Thanks to Brig. Ganesh Pogula for 'festival of knowledge'.
'Produce Gold. It will be sold.'
Bold experiments in management education
Dr (Col) A Balasubramanian
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=CAP/2012/11/28&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML
Approaching 70 years, I feel somewhat satisfied about my 'delivery' as a Director of B-schools, now for more than two decades. Perhaps, no one in the country can claim the privilege of occupying this pivotal position continuously for two decades. Incidentally, all these B-schools were conceived by me, given shape from scratch, operationalised in a hostile environment and are standing tall producing productive post-graduates in management.
The interesting part is that there was no financial investment at all, except strong will, determination and devotion to students who reposed faith and joined my institutions. The questions that stand in front of me since then is, "How to stand up to the expectations of parents and students who have reposed faith in me?" The only power behind me was Lord Venkateswara and my belief in the slogan 'Problems are Opportunities'. The superior officers of the Army and the training which I received till I retired after 27 years in the Army stood in good stead during turbulent times. It can also be mentioned here that for most of the two decades of my directorship, I was and I still am staying with students with them in the hostel. I am a visiting husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather to my family. My extended family comprises of about 10,000 old students and alumni who are successful corporate citizens now occupying senior positions all over the world. So, I am beating my own trumpet for the simple reason that readers of this article should understand that it is a much experienced person who is airing his thoughts after successful implementation of his ideas.
I hail from a remote village in Tamil Nadu. I completed my IX and X Standard from an orphanage which I had to attend since my poor parents could not afford to send me to high school in Mannargudi. However I failed in SSLC (then 11th standard) securing only eight marks in mathematics. Later, I joined the Army as there was no other option. As a soldier in the ranks, it gave me an opportunity to realise the importance of education because I was awed by the conduct, personality and great leadership qualities of the officers who were better educated and well groomed than myself. Even today, every officer of the Army still remains a role model for me.
I subsequently decided to pursue my education and availed all the annual leave (two months) and casual leave (30 days in two spells) to study and write the examinations as a private candidate ignoring my family to a large extent. I gradually progressed in my education and completed pre University course, BA, MA, PGDM and Masters in Personnel Management (MPM) from Symbiosis. By that time, I had completed 27 years and six months in the Army with a salary of around Rs 2000 per month and it was the MPM which attracted me to the field of education. SIBM then provided me an opportunity to make a career move to the management education field from the military service, with a consolidated salary of Rs 3000 per month which in those days was big. More than the salary it was the opportunity to introduce an innovative approach and different kinds of learning methods to students that excited me. This was possible because the towering and enlightened founder of the Symbiosis Society, Dr. S B Mujumdar gave me every opportunity to experiment and evolve as an academician.
Thus, for two decades my B-schools grew in stature and today, they remain a fertile ground for the corporates for their resourcing. Looking back, I can confidently say that the bold initiatives taken by me have immensely helped to produce productive and managerial material. To list all the initiatives, I will have to write a book, because the educational experiences cannot be restricted to academics, campuses and faculties only, as is being made out by many of us. Until and unless the educational environment changes and inner awakening strongly take place, the best results -- the end result cannot be achieved. Because the real conditioning of mind should take place in the elementary and high school which is happening to a larger extend. In fact, upto the XII Standard there is focus and attention is there from the side of parents, teachers and students. It is at the graduation level that the degradation takes place as every one passes on the responsibility to the other… parents think that their child is grown up and avoid regular monitoring; faculties behave as though they are not responsible to students, and universities live on with their traditional way of discharging responsibilities. The standard of our graduates, leaving aside the self motivated students, who may not be more than 20 to 30 percent, is pathetic and it is these students who mostly take up the management courses with high expectations.
Management institutes cannot do miracles unless they take revolutionary steps. And revolution means total change which will entail innovation, situational, and which will be painful, politically harmful and socially disturbing but will yield benevolent results in the national interest. Total change of mindset on the part of every stake holder is, therefore, a sin-quo-non. So what is the current scenario?
The eligibility criterion for admission to an MBA/PGDM programme is graduation in any discipline with 50 per cent marks. There are about 560 (Government/deemed/private) universities in our country which are offering these degree courses. Every university is having its own culture and standards. A few of them are offering degrees by distance learning. Let us look at the engagement of students in our university system. According to a study, colleges are generally on holidays for 150 days or so in a year, assuming they are working and running classes on Saturdays. If we include the Saturdays in the holidays, it would mean that the colleges are on holidays for about 180 days in a year (summer holidays, winter holidays, Saturday and Sundays, Diwali holidays, restricted holidays, closed holidays, preparatory leave before exams and so on).There are other non teaching days such as the examination days, functions and celebrations. That means, for more than half of the year, the colleges are closed or the faculties are on leave along with students. Are they actually functioning fully at least on those days when the college is open?
Assuming they are functioning well, the actual time spent in a class by students is restricted to four to five hours every day. This is normally the case in a graduation colleges, except in case of some colleges. What kind of graduates do we expect from the system where a student goes to class just for four to five hours a day, where there is no solid system of marking the attendance, reporting to parents and counselling/disciplining the students. Is any one monitoring as to what students are doing for the rest of the 18 to 19 hours in a day for 365 days? Everything 'positive' or 'negative' happens during these three or four years of degree course. What kind of continuity in teaching can we expect from such a system? What kind of job can these
people expect after coming out of such kind of a system, albeit, with a very valid degree in hand that too with high percentage of marks? Obviously, most of them are satisfied with mediocre jobs and fortunately industrial growth in this country is also providing a landing place for them. Whom should we blame for this? The Government which is giving grants and making rule after rule? The parents who are dreaming about the future of their children, investing in their education graciously but have no time or capability to know about what is happening with their children? Or the examination system of each of these 560 Universities which have no uniformity in marking - some being very liberal and some very strict, thereby creating imbalances in the job market for candidates as the marks are still considered to measure IQ? And these are the graduates who are supposed to join the PGDM/MBA programmes.
The IIMs are altogether in a different league. They have a choice of selecting the best out of the one lakh aspirants. They select mostly those with good industry experience. Instead of mentoring and guiding the Bschools, they are happy with their success in the campus placements and the world class infrastructure created by central and state governments. My discussion is about the initiatives in ordinary B-schools. What I tried to do was to engage the students fully and thoroughly and to my surprise, they were willing and enjoyed the initiatives. For example, I introduced uniform and a dress code in Management institutes. It was a step that made them feel they were 'Student Managers'; Attendance was taken after every period which brought discipline. Deliquent students were dealt with ruthlessly but with lot of concern for their future. Progress reports to parents and their periodic visits to interact with faculties made them happy. A lot of co-curricular activities and corporate interfaces made students to feel that we meant business.
The second initiative was introduction of the 'No Holiday' concept. That meant students were to be engaged academically or in co-curricular activities or team building exercises for at least 12 hours a day, throughout the year except on examination days. It was meant to train their minds and body and to make them enjoy learning. Promote team work and group activities. We initially forced them to attend lectures, which were in English without any breaks. Of course it involved heavy cost. But the uninterrupted 'Rain' approach reigned upon them the habit to 'hear, listen and inhale' English and that significantly changed communication skills. English was made the official language in the campus, just like the convents and that further upgraded communication skills in a big way. Though there was resistance initially, not only from students but also from parents and even corporate friends, I stood firmly and finally the 'military approach' earned appreciation and recognition that brought me the honorary rank of 'Colonel' for which there was no precedent in the Army. I was sure about campus placements, notwithstanding the fact, that the institutes had no standing at that point of time. But, I used to repeatedly say, 'Produce Gold. It will be sold.'
The aim was to utilise every minute for the growth and development of students and to straighten the lackadaisical and laid down lifestyle and mind-set adopted during the three years of graduation. For example, Saturdays and Sundays became very hectic days as the corporate stalwarts who were socially conscious, spared their weekend time to interact with students and to impart practical knowledge. Thus corporate interface became 'festival of knowledge' and every student had an opportunity see, listen and question nearly 200 corporate stalwarts every year. This may not be practical for those who do not live in industrial cities.
So the burden has to fall on full-time faculties. The standard of full-time faculties need no over emphasis despite all the selection process. Where is the scope for sincere selection when there is acute shortage of PhDs in the market? Will they be interested to spare their weekends for teaching? Are they of the calibre to hold and retain the attention of the young students for long hours? Do we - the faculties - belong to the old school of thought where 'Mata, Pita and Guru Devoh Bhava (Gods)' or are we just professionals coming and going in time.
How practical are the norms of PhDs being compulsorily appointed as associate professors, professors and directors in a management institute? Why can't a corporate leader who has spent his long innings in the industry be inducted as full-time professor and associate professor without a PhD? A twenty something old boy or girl takes admission and another person who is a couple of years older and who has completed his MBA, joins as their lecturer. Will that really help to produce MBAs/PGDMs who are billable/ productive enough to the companies from Day One? Do these companies really have the time to train such people not only for the skills but also for their attitude, knowledge and social skills? To overcome this problem, we went for visiting faculties from the industry for all managerial subjects and the class timings were adjusted in such a way that the industry stalwarts could spare their time. That meant the cost of imparting the full course went towards the visiting faculties from the industry who spared their holidays to travel from all over India on fixed days or as convenient to them. The students were excited by the opportunity of learning from the horses' mouth, notwithstanding weekends or public holidays. In fact, the students completely forgot holidays and their minds were conditioned to such a learning environment notwithstanding frictions on and off. We appreciate the deep skills and specialisation that PhDs can offer in a particular topic, however, these industry stalwarts could offer knowledge across a breadth of topics to our management graduates. Our PGDM courses offered a variety of subjects across the specialisations such as marketing, finance, operations, systems, international business and PM and HRD etc. and the corporate bigwigs could talk about this range of topics by leveraging their years of experience. Besides, there weren't enough PhDs available to conduct the different classes throughout the week as we had envisioned and those who were available were not up to the high standards required by us. Would we then have been better off investing in few PhDs who had specialisation in select topics or several corporate captains who had a wealth of knowledge across a range of topics? We chose the latter.
Periodic team building exercises, cultural programmes, competitions and organised parties on occasions of importance encouraged students to enjoy the rough and tough methods of grooming. And when they saw the seniors getting placed in good companies with good compensation, they realised that the system and processes were in their interest. In fact, the entire system and process was absolutely transparent. Grievances airing and settlement was carried out publicly and was also transparent and so even in the worst, humiliating and instigating circumstances, the students stood solidly with their institute.
Because the practices were anti-theses in the sense, they were considered to be unconventional practices. For example, we proactively declared a policy of 50 per cent of the seats to be reserved for female candidates to ensure women empowerment. And it so happened, that the turnout of both the boys and girls improved significantly. Thus, it can be safely said, that the students are always ready to accept and to undergo the bold experiments if their destinations are defined and ensured repeatedly.
The reward systems in the institutes were based on verifiable and authentic records. For example, campus placement facility was based on an eligibility criteria interlinked to the attendance — say, first fifty companies were open to only those who maintained 90 per cent attendance; those who maintained 95 per cent of the attendance were given an incentive marks of 5 per cent. Those who did not maintain 80 per cent attendance were ruthlessly dealt with. Also, industry experts were called to evaluate the students and do an ‘assessment centre’ and to grade each student and educate the students about their strengths and weaknesses so that they can rectify and improve, well before they go for projects. However, for the summer projects, they were allowed to go to a city of their choice with projects in hand so that they can do well in the projects, availing the comfort of their home where possible.
Parents were given a monthly report about the attendance and progress in various tests and exercises of their child and the parents became a part of our grooming system. By staying in the hostel with the rectors (now for over two decades), we were available to listen to any student grievance at any point of time and understand them well. A website was created as a public debate forum where any student can write at any point of time about any issue and a high powered committee comprising of all the directors and deputy directors were mandated to carefully look at them every day and quickly respond to solve the problems.
The whole issue is not related to just teaching. It is related to the maladies in the socio, political and cultural environment. The Government and regulators are doing their best to make the system as productive as possible. But in our country, things could take their own time to settle down. Besides, the problems are not unique to India, they are global in nature. We are successful because we understood the educational environment and daringly deviated from the same purely to serve the interest of the students. Our prescriptions were similar to prescriptions of a doctor to a patient. Indian education system is a like a sick patient at the moment and in the largest democracy with high population which is yet to mature economically, it is quite expected to be so.
The need of the hour is to condition the mind of the youth to work hard, to behave well and adhere to high standards and for this they should be groomed by the parents consistently. While skills can be taught easily, attitudes and general knowledge cannot be taught in two years. But then, that is what we are trying to do and a conducive culture which converts the arrogance into humility, the weakness into the strength, desperation to hope is emerging. Love and respect have minimised the conflict and the happy minds are enjoying the process as they see their goals being realised. Ultimately, B-schools should also function like finishing schools.
(The author is President, Sri Balaji Society, Chairman, Campus Placements,
Executive Director BIMM and Dean BITM, BIIB,
BIMHRD and BIMS)
Dr (Col) A Balasubramanian
From: Ganesh Pogula [mailto:ganeshpogula@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 8:35 PM
To: Mr. Govind Autee; Bhola nath Prof MTC Global
Subject: RE: [MTC Global] Fwd: A perspective of veteran in management education
This is the link tot he article by Dr (Col) Balasubramanian
Pl circulate.
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=CAP&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1354114969295
Warm Regards
Brig
From: govind.autee@mit.asia
To: ganeshpogula@hotmail.com
Subject: FW: [MTC Global] Fwd: A perspective of veteran in management education
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:41:46 +0000
Please help me get the article.
From: Mr. Govind Autee
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 5:07 PM
To: bnath.dutta@gmail.com
Subject: RE: [MTC Global] Fwd: A perspective of veteran in management education
Could not get to read it on http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com can some body help?
From: join_mtc@googlegroups.com [mailto:join_mtc@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Prof. Bholanath Dutta
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 4:07 PM
To: join_mtc
Subject: [MTC Global] Fwd: A perspective of veteran in management education
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ganesh Pogula <ganeshpogula@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Subject: A perspective of veteran in management education
To: Bhola nath Prof MTC Global <bnath.dutta@mtcglobal.org>
Dear Prof
Greetings.
I wish to draw your attention to the article "Bold Experiments in Management Education" by Dr (Col) Balasubramanian in Times of India today (28 Nov 2012) especially in Delhi edition.
I find the author articulated many issues MTC Global discussed through various threads in the last years based on his experience of managing the Management Institutions located in Rural and Urban regions.
Fraternity of MTC global may peruse the article please.
Warm Regards
Brig
--
EDUCATE, EMPOWER, ELEVATE
Happy Knowledge Sharing!
Kindest Regards.......
Bholanath Dutta
Founder, President & Convener: MTC Global
Website:www.mtcglobal.org/bnath.dutta@gmail.com/president@mtcglobal.org
Cell: +91 96323 18178
--
MTC GLOBAL- Educate, Empower, Elevate
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