It is that familiar time of the year again, with students queueing up for admissions to their dream colleges for that coveted MBA degree. However, even with conversion rates of less than two per cent, MBA graduates often struggle to cope with job pressures after graduating from their dream college. This has been linked to the increasing number of MBA participants coming from an Engineering background.
While it is beyond doubt that the world is undergoing a technological revolution, it can be argued that the worth of liberal arts courses remains unaltered. This is further enhanced by the fact that most B-Schools have a diversity score where applicants coming from non-Engineering backgrounds are given an edge over their peers.
Take, for instance, the case of app development. While it is mandated that the core of the team consist of software developers, it is also imperative that the person tasked with managing the team is well-versed in niche disciplines such as human psychology. With increasing competition on the app marketplace, developers are resorting to innovative techniques to hook users.
For instance, loading screens on apps now often have creative messages to ensure that today’s youth (with dwindling attention spans) stay for that extra second that it takes to load the screen. The person-in-charge of designing such apps must have an idea of what it takes to hook the user, which in turn requires an in-depth knowledge of human psychology.
The role of a holistic, interdisciplinary training of liberal arts is all the more enhanced when we consider roles such as that of an HR Generalist. While technical know-how is an added bonus, the core principles of human behaviour and knowledge of diverse fields such as Sociology and Negotiation Skills are often of paramount importance.
Now, while such subjects undoubtedly form an integral part of any B-School curriculum, the fact remains that students only have two years to build their knowledge. Students also have to simultaneously juggle extra-curriculars, placements and social life, which means that such concerns often take a back seat. One can find very few students genuinely interested in the pursuit of Liberal Arts in a B-School.
The implications of such a goal-oriented approach of B-school students could be massive, even negatively affecting India’s managerial workforce. It is often the case that students coming from Engineering backgrounds have degrees in fields such as Ceramic Engineering. While knowledge of such subjects is undoubtedly of paramount importance in that particular industry, these students seldom pursue jobs in this field after their MBA, which diminishes the significance of their undergraduate degrees.
Nowadays, the increasing popularity of undergraduate management education suggests there might just be a way out. Courses such as the Integrated Programme in Management offered at IIM Indore aim to build contextually relevant, socially-conscious managers with a curriculum covering diverse subjects including the likes of Critical Thinking, Game Theory and Bayesian Statistics.
The mantra behind such pedagogies is that when it comes to management education, one often needs to procure a breadth of knowledge before acquiring in-depth knowledge of a particular field. Other institutes such as IIM Rohtak have started similar courses, though the success of the same remains to be seen.
The prospect of studying at a top B-School for five years, combined with the prowess of the faculty and the plethora of opportunities available has led to applications for such integrated courses to rise over the years. Also, with the availability of ample time, students often have much more flexibility when it comes to experimenting with diverse domains and exploring the full spectrum of opportunities a B-School has on offer. This is bound to be of assistance in today’s corporate world, where it is often the case that a manager is expected to know something about everything.
While undergraduate management education is not tried and tested to produce results, there are encouraging signs that point to the fact that such courses might provide a holistic perspective that might give students an edge over their peers.
