B-schools Need To Reinvent Themselves

After an intense business transformation engagement, I asked my client — the CEO of the organisation — “Do you think your current leaders are equipped to lead these changes?” He replied, “Actually I am more worried about the future leaders, who are going to inherit them — they seem to think much like us — are they really equipped for tomorrow?” He made a pertinent point.

In the past few decades, businesses across sectors have changed significantly. The changes are fundamental and are altering the rules of the game. Generally speaking, yesteryears’ CFO used to be worried about trial balance and closing accounts in the stipulated time — today they are worried about structuring the latest acquisition and complying with IFRS/Ind AS. Our marketing heads used to strategise between above-the-line and below-the-line advertisements — now it is online and offline! The HR head, who used to constantly thinking of salary structuring, dress codes and managing unions, is now busy offering ‘work-from-home’ or bridging the divide between the loyal old guard and instant gratification for talented youngsters. The CIO, who was going berserk identifying the right ERP and CRM solutions, has moved on to leverage Big Data and extreme automation. The CEO doesn’t usually worry about competitors anymore — rarely do business fold due to competition nowadays — typically they just become redundant due to an alternate offer for the need! Now, are these reflecting in the institutions that are preparing bright youngsters to lead businesses? The honest answer would be — in parts and in some institutions. There is a compelling need for B-schools to reinvent themselves — else, an alternate format might make them redundant!

There were 3,472 B-schools in India in 2015-16, down from 3,584 in 2014-15. However, there was a little attention paid to the same in the general arena. Why is it that the most sought after schools remain just a handful? How many of the B-schools look at the future of the management profession in a proactive manner? Should Indian B-schools look at management education differently (as compared to the content and pedagogy of their western counterparts)? What help them would be a zero-based review of the system.

So what are the compelling areas where B-schools need to reinvent themselves? Here are five major areas one needs to consider if you are running/planning to run a B-school. First, the format — does it make sense to ‘teach’ management anymore? Should it move to a ‘lab’ environment, where some of the management ideas are put to test? Second, are we cognisant of those sweeping changes that technology is bringing to business? Industry 4.0 could mean a different means of productivity.

Predictive analytics solutions are set to redefine business intelligence and we need to equip youngsters, who will be comfortably evolving tools in this space. Third, the global nature of every business is significant. From the local kirana shop to the traditional school, there is likely to be an impact — by the modern retail format or the satellite-based content into schools, respectively. Every part of business now needs to look at globalisation and how it will impact the business. Fourth, the culture of organisations is going through significant changes. Organisation culture is giving way to managing multiple micro-cultures. Are we preparing future leaders to deal with such a capricious blend of employees, partners and customers? The fifth, which is rapidly emerging is environment consciousness — this could be a big differentiator in the future. Successful B-schools can prepare youngsters to start thinking about this right at the
beginning of their careers. It is difficult to ‘acquire’ this awareness at a later stage.

Its time we should take this seriously. It is a big responsibility, or else we don’t have a choice.