The rapidly changing face of global business demands a management graduate who understands complex problems and is ready to adapt to more challenging scenarios. Today's business schools try to equip their students with essential management tools and theories to apply in the corporate world.
However, no MBA programme can really teach the use of intuitive ability. In the IT industry, especially, where constant change is a way of life, intuition becomes a crucial component of the decision-making process. This is particularly important in a start-up, where there is no past data or experience to fall back on.
This intuitive ability may also fall prey to lack of motivation, as people need to be given the space to create and feel the thrill of a new challenge.
Again, especially in the IT sector, people skills are gaining ever-greater importance, given the increasing attrition rates. And that's a special challenge, given the people-sensitive nature of the business. No management textbook can prepare you for this task; it depends entirely on your own inter-personal skills.
The IT industry demands that we look at global competition, global benchmarks and global markets. Unlike in many other industries, here a fresh graduate grasps these abilities purely through experience and not in a class room. Accordingly, B-schools need to focus on global experiences but at the same time not lose their Indian perspective.
B-schools' focus should also be extended to the ability to deal with failure, considering there is no dearth of failed strategies or bad decisions in the corporate world. Failure management helps fresh graduates take risks with more confidence and thus helps them develop the ability to think big and innovate.
Ramendra Mandal is country manager, Informatica India. He graduated from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila, in 1996.
