Mr. M.L Singla has been a part of the faculty at FMS since 1985; he has also worked with TCS, Delhi and MDI, Gurgaon. He is actively involved in teaching, training, research and consultancy in the areas of Information Technology Management, Computerization of Business Systems, and Business Process Re-engineering.
Many of Computer Science/IT engineers are going for management education; if given a chance, do you think that management students will work wonders in government sector as well?
I definitely think that they will make a difference. Currently the government needs better systems and better discipline. Participants at management schools are being trained to better comprehend the systems and make alterations accordingly. They are being hired as international consultants because people know the quality that is being developed and nourished at management schools in India. They have insights to practical knowledge and that makes all the difference. Government jobs don’t seem to lure B-school graduates but if it is made attractive to them they will make large difference in the government sector.
What, as per you, are the qualities that a B-school participant must hone during MBA to become a good Chief Information Officer?
I have a personal belief that the qualities must be something like- KASH (Knowledge, Aptitude, Sincerity and Hard work). I am also a strong believer of 5C’s (Commitment, Clarity, Competence, Conviction and Communication). I strongly believe that these 5Cs are very essential for all types of leadership roles. KASH and 5Cs tend to incorporate all attributes of a leader encompassing various dimensions like morality, business ethics and values. Whatever leadership roles you are expected to acquire in future, make the MBA journey as a learning path to garner all these qualities and specifically for CEO develop on knowledge of technical domain.
What do you think can be the future challenges for IT management education in the country?
Presently in the industry, on one side you will find emerging technologies and on other side there is fundamental planning. People and companies are fascinated by the jargon of emerging technologies. It is critically important that one should know how things are to be done. MBA students are made familiar with the processes so that they know how to master the art of execution. They can easily lead technology for automating the business process. This is the probably where comes a tradeoff between MBA and M.Tech (computer science) or MCA participants.
Can people from a non- IT background make a good CIO?
Yes definitely because to be a leader of technology what you need is having the right mindset. Lack of background knowledge actually does not matter much. There is a famous academician from MIT Sloan named John F. Rockart, he is also popularly known as “Jack Rockart”. As per him, a CIO should be a business player. As a CIO, you don’t have to do programming. A CIO must know what is possible and what is not. One should only be versed with potential of IT. So, as per the stalwart it is clearly evident that the CIO can be from a non-technical background also.
In future is there any scope that IT would be commoditized?
Retail of IT is possible but there are certain limitations to it. For an organization, business processes are important, these cannot be traded over the counter. You may get software products traded on the counter, but if for instance SBI wants to have business process software traded, it is not possible through commoditization of IT. So the key lies in understanding the business processes and if the scope exists for retailing, managers are intelligent enough to carve the way.
As told to Barleen
Barleen Kaur is currently pursuing her first year PGDM at IIM Indore (Class of 2015). She did her B.Tech degree from GGS Indraprastha University in Computer Science and Engineering and worked as a training manager at a consulting company and also started a coaching center. She has a strong affinity for writing and is an avid orator.
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