Find Ways To Stay Relevant
Employees in the 21st century don’t know what to do with general management degrees anymore. They are all seeking experts in data, digital and other modern technologies, and also those who have strong soft skills giving them the edge when it comes to working in teams. So, the question arises, does it even make sense for college graduates or young working professionals to pursue an MBA, when it may not be doing much to their employability quotient?
According to research conducted by the GMAC, one-fifth of all degree-granting institutions in the US offer MBAs and the UK’s Association of Business Schools estimated that one in seven UK undergraduates are studying business and management. However, the job opportunities for traditional roles have dipped drastically, especially in the developed nations, and employers have cried themselves hoarse in demanding innovation and entrepreneurial mindsets from candidates.
But is India any different? Unfortunately, not. There are more than 5,500 B-schools in the country with almost 5.5 lakh seats. Students pay anywhere upwards of Rs 3 lakh-5 lakh to even tier-2/3 colleges. So, they must get some tangible returns to justify such a mushrooming of colleges and exorbitant fees! Only 7 per cent of such MBA graduates are employable, excluding those from IIMs, etc., says an Assocham report. Despite such massive investments in their education, these graduates only manage meagre salaries. The problem is clearly more of relevance and the need for curricula to keep up with changing times.
Back in the day, when organisations were getting built, we needed managers to run them well. Today you need more innovation-driven mindset to find solutions. Most MBAs don’t cover this aspect of preparedness.
In the era of data, digital, product innovation, design, cloud, programming technologies, tech entrepreneurship, etc., many non-competitive MBA programmes will, and have already begun to, perish through redundancy. Realising this, many international universities of repute have started adding modules or courses within the overall MBA degree that revolve around leadership in a disruptive world, digital strategies, data-driven decision making, and so on.
However, not everyone, and especially not in this country of 1.3 billion, has access to institutions such as the Harvards, Stanfords and IIMs of the world. Many still believe that an MBA is their ticket to guaranteed employment and lucrative pay packages. If they don’t make it to the top institutions, they settle for the lower quality institutes. Most of these do not equip students with relevant skills, and are also plagued by a rigid curricula that does not change in years.
New and improved online education models are one solution to this mammoth problem. The risk of unchanging, industry and trend relevant content is mitigated and individuals can focus on picking up specific skill sets that enhance their employability.
The beauty of MBA is best captured if you already have some work experience. However, in India, most still go for engineering degrees and often follow it up with an MBA immediately after as there are no jobs for them — only to delay the inevitable unemployability.
This is where online education becomes doubly relevant — developing new managerial skills through online programmes with a lot of industry relevance. Satya Nadella himself did his executive MBA from the University of Chicago, during which time he continued to work, flying into Chicago every weekend. In this day and age of online education, instead of flying to campus every weekend, one can study online while continuing to work.
