New Thinking

THE EARLIER BREED OF management institutes was dominated by the prestigious IIMs (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta and Lucknow), Xavier School of Management, Faculty of Man­agement Studies, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, etc. Over the years, a new genre of management institutes emerged giving a tough competition to the existing institutes, such as Indian School of Business, Management Development Institute, Great Lakes Institute of Management, etc. Even the IITs started their own management schools.

Post-liberalisation, the industry dynamics changed signif­icantly and the expectations rose on the quality of talent. The most sought after recruiters in ’90s were ITC, HUL, Citibank, ICICI Bank, etc. They literally dominated the hiring scenario. These organisations still continue to get a lot of respect from B-School campuses. The situation changed in late ’90s when other multinational companies were setting up their own wholly-owned subsidiaries in India across sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods, industrial heavy equipment, automotive and ancillaries, etc. At the leadership level, some of these companies got their expat talent into India or they hired locally in India and nurtured them for their global op­erations. The entry-level intake, however, lay with reputed B-Schools. The trend continues though we’re spoilt for choice now. India today has several new IIMs from which fresh tal­ent is emerging. Most of the new IIMs though are still struggling to get good faculty. Therefore, they face initial challenges for final placements. It is just a matter of time before they overcome such hurdle and be on par with others.

Management education has also changed drastically as new thinking, innovation and advanced technological resources have con­tributed to this transformation. The large Indian diaspora of professors working in international B-Schools globally are returning to India and joining professional universities and colleges. This transformation is causing a big change in the overall management/B-School education. The approach certainly is glocal (global and local). The students are get­ting higher exposure, and therefore, better in­ternational and global placements too.

The world underwent a drastic change when a large Indian tech diaspora relocated to the US and developed economies with global software services organisations. The middle managers enrolled themselves in executive MBA programmes to enhance their skills. These were short-duration courses of 9-15 months which gave them confidence that they can elevate themselves into larger business roles. Seeing such heavy de­mand, every management institute in India started offering ex­ecutive MBA programmes. These programmes have achieved enormous specialisation over the years and have come to be accepted by the industry, which get a ready stream of business managers through them.

As competition rose, a new genre of recruiters started visiting campuses like strategic consultants and investor-focused organisations offering very attractive compensation with global postings in London, New York, Singapore, etc.

The new age has created various career options from gam­ing to professional photography and agro forestry to sport management. There is a significant increase and acceptance of academic institutions which provide specialisation in Agri & Cooperative Management with a special focus on ESG (Environ­mental, Societal and Governance) as well. Institutes like IIFM, IRMA, MANAGE, ISDM are today getting more students and are creating a niche for themselves in the ever-growing impact sector.

The economy will continue to grow offering new career options as one remains optimistic for future generations.

AmericaBest B-Schools 2023computersmanagementstudentstech diaspora