A new paradigm for business education : Need for focus on adding value and creating impact in business schools

Business education has an important role to play and it needs to keep evolving continuously with the changing times, including bringing in new paradigms.

Over the years, the writer has intercations with MBA students and some of the common points come up repeatedly are given below:

1. I got placed with a good company with a good salary !

2. I couldn’t get a job profile I wanted but I have a job.

3. I couldn’s get a job in a company I wanted but I have a job.

4. I am near completing the degree but still looking for placements.

5. I got placed in the job profile and the company I wanted.

The last point 5 and 4 are least common heard in these intercations. However, there are so many reports showing unemployability of MBA graduates.
Most of these points are more inward looking i.e. what the students want for themselves. What is mostly missing in these points is the hunger and desire to add value and create impact.

There is a need for new paradigm in management education of looking management education as a tool for creating value and creating impact and not just seeking value. This will not only help the industry and the cause of business education but also help the students in getting what they are expecting.

There are number of ways it can be done. One is to create a focus on creating value and impact rather than focus on just placements starting from term one of MBA programs. To start with, atleast one needs to balance the two, and later on keep increasing the focus on creating value and impact.

Another way is to introduce a core course on creating value and impact in the first term of the MBA program which exposes students to the why, what and how of value creation and creating impact.

Another way is to introduce a module in each course in the program on how the course will create value and create impact.

Another way is to ask each students to do a one term project or course of independent study in the fourth term of the MBA program on how they are going to create value and create impact by using whatever they have studied in the program.

These are different ways and can be modified and improved upon based on the faculty and institute background and based on the learnings from each year. This will help the industry, the institute, students and the cause of business education in the long run creating a win-win scenario for all.