people, manage finances, manage change, manage organisations and manage yourself. Let's imagine two friends - Veeru and Jay. Both are toppers in their respective colleges. Veeru gets to do an MBA straight after college. After some years in the industry, Jay too does his MBA. Will Veeru be able to fulfil the purpose behind undertaking management education? Or does Jay have a 'better' perspective?

THE STATUE

Veeru is fresh and does not have any pre-conceived notions about management. His ideas are fresh, his approach is new and he doesn't profess to know how an organisation works or how he can apply his learning to his new organisation. But he is ready to learn.

Will Jay be at a disadvantage as he has already been 'besmirched' by his work experience? Does the organisation need a 'clay statue' that can easily be moulded or does the organisation need someone who can start 'working' from day one? It depends on what the organisation needs from the individual. But the fact is in today's fast paced world, decisions need to be made everyday. Most organisations need people who can not only 'learn' but also contribute from day one.

WISDOM

When Jay joins the B-school he has 'been there and done that'. So, he can argue with his professors on applications of management principles, fight with his peers from other industries over management practices. He can challenge wisdom. On the other hand Veeru does not have a perspective, yet, to challenge theories. He takes and eats whatever is given to him. His perspective is based on what he has 'read' and what he has 'heard'. He does not know what actually goes on in an organisation. Going back to the purpose again, I think Jay would be better suited to the new organisation. He would challenge other managers and he would have a basis to do that.

SYNTHESIS

Veeru has studied hard and is really good at analysis. He is also good at decision-making. But can he synthesise? Jay has experience. He can relate to the problems. He is good, not only at analysing but also in establishing co-relations and synthesising. He has a tacit knowledge and he has management tools.

DIVERSITY

Jay learns from the architect, the army person, the professor in his class, he understands that they are all students of management. He also gets to learn from their experiences. Jay is learning management but not only from his professors. He learns how the army captain managed his forces when the enemy attacked and how the architect managed to apply his creativity to do his work. McKinsey recently recruited from the National Law School. Many other recruiters are also looking at educational organisations beyond management schools in India. This is because organisations require people to think differently, to have various perspectives and knowledge of their field.

CLIMAX

Our story on Jay and Veeru does not end here. Both may be good performers in the industry. Jay might also fail. But the purpose behind pursuing management (which is definitely not to earn money) is better fulfilled by Jay. As Mintzberg has rightly put it "Live it, experience it". Look for a programme that builds on your experience and allows you to share it with other practising managers.

AGAINST
Sumit Sukhija
DMS - IIT Delhi

If the above mentioned statement is true then it would also seem to demean management to condemn people who practise management directly without first receiving any management education, as management requires critical decision-making for the organisation, an art which comes through knowledge.

As it's better to enter a war field after honing your skills and with all your artillery rather than going empty handed, similarly it's better to be equipped with management education before entering the corporate world. After all, one does not need to make mistakes to learn. One can learn from others' mistakes, especially when the future of a multi-million dollar company is in your hands. Case studies, class discussions, seminars, guest lectures and the experiences of peer members help in this case. A person working without gaining management education is like a person with no medical education, trying to operate on a patient. For some domains which require extensive knowledge, like finance and HR, it's almost impossible to practise without having a formal education.

The selection procedure, which involves hard-to-crack written exams and nerve wracking group discussions and interviews, weeds out the weak from the strong. Further, the rigorous curriculum with a focus on personality development and teamwork churns out multi-skilled professionals. The corporate sector also benefit as professionals are taught about ethics and corporate governance before entering the field.

Moreover, the lack of experience is compensated as good institutes like the IITs and IIMs offer hands-on experience through various live industry projects and industry trainings. In Department of Management Studies (DMS), IIT Delhi one can do as many as eight live industry projects per semester for various subjects.

Today the mantra for success lies in constantly learning new concepts and unlearning old ones. People without work- experience have the advantage of being open to ideas, without having any preset notions. This is the reason why an increasing number of organisations prefer to hire fresh graduates, so as to mould them quickly according to the company's requirement and culture.
In India, the pressure to settle early in life is high and doing an MBA is seen as a stepping-stone. Practically, it is not easy to go up the corporate ladder to a managerial position without gaining management education; hence people begin early.

Generally, students with work experience who go in for management education have had experience in one domain - technical or a low-level managerial position. Technical skills help in low-level jobs but a different skill-set is needed for mid and higher level managerial jobs. For example, a person enrolling for an MBA with 3 to 4 years of hard-core technical experience and opting for a finance profile in placements need not be a better manager than an inexperienced management graduate.

Managers are generalists, not specialists and management is all about synthesising independent business functions such as marketing, finance, operations, HR, accounting, strategy and their associated tools of analysis. And this synthesis is impossible if one does not possess the knowledge of these parts. Some opponents say that management is not just a science but also an art. Agreed! But if the professors have a regular interaction with the real corporate world then they can teach students the art as well.

Although it seems unlikely that two years of analytical management education early in one's career-irrespective of the quality of the managerial content-is sufficient to enable the person to guide and lead the organisation, it still does help to ease the way and decide the career path by providing a holistic picture of the various issues to be faced in the corporate sector and ways to handle them. So it helps one to decide one's career path early in life and move toward that direction from the very start.