The Making of the Intelligent Manager

TO UNDERSTAND THE current landscape of business schools, let us first accept the like­ly challenges and limitations of B-Schools in this age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and then review potential pursuits to find an op­portunity in adversity. B-Schools face significant challenges to­day thanks to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which disrupt traditional models of higher education by offering free or low-cost tuition, forcing institutions both in India and elsewhere to justify their high tuition fees. MOOCs are agile, regularly update content to reflect industry trends, and business schools, from top-notch to new ones, often struggle to revise curricula at the same pace. The absence of targeted knowledge is what often disappoints a candidate to B-Schools in comparison with these new modes of learning. Who can stop a student or a parent from questioning the need for expensive degrees when similar knowledge is accessible online?

MOOCs are tempting because they provide cutting-edge digital learning experiences for the discerning student. How easily can traditional B-Schools match the flexibility of MOOCs? The answer is obvious: it is very tough unless these institutes invest heavily in interac­tive, tech-enabled platforms to compete. Again, MOOCs make elite business educa­tion accessible worldwide. B-Schools, for their part, invariably need to look at ways to expand their global footprint and adapt to diverse learner needs.

The differences do not end there: B-Schools typically emphasise network­ing and experiential learning. In contrast, MOOCs cannot replicate these experiences entirely, and that means business schools are left to demonstrate how their network­ing opportunities justify their costs in the face of micro-credentials and certificates challenging the primacy of MBA, not to talk of other traditional degrees. Which means B-Schools need to innovate their credentialing systems as a first step.

Before we look at how B-Schools can possibly address these challenges, let us look how industry erects more hurdles for these educational institutions worldwide.

When the late Steve Jobs said that he does not favour professional managers, it was too early for the world of business education to sit and listen because the financial services segment was still robust and the technology giants had not grown big enough to set new standards in management. The former Apple hotshot had said, "You know who the best man­agers are? They are the best individual contributors who never ever want to be a manager," he said, adding that these geniuses then decide to be a managers because no one else is going to be able to manage as well as they do.

Steve Jobs' opinions are amplified now because Big Tech is setting new standards at a pace never witnessed in the past, placing newer and newer challenges for B-Schools that churn out managers for what they call Industry 4.0 or Industry 5.0. The challenge, therefore, as Open had consistently maintained in previous essays on B-Schools, is to make business graduates job-ready for Industry 5.0, the new wave of industrialisation in the off­ing that started long ago with the steam engine in 1780, electrification in 1870, automation in 1970, globalisation in 1980, and then by the ongoing digitalisation wave (a few experts see assembly lines as the catalyst for Industry 2.0). Industry 4.0 is busy integrating new technologies that include Artificial Intelligence and big data analytics. According to a study led by academic Morteza Ghobakhloo and others in 2023, Industry 5.0 represents the future of industrial transformation, "offer­ing potential solutions to socioeconomic and environmental issues that were in­adequately addressed or exacerbated by Industry 4.0." The study, they claim, "pro­vides managers, industrialists, and policy­makers with a comprehensive overview of Industry 5.0, including its technologi­cal constituents, design principles, and smart components, emphasising the importance of stakeholder involvement and integration for effective governance of digital industrial transformation within this framework."

As we already know, job disruptions are par for the course as we brave the storm even as tech champions are reigniting the debate over the value of traditional education, especially business education, besides others. In October this year, Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man, asserted that college education is overrated and then he re-posted his speech at a function on X, "I think the value of a college education is somewhat overweighted. Too many peo­ple spend four years, accumulate a ton of debt, and often don't have useful skills that they can apply afterwards. I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumb­ers and carpenters and that's a lot more im­portant than having incremental political science majors. I think we should not have this idea that, in order to be successful, you need a four-year college degree," he said.

Coming from someone of the stature of Musk, who is also an influencer, how­ever good or bad he may be in that role, his words do carry weight because he is among the grandees who decide poli­cies, including those in corporations as regards hiring people, such as managers. His remarks about traditional education are sure to have an impact not only among aspiring students but also among compa­nies that look to hire managers. Students will have more reasons to pursue micro courses and ditch business education and still compete with graduates in similar positions in corporations.

As Ana Freire, vice-dean of Social Im­pact and Academic Innovation at UPF Barcelona School of Management, and PhD in Computer Science, wrote in her 2024 essay, "The future of business is being rapidly reshaped by artificial in­telligence (AI) and big data, with the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Survey 2023 revealing that for compa­nies of various scales, AI and big data are the pillars of corporate training and op­erational strategy for the coming years." She quotes the same report—which states that approximately 75 per cent of the surveyed companies plan to adopt AI technologies—and avers that this widespread adoption is predicted to lead to a significant churn, signalling a trans­formative period in the workforce. She rightly points out in the essay titled 'Re­shaping Business Education with Hands- On Artificial Intelligence' that this issue places an imperative on business schools, traditionally seen as important centres for advanced education: they must tran­sition from their classic focus on busi­ness administration, accounting, and management to integrate cutting-edge technological education that aligns with industry demands. Alongside, there are more concerns about the validity of cur­rent business education, in India as well as abroad, which she says fails to factor in social and environmental challenges.

In his essay titled 'Business Educa­tion Is Broken', Andrew J Hoffman, the Holcim Professor of Sustainable Enter­prise at the Stephen M Ross School of Business and the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, notes, "Newly minted MBAs entering the business world have learned a good number of outmoded, even discred­ited ideas, and they graduate ill-equipped to face the challenges of management in a world where business must be an inte­gral player in solving humanity's biggest problems."

There are challenges galore as rules of engagement seem to change drastically and rapidly in a world of fast-evolving technological changes.

In an interview with Open, Vivek Wadhwa, CEO of Vionix Biosci­ences and former distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School who is also a re­nowned columnist, says, Elon Musk's remarks echo the sentiments of his Pay­Pal comrade Peter Thiel, suggesting that education degrees are unnecessary for trades like electricians, plumbers, or truck drivers. "While this argument may reso­nate with elite students dropping out of Stanford or Harvard and landing VC fund­ing, it's a dangerous oversimplification for most people." He goes on, "Higher educa­tion is not just about credentials; it equips individuals with the adaptability and critical thinking skills needed in a rapidly changing world. As technologies advance and entire professions disappear, a strong educational foundation is essential for re­training and staying relevant." Wadhwa adds that from an Indian perspective, if Americans decide higher education is not necessary, they may find themselves as the electricians and plumbers servic­ing the homes of highly educated Indians who will be at the forefront of developing advanced technologies and driving great economies. "Ignoring the value of edu­cation is not just shortsighted—it risks global competitiveness," he avers.

Wadhwa is right and there is enough proof for the world to see. Some of the topmost corporate honchos in the US from India are MBAs: Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, is an MBA from the University of Chicago and an alumnus of the Manipal Institute of Technology. Shantanu Narayen, an engineering graduate from Osmania University and an MBA from the Uni­versity of California, Berkeley, is the chief of Adobe Inc. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, a BTech from IIT Kharag­pur, is an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. Similarly, Nikesh Arora, CEO and chairman at Palo Alto Networks, has an MBA from Northeastern Univer­sity. Many other highly successful people in the US, including Raghuram Rajan, former Reserve Bank of India governor, are products of IIMs.

Wadhwa however does not wish his argument to be taken as an excuse by some to not make amends. He points out that B-Schools need a radical over­haul to stay relevant in a world where agility and innovation trump rigid cor­porate hierarchies. "They must ditch outdated teaching methods focused on traditional business plans and cor­porate management, replacing them with hands-on, real-world projects that teach lean startup principles and foster entrepreneurial mindsets. Instead of churning out number-crunchers for Wall Street, B-Schools should prepare students to navigate uncertainty, inno­vate, and lead across industries by inte­grating interdisciplinary learning from technology, design, and the humanities," Wadhwa says.

It is true that B-Schools can opt for such an "overhaul" and thereby address the challenges posed by MOOCs and others by innovating their offerings, leveraging their unique strengths, and adapting to chang­ing learner expectations. Experts have been suggesting that B-Schools focus on networking and experiential learning by highlighting the value of face-to-face interactions, mentorship opportunities, and access to professional networks that MOOCs cannot replicate. Similarly, they can also strengthen what management gurus term customisation. This involves of­fering personalised learning paths, where students can blend traditional courses with MOOCs or micro-credentials. Again, there is a question of the value of practical application left to be taught. Greater stress on hands-on projects, internships, and live case studies would help bridge the gap between theory and practice that is now a curse in B-Schools.

The impact of AI in education, espe­cially in business and economics, accord­ing to American author and behavioural economist Dan Ariely, cuts both ways. He tells Open in an interview, "I can see good things and bad things. I can see people struggling less with studies which, I think, is a shame. I will give you a metaphor: when I work on a book, I go into wrong di­rections from time to time. It is painful and difficult. But at the end of the day, I went through a journey and I understand things better now. Producing a work or a product in the educational world is not about the outcome but about the process. I think if the path would be easy, we are not going to learn as much. That worries me." He however adds that there is another com­ponent to this phenomenon: "I think some of the changes will be good. I think we have relied on simple rote memory as a signal of learning. There will be a shift now. That is good."

Whether pursuing MBAs or micro courses, students—meaning future employees—not learning enough and not being trained to traverse uneven paths may not be sufficiently prepared for the challenges of the industry either, especially when they have to be creative, make mistakes, take risks and learn from them. If they are not used to that process as a student, they may be at a disadvantage as an employee when they start off.

Bengaluru-based writer and former MNC banker Sreejith Sreedharan, author of Future of Work: AI in HR, tells Open that the rise of AI is set to shake up business ed­ucation like never before, forcing schools to rethink how they prepare students for the real world. "It's not just about updat­ing courses to match the latest technol­ogy—it's about a complete shift in how we learn and what we value as knowledge. With AI handling more tasks and storing vast amounts of information, education needs to focus less on memorising facts and more on developing skills like criti­cal and spontaneous thinking, emotion­al intelligence, and working effectively with technology."

Business schools, which are wak­ing up to the challenge, he says, will face the tough challenge of keeping up with the fast-changing demands of industries that are increasingly powered by AI. "To stay relevant, they need to redesign their teaching meth­ods to help students not just keep up but thrive in a tech-driven world. This means creating learning environments where human creativity and AI work together, preparing students to solve complex problems and make thoughtful decisions in the age of intelligent machines." Which means, Sreedharan adds, the way forward lies in collabora­tion. "Schools, industries, and tech ex­perts need to join forces to ensure edu­cation stays aligned with the future of work. By focusing on adaptability and human-AI teamwork, business schools can equip students with the tools they need to succeed in a world where tech­nology evolves faster than ever."

As the world braces for stiff competi­tion among behemoths in information technology over Large Language Models (LLMs) and other generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, the skills required of a manager are definitely going to be different. This would mean learning, unlearning and relearning to stay ahead of the race. Like the corpora­tions, B-Schools will also have to take things in their stride and change as quickly as possible in adapting to new situations and future jobs. The latest news from Amazon is that at its annual AWS conference in Las Vegas, it has un­veiled a new suite of AI platforms that are capable of generating text, images, and videos and the company envisages be­coming a leader in generative AI, taking on the likes of Adobe, Nvidia, Meta, and OpenAI. These developments highlight a broader trend of integrating AI into var­ious business functions, and the rapid adoption of these tools will likely shape how business schools prepare future leaders. Amazon's investment in AI tools underscores the competitive edge com­panies can achieve through innovation, making it essential for future leaders to grasp the intersection of technology and business strategy. Business schools that adapt quickly will be better positioned to equip students for this evolving landscape.

Again, while B-Schools will have a tough task ahead, integrating AI into business education equips students with valuable critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Since AI is a rapidly evolving and complex field, understanding its foundational prin­ciples fosters deeper analytical abili­ties. By teaching AI concepts, business schools prepare students to tackle chal­lenges and think strategically—skills essential across industries.