indiaabroad mba dl

7/26/2019 Indiaabroad Mba Dl

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MBAat the

crossroads

MBAat the

crossroadsIs a business degree the right career pathin the current economic climate?

June 2009

Ind a Abroad


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3/363 India Abroad June 2009

The idea for this spe-cial magazine wassparked by a chancemeeting I had withthree Master of

Business Administration stu-dents of the Rotman School ofManagement, University ofToronto. Nikhil Venugopal,

Apar Jain, both 26, and VishalSinghal, 28, had worked withIndian software major Infosys

in Bangalore. They felt theyhad hit a plateau in their engi-neering careers and needed aleg-up, which only an MBAdegree could give them. Theyspoke of their fears fed by thedoomsday stories of the globaleconomic downturn but saidthey were convinced they hadmade the right decision to pur-sue business education inCanada.

That set us thinking. Amid thescary stories the Globe andMailrecently wrote about how

business graduates are nowdownsizing their salary expec-tations and The New YorkTimes recently reported howeven graduates from the presti-

gious Wharton School ofBusiness are finding fewer jobs,to recall a few we felt certainissues were still hazy. For exam-ple, in the wake of the globalturmoil, does the MBA curricu-lum itself need change? Whatskills do B-schools actuallyteach? How do those skills help

business leaders? Is the MBAjust a passport to a fat pay-check? Is an MBA degree foranyone and everyone? Has theMBA degree been devalued?Thus, India Abroad sponsoreda symposium, Center Stage2009, held at Prego, downtownToronto, March 21. In atten-dance and sharing their views

were students and faculty fromthree of Canadas best B-schools Rotman, theSchulich School of Business,

York University, and the Schoolof Business and Economics,

Wilfrid Laurier University entrepreneurs who know whatit takes to run super successful

businesses in the real world,and academics who know whatit takes to turn a bright studentinto a business leader.

In the following pages, you willfind their wisdom to help

you choose the right careerpath.Special ThanksCenter Stage would not have

been the success it was withoutthe help of the entire Indo-Canadian community andespecially students like

Abhinav Dani, Sudhanshu

Chopra, Shivanki Singh(Rotman) and MugunathanGaneshan (Schulich School).But, Center Stage would nothave been possible at all with-out the help of four outstandingindividuals: Nikhil Venugopal,

Apar Jain and VishalSinghal who spared noeffort in making sure thesymposium was a star-stud-ded affair and Aditya

Jha, president, KarmaCandy, who so very mag-nanimously threw open hisPrego restaurant for thesymposium without accept-ing a single dollar in return.The staff at Prego mirroredtheir boss large-hearted-ness. We dont have wordsenough to thank them.

From the Editor

Vishal Singhal, left, Nikhil Venugopal and Apar Jain

AJITJAIN



LEADERS MANTRA

MBAs, you have all the aces

My message is oneof hope. Despitethe scary head-lines and bleakp r o g n o s t i c a -

tions of self-styled experts, thefuture of MBA students looksgreat. Your prospects remindme of those of a gambler who isdealt the very best hand inpoker. You are holding a handin poker that shows four aces!

Your first ace is for being herein Canada, in Toronto, whichthinks of itself as the center of

the universe when we all knowthat center is really in Calgary.

After all, Canada is blessedwith unique natural andhuman assets. We have whatthe Germans call lebensraum,

which is more room to growthan anyone else on thiscrowded planet. And, asthe faces in this room tes-tify, we are the worldsmost diverse society andare at peace with eachother as human beings. I knowit is a clich, but our diversity is our

biggest asset as a nation of nations, a richcommunity of communities.

So, when the global economy starts togrow again, we in Canada, with yourMBA students in the vanguard of ourfuture, will lead the parade. We have thepeople. We have the goods. We have thespace.

Your second ace is getting your MBA.The timing for receiving it could not be

better. The only direction for you to gonow is up.

Your third ace is the simple fact you areSouth Asian. We South Asians need yield

to no others in Canada when it comes tosuccess in what I call the three Es:Education, entrepreneurship and enter-prise. We are now the largest so-calledethnic group in Canada, having overtak-en the Chinese Canadians in the last cen-sus. We South Asians are also adept net-

workers at a time when it has never beenmore important to rely on contacts,friends and communities to move ahead.That is why I am here today: To network

with you as new friends, to share withyou some of the reasons for my success.South Asians in Canada are going to helpto make Canada the new, economic tiger

of the western hemisphere. We have the

essential commodities, and India hasother key resources to complement us.

And you are the ones with the unique tal-ents who are going to bridge these twocountries and help build that economictiger.

The fourth ace is timing, you are in theright cycle of life to be key players in theglobal economic village that will advanceafter the recession ends, a process that

will start here in Canada if our primeminister and the head of the Bank ofCanada are right. By the way, in the newera that lies ahead, we will be in the post-

American world, according to Fareed

Zakaria, the brilliant Indian-Americanpundit thats an Indian word! whohas a program on CNN and a column inNewsweek. Like me, Mr Zakaria seesCanada as a winner in the future, along

with India, China, and Brazil.All of you are products of another of

Canadas greatest strategic assets ourcolleges and universities, where world-class minds impart not only theory, butpractical knowledge about the real worldto students like you. With that CanadianMBA, you are not only building bridgesfrom Canada to South Asia, you are

bridging the world. Your MBA will be

recognized everywhere, because Canada,

with reason, is regarded as acenter for scholarship. In mycase, it was the WesternBusiness School, where mydean, Larry Tapp, infected me

with a relentless passion to suc-ceed and to take risks. Today, MrTapp is chairman of the Boardof Mainstreet.

India is my homeland in manyways, but in fact I wasnt born inIndia but in Japan. My grandfa-ther Saproon Singh Dhillonmigrated from Punjab to HongKong at age 16. There, he even-

tually became a trader andestablished the North ChinaShipping Co, which exportedgoods to Japan. And thats

where I was born in 1965. Sixyears later, our family of wan-dering merchants moved toLiberia to tap the trading mar-ket of West Africa. During the1970s, Liberia was torn apart bya brutal civil war. We lost every-thing and arrived in Vancouver.

Our family moved to Calgary,where at first we met up with

the kind of prejudice such as kids callingme a Paki and pulling my hair. My moth-er was fired from her job at the postoffice strictly because of its racist atti-tude. But we didnt get bitter, we usedthe system and fought the case with thepost office, a government agency, and we

won. She was reinstated in her job after ayear. She was a pioneer a pioneer ofthe spirit of diversity, tolerance andacceptance that abounds in this belovedcountry.

Yes, it was tough for me to get a job inCalgary. That wouldnt be true today, but25 years ago it was a different case. There

were only stereotyped positions availablefor the Sikhs, and it was really hard to

break in. So, I went into business formyself in 1984, at age 19. I bought twohouses, fixed them up, and sold them foran $18,000 profit. That was the sum Istarted with. For the next 15 years, I

bought and sold Calgary real estateworth about $150 million. I worked outof the trunk of my car and with a cellphone. What drove me to work 70 hoursa week or more was that my family hadlost everything in Liberia after the coup,and I vowed it would never happenagain.

Along the way, I realized I didnt know

BOBDHILLON



LEADERS MANTRA

everything. So at the age of 32, I spenttwo years at the University of WesternOntarios Richard Ivey School ofBusiness, Canadas top business school,nicknamed the Harvard of the North.Then I incorporated Mainstreet EquityCorp as a numbered Alberta company. It

became my main investment vehicle. Myoffice was the trunk of my car. I usedevery available course at Ivey to formu-late the strategy for Mainstreet. Whetherit was building a brand, running an effi-cient operation, financing growth ormaking a speech, I thought about the les-sons in terms of what they meant forMainstreet.

When I started my first business inCanada more than 20 years ago, it took

just 15 minutes and $50 to register thebusiness, its name, and receive the paperthat allowed me to open a business bankaccount. Everything was done in a morn-ing. Later, when my business expanded,it was a simple thing to incorporate. It

didnt take much time. Try doing that inPeru or Egypt. Registering a businesscould take two years or more. Bank loansare unheard of for small businesses. I

was glad I had chosen Canada as myhome base.

After I graduated, I took Mainstreetpublic. The people I had met showed methat building wealth, and holding on toit, needed a different strategy than beinga super successful real estate flipper. Istarted buying properties to hold. Imoved into a permanent office in one ofmy buildings.

Along the way, I have learned to see

opportunity where others see failure.

Heres an example. Calgarys ForestLawn area had 60 deserted cars andtrucks in its derelict parking lot, holes inliving-room walls, and all the telltalesigns of having been a druggie hangout. Iinvested $2.3 million, doubled the rents,and turned a slum into a middle-classcomplex.

The secret to my success in real estatein Canada is simple. I buy distressedmid- market properties and that fits

what I call my value chain model. I raisethose properties to a standard that mid-dle class renters are looking for.Mainstreet focuses on mid-marketapartment buildings. The large investorsignore these buildings, even though its65 percent of the market. So, it has beendominated by mom and pop operators

who have neglected this market for 35years. In many places, rent control hasseen to that. There is poor service for thetenants, no branding of the buildingsthat is shown in an abysmal level of qual-

ity. On top of that, we only buy buildingsthat are in foreclosure or are in roughshape. So we take over these buildings,

bring them up to our standards andincrease the revenue by 40 percent.

Today, Mainstreet occupies a uniqueniche: In between the small landlords atthe bottom and the giant property hold-ers such as Trizec and Brookfield at thetop. What I specialize in is multi-family,mid-tiered residential rental properties.I started in Alberta, and then moved

west to Vancouver and east to Toronto.Just nine years ago, the Globe and MailReport on Business magazine ranked my

company at the top of its list of biggest

profit gainers, with a 15,791 percentincrease!

As my Canadian real estate hold-ing began to grow, I found myselfgetting involved in buying land in

Belize as well. The country and Iseemed to discover each other at theright time. It is an English-speakingdemocracy with little poverty, andstill virgin tourist territory. Withonly 300,000 people, it has all theadvantages for expats: Offshore

banks protected by secrecy laws, adiving paradise second only to

Australias Great Barrier Reef,dozens of Mayan ruin sites, and 540species of wild birds.

I bought a 3,000-acre island andmarketed beach lots, only a few withprice tags of under $1 million.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a neighbor,and Madonna owns a nearby estate.Belize will be the next St Barts with-out the Euro trash. It has the bestfishing, the best diving, the best sail-

ing, white sand beaches, and the kind oflifestyle we all dream about.

My real estate life in Belize is, ofcourse, totally different from my one inCanada. In Belize we arent rebuilding,

but starting from scratch, building hous-es and condominiums on AmbergrisCaye. But there are ways my main busi-ness co-relates with what I do in Belize.First off, finding value. The reason I amin the multi-family game in Canada is

because of the opportunity that exists. Inthe Caribbean, I could have gone to StBarts, say, but the opportunity doesntexist there.

The second is timing. Just as it is agreat time to be in the rental apartment

business in Canada its been ignoredfor decades and the demand is there the same is true for Belize. While the so-called smart money was busy shoe-horn-ing development into Cancun or build-ing cheek-by-jowl apartments inBarbados and St Barts, Belize has

remained a paradise. And it will remainthat way because the government andpeople like me want to keep it that way.

Just being in Belize makes me a littlemore introspective than most entrepre-neurs. Outside my little paradise I tendto be what I call a triple-A type personal-ity. But a few days in Belize has me think-ing about who I am, and a big part ofthat is how grateful I am to have Canadaand an MBA, as a springboard to suc-cess.

Bob Dhillon, president, MainstreetEquity, Calgary, Alberta, is developing a3,000 acre island in Belize.



LEADERS MANTRA

Innovation is the key

As the world struggles with asteadily deteriorating eco-nomic meltdown, individuals,companies and countriesglobally are seeking to rede-

fine their roles in the new economy. Oneword rings true for all innovation.

Despite huge investments worldwideto establish globally competitive schoolsystems, superior technology incubators,aggressive capital venture initiatives anda business-friendly political environ-ment, we all must hang our heads for ourabysmally poor track record in sustain-able innovation.

Why do we fail?First of all, what do we

mean by innovation? Idefine innovation as aprocess through which eco-nomic or social value isextracted from knowledge. First, youmust have a creative idea. Next, you mustgenerate enthusiasm for this ideaamongst those that will finance and helpdeliver on this idea. Then, you mustoperationalize the idea so that maximum

benefit can be drawn from it. Finally andmost importantly, you must ensure thatthe processes are developed to sustainthe operation in a sound business modelto fully leveraged the societal and eco-nomic value.

Where does this innovation processbreak down? It is evident on a globallevel that we produce fine minds thatspawn amazing ideas in medicine, enter-tainment, retail, recreation and business.But for every one of these success stories,there are thousands of failures. Indeed,two out of every three businesses fail

before their fifth anniversary.Innovation and the start-upThe Datac Doblin Group found that

the innovation initiative success rateover all industries is a mere 4.5 percent.The top three obstacles to innovation inlarger firms, as stated by the BostonConsulting Group, include long develop-ment times, lack of coordination and arisk-adverse culture. It is proven thatinnovation pays shareholders. A study ofglobal innovation firms found that totalshareholder return reached 14.3 percent

while the S&P 1100 returned only 11.1percent.

Finding a solutionHow can we all effect the changes nec-

essary to change this momentum of

innovation failure? Business schools can

influence a new generation of businessleaders to assist in the necessary culturalshift that must take place around the

world. But many schools are lettingeveryone down teaching from a text-

book point of view rather than from reallife. Most business schools teach busi-ness practices that belong to a bygoneera an era of big stable corporations inan expanding economy. Few, if any, busi-ness professors have any real businessexperience much less experience inthe unique challenges of entrepreneurialstart-ups. Few business schools have theinsight or the expertise to provide train-ing in business skills that are designed tocomplement the considerable technolo-gy expertise that our schools have beenspitting out for years.

Worldwide, just a few universities havebroken this mold. Case in point, Wilfrid

Laurier Universitys School of Businessand Economics. Laurier has recentlyintroduced a wildly successful new MBAprogram, an MBA in innovation andentrepreneurship. Within this program,students will not only be exposed to newand creative courses focused specificallyon the challenges of entrepreneurship,

but they will also have access to theEntrepreneurship Accelerator Programto help them found their own new com-pany. Students will complete their MBAprogram not only with a degree but also

with their own business ready to go.Lauriers curriculum provides a strong

foundation in economic analysis, tech-

nology management, business strategy,finance, accounting and marketing andpolicy specifically tailored for the entre-preneur. The program provides knowl-edge, skills and strategic perspectivesrequired for leaders and senior managersin larger companies as well. All of this isdone through small classes and researchseminars that support interactive learn-ing and maximum student-faculty dia-logue and is informed by faculty on thecutting edge of research in innovationand entrepreneurship.

We have had a steady stream of entre-preneurs through our doors over the past

four years since we established theSchlegel Center for Entrepreneurship.Let me introduce you to just a few, like

Alkarim Ladha, who started SimbioticCorporation, that produces water filtra-tion bottles for use around the world. OrRachna and Mona Prasad, who foundedGourmantra, that produces pre-pack-aged, authentic Indian cuisine. Anupscale Meal-in-a-Box, it has beenpicked up by Sobeys, Longos, Loeb andFood Basics here in Ontario. Or MattInglot who initiated Tilted Pixel, a popu-lar Web site consulting and development

business with a clever platform that pro-vides the absolute easiest-to-update andmost modern Web site in the market. OrMeghan Kirwin of iNERGY, HRSolutions a human resource consult-ing firm that makes employee trainingeasy, affordable and tailored to specificneeds. Or Sean Sinclair, who is starting acompany to provide custom designed,high performance mountain bikes. Or

Amira Bayoudh, who is looking at theimport and distribution of specialtyTunisian olive oils. Or Mike Johnson,

who is investigating the import andonline distribution of specialty products

for the disabled population. Or ToniBothwell, who is starting up a new con-sulting company in the pharma and drugindustry tech transfer and regulatoryspace. Or Domenic Stalteri, who is look-ing to combine several complementarypractitioners in one location one stopshopping for your wellness needs.

At Laurier, we believe that entrepre-neurs and innovation will be the forcethat eventually drives economic recoveryaround the world.

Ginny Dybenko is dean, School ofBusiness and Economics, WilfridLaurier University.

GINNYDYBENKO



LEADERS MANTRA

MBA curriculum in the

global economyA

n ongoing debate amongeducators in businessschools around the world isthe impact of the economicmeltdown on the MBA cur-

riculum. Since most well known busi-ness schools deliver management edu-cation within universities, where nor-mally the approach to education ismore of continuous improvement

rather than pursuance of reactivestrategies to changes in the businessenvironment, it is generally expectedthat there will not be drastic changesto the MBA curriculum in response tothe current economic times.

However, it is prudent to raise thequestion whether the current manage-ment education designed on the func-tional pillars of organizations, is onlyreally suitable for an era of global

business and economic interdepend-ence. Since the 1990s, the new eco-nomic order has been globalizationand privatization. This process hasmade all nations interdependent oneach other because one economic shockrapidly spreads through the global econ-omy. Under these conditions, we have toassure ourselves that students trained in

business schools are prepared to provideglobal solutions to global problems.

Taking a hard look at the current glob-al recession, it is not entirely dissimilarto other recessions or down phases ofeconomic cycles that have occurred. It

would be fair to say that this situationreflects other recessions 1974, 1981-1982, 1991-1992, 2001-2002, etc each

of which had a different trigger: The oilembargo, inflation, tech sector bubbleand burst, etc. In each of these situa-tions, recovery has taken place and man-agement education helped facilitate theprogress. So, what is different now thatshould cause us to reconsider the MBAcurriculum in any business school? Bymany accounts, the severity of the pres-ent recession and the so far unseen trig-gers like subprime mortgages leading tothe destruction of the global bankingsystem, make this period different thanprevious. Also, unlike other recessions,since we are operating in a highly inter-

connected global economy, it is not a sur-

prise that this economic meltdown has amore global impact. Almost all businesssectors are experiencing the meltdownand therefore it is fair to comment thatthe sectoral impact is also different thistime and has much more of a dominoeffect, unlike other times. For example,the impact of the technology sector burstof 2001 was more restricted to that sec-tor, to a certain extent. So, diversificationof the risk is a much bigger challenge.

It is also important to note the role ofgovernments and regulations in this

recovery and their impact on a primarilyfree enterprise society.

So, while the market corrections aretaking place, it is expected that good

business models will survive and man-agement education delivered throughthe MBA curriculum in business schools

will continue to contribute to the neweconomy. The key to success of the MBAcurriculum in these times is flexibilityand adaptability to new environmentalinformation. While the theoreticalframeworks of the academic disciplinesthat form the backbone of managementeducation remain consistent, flexibility

in the MBA curriculum can bring to the

forefront management issues that arerelevant to the times, perhaps throughcase studies. This assists in shapingthe future business leaders who mayface a cultural shift in the emergingglobal network.

Dr Hugh Munro, director of MBAprograms at the Wilfrid LaurierUniversity School of Business andEconomics, suggests: The concepts in

MBA programs are still very relevanttoday managers need to be moreeffective in applying them in theirthinking to solve todays extremelychallenging issues. To that end, therehas been a shift in the development of

thought processes in ourMBA programs toreflect a more integra-tive perspective inaddressing businessissues. This includes

more interdisciplinary analyticalprocesses but also more balanced per-formance considerations, for example,socially responsible as well as finan-

cially prudent outcomes. To a lesserextent, but also an evident trend, is theneed for more innovative versus conven-tional thinking. These developments inmanagement thinking are particularlyappropriate for succeeding in todays tur-

bulent economic times.For the longest time, finance and more

specifically investment banking, hasbeen a popular career path for MBAs.While this sector has been seriouslyaffected by the [economic] collapse,

business school professors say that the

finance programs are not likely to changeas much in response as the expectationsof graduates. Finance skills that are par-ticularly relevant to the current economy such as cost avoidance, cost controland risk management deserve atten-tion. Certainly with Wall Street not ableto absorb a large percentage of MBAgraduates, new graduates cannot expectlucrative salaries or Wall Street firms asentry points, but should look for oppor-tunities in smaller organizations, docu-mented to be exponentially more innumber globally. Investment banks thathandle mergers and acquisitions will still

need qualified new MBA graduates, but

MITALIDE



LEADERS MANTRA

maybe with specialized knowledge to fillspecific market needs. These economictimes have become the driver for focus-ing on corporate and global governance,risk management, revenue managementand ethics and MBA programs with theflexibility of nurturing these topics will

be particularly relevant.No doubt the external orientation and

how businesses are dealing with theenvironment in these times is of concernto management education. For example,all the rules of valuation are probably not

working as the assumptions have to bemodified in the M&A curriculum.

Similarly, the new reality has brought tothe forefront the stresses and strain ofdownsizing and restructuring normallycovered in the organization behaviorcurriculum. As employers are no longerable to offer the guarantees that were thenorm in strong economic times, businessprofessors of human resource manage-ment are raising the issues of the moreprevalent contract employment in theMBA curriculum. While the theoreticalframework around pricing, distributionor marketing communication will not berevamped, we have to admit to changesin consumer behavior due to the eco-

nomic times. It is therefore natural to

raise issues around luxury goods market-ing and conspicuous consumption versus

brands around necessary items. Onceagain, all of these issues can beaddressed with relevant business cases.

A proactive approach at Laurier has beento incorporate the experiences of cooper-ative education, business consultingprojects and international study tours inclassrooms. This best practice methodhas been particularly useful to makeadjustments to the MBA curriculum inthis continuously changing economicenvironment.

Traditionally, the role of the govern-

ment has not been a major component inthe MBA curriculum. As the role of gov-ernments unfolds in the current econo-my, a proactive approach would be toinclude this in the curriculum. It isexpected that in emerging nations likeChina recovery will be relatively quickerand stronger due to the role of the gov-ernment. The non-traditional fiscal poli-cies adopted in this recession such aslarge scale government bailouts, alsodirects us to adjustments to the MBAcurriculum in the future by introducingtopics on public policy, regulations, andthe role of the governments.

In these economic times, it is particu-

larly important to maintain the quality ofknowledge transfer so that managementeducation is sustainable. It is generallyexpected that the ideal MBA candidatein the future economy will probably be a

well-rounded leader who understandsthe basics of the core functional areas of

business. Since globalization played animportant role in how widespread thisrecession was, multinationals should beable to learn from different economiesand strike a balance. For example, inSouth, Asia the recovery of economies

with strong manufacturing sector China, Vietnam, etc or knowledge sec-

tor India should be closely observedand developed into case studies. The cul-tural growth and education emergingfrom these experiences can only benefitthe MBA graduate in the years to come

where leadership, transparency, ability toanticipate and flexibility will be valuableskills.

Finally, ending with a tone of opti-mism, the future for the creation of atruly global MBA curriculum and degreeis optimal now.

Mitali De is associate dean, School ofBusiness and Economics, WilfridLaurier University.



LEADERS MANTRA

Managers for the future

Whenever an economiccrisis erupts in theUnited States, a coun-try where the MBAprogram was invent-

ed, the relevance of graduate businessdegrees is called into question. Thecurrent economic crisis is likewise

blamed on the greed of managers.An assumption is made that MBA

programs are somehow responsiblefor the crisis. There is no empiricalevidence that the decision-makersresponsible for the meltdown in thefinancial services and housing devel-

opment/mortgage sectors have anMBA or a business degree.In the absence of hard evi-dence, it could well be pos-sible that most of the deci-sion-makers who precipi-tated the financial crisis didnot have an MBA and per-haps could have benefited from one.

We also need to recognize that thereare bad apples in every profession and it

would be unfair to tar an entire profes-sion based on the actions of a few indi-

viduals. During the financial and hous-ing crisis, most other industries havecontinued to function efficiently and eth-ically.

Regardless of the arguments presentedabove, MBA programs in general haveresponded less than admirably to theethical, societal and sustainability chal-lenges that the business world has facedover the last couple of decades. For themost part, most programs have respond-ed by adding courses in ethics or corpo-rate social responsibility, or recently dur-ing the current crisis, courses in under-standing the reasons for the economicmeltdown. Courses on the interface

between business and society have beenaround for around three decades. Sincemost MBA programs have included suchcourses as electives, the implicit assump-tion is that it is critical for all MBA grad-uates to understand that business isembedded in, and inseparable from,society.

The reactive response of most businessschools is evident if we trace the historyof ethics courses. Revelations of severalaccounting frauds in the 1980s andMichael Milkens indictment on 98counts of racketeering and securitiesfraud in 1989 led to a rash of business

ethics courses in MBA programs. The

pressure to launch ethics coursesdeclined during the economic exuber-ance of the late 1990s and was revived,once again, after the Enron and WorldCom scandals in the early 2000s.Environmental disasters such as theExxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and theUnion Carbide tragedy in Bhopal led toMBA programs adding elective coursesin environmental management or busi-ness sustainability. Since these coursesare electives, students who opt for themself-select into these topics. These areprecisely the students who do not needthese courses in the first instance. Thisalso sends the signal that only a fewMBA students need to be ethical, social-ly responsible, and concerned about thesustainability of the operations of their

companies.Global environmental problems such

as climate change make it evident thatsolutions to these problems involve radi-cal innovations, the transfer of new tech-nologies to developing countries, reverseknowledge flows from the developing

world to the developed, and the facilita-tion of grassroots economic capacity

building. Social equity, environmentalprotection, and economic growth areintertwined. For example, marginalizedand poor societies often survive by burn-ing wood for fuel and via slash and burncultivation, all of which exacerbate cli-

mate change. The need for a holistic

examination of the social and ecolog-ical impacts of business has beenmagnified by globalization and tradeliberalization. Just as globalization iscriticized for several negative envi-ronmental impacts, it is also criti-cized for the uneven distribution ofeconomic benefits, with some seg-ments of society experiencing areduction in quality of life, loss of cul-ture and heritage, reduced social wel-fare, and erosion of economic securi-ty.

MBA programs are at the cusp of agreat opportunity to increase their

relevance in educating managers ofthe future who will lead radicalchange help address global problems

by creating value economically,socially, and ecologically. MBA gradu-ates must not only be able to managecore functional areas such as market-ing, finance, accounting, operations,and strategy, but they must alsounderstand how to make decisions in

a globalized multi-stakeholder, multi-cultural, and dynamically complex worldthat must develop sustainably. At theJohn Molson School of Business, we havemade ethics mandatory for all MBA stu-dents and have begun to integrate CSR,sustainability, governance, globalizationand stakeholder engagement into thecore. We still have a long way to go before

we develop integrated projects, teachingcases, simulations and other teachingmaterials that enable an examination ofthe economic, ethical, social and envi-ronmental impacts of business opera-tions along the entire supply chain from cradle to grave, from one genera-tion to the next, from one species toanother, and from one society to another.Our goal is to equip managers to under-

stand how local and regional ecosystemsand communities impact and interact

with global ecosystems and communi-ties, and how they can develop capabili-ties for collaborative process of sharedlearning, knowledge creation and inte-gration. Via such approaches, MBA pro-grams will move from a reactive to aproactive strategy of educating managersfor the future and avoid questions aboutthe relevance of MBA programs whenev-er a fresh business crisis erupts.

Dr Sanjay Sharma is dean, John MolsonSchool of Business, Concordia Univer-sity, Montreal.

SANJAYSHARMA



LEADERS MANTRA

Learning from the meltdown

What did the greatfinancial meltdownof 2008-2009teach the world? Inmy view, the fol-

lowing are the takeaways.1. A short-term focus is counter-

productive to long-term financialwell-being. The incentive structurefor managers and for shareholdershas been heavily geared toward theshort term. If managers could showgains over the next quarter, theirorganizations rewarded them with

bonuses and the markets rewarded

the organizations with an elevatedstock price. In such an incentivestructure it should be no surprisethat both managers and organiza-tions will seek to game the systemsuch that the short term looks rosy,

be this, as it may, at the expense ofthe long term. The incentive struc-ture has resulted in a mortgaging ofthe future to secure temporary andlargely illusory gains.

2. A restricted focus on key financialmetrics is counterproductive to long-term financial well-being. By focusingattention on only a handful of financialmetrics such as revenue growth, the sys-tem fostered a culture whereby man-agers within organizations chased rev-enues, or indeed even manufactured rev-enues as in the case of banks in theUnited States and companies such asSatyam in India, thereby mortgaging thelong term to secure a temporary andlargely illusory short term.

3. The financial well-being of the USaffects the financial well-being of theworld.All the talk of the rise of regionalpowerhouses in Europe and Asia aside, itremains the case that the US is the 800-

pound gorilla of global economies.Where it goes, the rest of the world fol-lows. This is especially true for a countrylike India, where so much of its exportsin key sectors such as information tech-nology depend on the health of the USeconomy. Considering that 60 percent ofInfosyss earnings come from the US,multiply that across the IT firms in Indiaand you get the picture of the extent to

which India is dependent on the US.What does all this mean for the MBA

curriculum?In my view, the MBA curriculum needs

to unfold across three key strategic plat-

forms.

1. Multiple Perspectives. It is impera-tive for students to be exposed to thehuman and environmental costs/bene-fits of engaging in commercial activity, inaddition, of course, to the traditionalfocus on the financial costs/benefits.Consider a lending officer in a US bankat the height of the subprime boom

where they were being pressured to giveloans to people regardless of their abilityto repay. The new MBA curriculum

would give the lending officer the tools toreflect on the human impact of theiractivities. It would force the officer to askthe question: Am I helping this individ-ual by giving them this loan or am I tyingthem into a potential cycle of debt anddespair?

2. Stakeholder Model. In addition toviewing opportunities/threats from mul-tiple perspectives, the new MBA shouldgive students the tools to consider theentire stakeholder network that is impli-cated in their actions. It should enablestudents to routinely inquire, what

would stakeholder x, for example,employees, say, if the company engagedin behavior y? By giving students thetools to consider the impact of businessdecisions across stakeholders, the qualityof decisions would improve significantly.The twin traps of a short-term focus anda short-range focus in terms of range

of metrics would be overcome through

both the multiple perspectivesapproach and the adoption ofthe stakeholder model of deci-sion making.

3. Globalization. The finalstrategic platform entails con-sidering the interplay betweenlocal actions and the globalcontext. In doing this, studentscan begin to feel empoweredthat actions that that take intheir local organizations canactually add up to have signifi-cant positive impacts on theglobe. Thus, for example, the

simple act of an organizationprocuring fair-trade coffeehas a signifi-cant impacton how coffeeis cultivated

and on labor-managementrelationships in this industry

worldwide.Keeping it real

In my conversation with Canadianeducators, I tell them the MBA curricu-lum in Canada is actually quite robust interms of the ideas discussed above. Be itthe commitment to integrative thinkingat Rotman, the drive to strategic leader-ship at Ivey, or the commitment to thestakeholder model and the triple bottomline at Schulich, all in their own waysrecognize the importance of keeping itreal and looking at the long term.

My discussions with counterparts atleading US schools, as well as discus-sions of proposed curriculum changes inthe leading US newspapers such as TheNew York Times and The Wall StreetJournal, indicate that the curriculum inmany of the leading US schools needs to

be significantly updated to reflect thethemes mentioned in this article.

This is not to say that Canadian schoolsshould rest easy. Quite the contrary. Thetime is now for us collectively to showthe world like the Canadian bankshave that our model works and isready for adoption. As Canadian busi-ness schools, this is our time to grasp themantle of leadership

Ashwin W Joshi is director of the MBAprogram at the Schulich School ofBusiness, Toronto. July 1, he will becomeexecutive director of the Schulich IndiaMBA in Mumbai.

ASHWINVJOSHI

Ashwin Joshi, right, with a student

and a colleague



LEADERS MANTRA

What companies are looking for

First up, some questions to pon-der: What are South Asian

business students good at?What gives us the edge inNorth America? What are

South Asian business students not goodat? What should South Asian businessstudents do to improve themselves?

One of the things I teach my MBA stu-dents are to talk in sound bytes and to tryto be memorable and opinionated asfuture leaders. Theres no such thing astalent shortage. Although there are plen-ty of people around the world, theres aleadership shortage. And just like oilprices, right now prices and demand aredown, but if you think it is over you are

wrong. The best companies, not neces-sarily the largest but medium-sizedentrepreneurs, technology firms, family

enterprises, are aligning themselves;they are looking for great companies to

buy; they are looking for great technolo-gy; and they are looking for great people.

Let us take a look at whats happeningaround the world. The G-20 and theInternational Monetary Fund are look-ing for emerging markets China andIndia to help the world come out ofthis global mess that we are in now.

In Canada, we are looking at the gov-ernment getting into business, not somuch in the banks but investing in infra-structure. In Canada, some of the oppor-tunities are in infrastructure, wealth

management, natural resources and in

corporate social responsibility. In theUnited States, investments are also ininfrastructure, health care, finance andalso in new ventures. They are not goingto get out of the mess that we are in now

with the government infrastructurespending. That may help slow GDP con-traction somewhat, but they have to getout of it through emerging technology.

Entrepreneurs and innovators willhave to once again lead the way for theUS and its primary trading partners.New technology, green innovation,

biotechnology, health care, new ventures these are all things that India, the USand Canada have been leaders in.

If you are thinking about working inCanada, or working in India, please beadvised those are not the only twooptions. Think of global centers of excel-

lence. Where capital flows, thats whereinvestments in people occur. GoldmanSachs is one of the global companies

where most MBAs around the worldwould like to work. In my entire 12 yearsat Schulich, Goldman Sachs in Canadahas posted three opportunities. GoldmanSachs in Asia, Hong Kong, in Singapore,to a lesser degree in Shanghai, andMumbai has posted hundreds of jobs same company, different locations. Manyof you [students] are from India or havefamily in India; you have a huge advan-tage over students that have never beenoutside of Canada or the US. The best

advice I can give regarding uncovering

employment opportunities is follow the

money.I do not mean try to get the largestsalaries, but actually know where thecapital is flowing. When companies gettheir funding, they expand. Dont waitfor a job posting. Approach them first.

Do not focus on mature markets.Please focus on emerging markets. Thereare two great areas to start your career inthe current down market: they are thenonprofit and government sectors.

You need to create your own job oppor-tunities or start your own business whencompanies stop hiring. Every time that I

visited India, I was impressed by the

strong entrepreneurialculture. Canada and the

Western world need moreof this entrepreneurialculture. Look for theleaks in the value chainsaround companies.

Where are companies losing their effec-tiveness? Which items are companiesnot getting to and what is the dollar

value? Think of barriers to entry, whichsectors or businesses are easier for you toget into a business and keep others out?Focus on industries or companies thatmake it difficult for someone to compete

with them. For example, the McKinseysof this world, the IBMs of this world, are

busy charging $10,000 a day for consult-ing. If you want to be a consultant, lookat where are the gaps. Where do the bigfirms not tread because their overhead istoo high? Theres a whole industry there Tata Consulting Services, CGI andothers focusing on adding value, focus-ing on technology integration, focusingon implementation and change manage-ment. Think about that as potentialfuture career opportunities.

South Asian students are very good at

analyzing situations and coming up withsolutions. South Asian students and pro-fessionals are sometimes challenged inknowing how to effectively communicatetheir recommendations in the most pro-fessional, persuasive and compelling

way.Another trend in Canada and global

business that will affect all of you is adecoupling away from the dependence ofthe US as our primary trading country.Thats a growing trend. Theres less trustin the politics, in the business practices,governance, reporting requirements andthe confidence that the US would be able

to pull us out of the current global reces-

JOSEPHPALUMBO


12/36

12 India Abroad June 2009

LEADERS MANTRA

sion. What can you do? You havegot very different perspectives:First, you are in Canada, not theUS. We try to enforce that asmuch as possible in our school.

And second, youve got a very

Asian and Indian global perspec-tive. Global trade in productsand services is big part of Chinaand Indias success. Be and actlike a global citizen.Enthusiastically seek out oppor-tunities to work in the globalcenters of excellence, on the bestprojects, with the best teams and

with the best clients.About entrepreneurship, do it

on somebody elses dollars first.Get trained, call on their clients,

work on great projects and thengo to your own company or start

your own business consulting.When we go into India and sell

the Schulich School, our pro-grams and executive training of

which I am part, we are told byCEOs and senior leaders thatthey have full confidence in their Indianpeople. We are told that they areabsolutely phenomenal technically butthey do not always know how tolead people, how to connect thedots. South Asians are really goodproject managers; they understandtechnology, they understand thefinancial statements and technicalaspects of an organization. Theydont necessarily know how to con-nect each of these skills, how tocommercialize it, how to engage anorganization, how to communicatea strategy and get people alignedaround that strategy. So, thinkabout your competencies and com-fort with communication skills,presentation skills, interpersonalskills, cross-cultural skills and team

building. All those personal skillsare crucial.

A February 2009 survey of execu-

tives onExecunet.com asked whereare the jobs in the next six months:90 percent of the positions you can-not do without an MBA or theMBA would be a huge advantage.So, MBA is the right choice. Most of thepositions were in business developmentand customer value creation roles.

On your university campus, do not relyon just the 100 or whatever the numberof companies that come out on campusto offer those opportunities. Althoughthey make the job search process easierand make you feel that you are really

wanted, they may not be your best com-

panies. You have to think about what are

your value and cultural preferences,what are your technical preferences andwhere will you do well, what you did in

your life, etc. Thats what you should do.Your passion is your heart, your head isyour dollar and you want to make somemoney or you want to make sure that

your education continues beyond educa-tion and therefore you have to opt forcenters of excellence.

So, let me summarize:1. Follow the money, the flow of capital

means investments in new projects and

contracting for employment.

2. Match your head and heart and youwill be very successful.

3. Be a global citizen. Excel in workingacross cultures.

4. Focus on the transfer of yourskills. Focus on critical thinking,problem solving, value creation, andeffective relationship building.Those transferable skills will be withus no matter what sector, whatindustry, what functions, what yourgeographical targets are.

5. Ensure that you always under-stand the business, understand thetechnical aspects. It is always impor-tant. If you look at the TSX, DowJones or any major stock index in the

world, you will find that companiesare getting more complex engi-neering, accounting, IT are great, but

what more do you bring to the table?It is not the best engineers or thetechnical person that rise to the top.

It is the person who knows how tonegotiate, play the political game, getpeople to rally around the strategy, isa great person in the boardroom andthe frontline.

Those are the skills you have to get.How do you get those skills? In class?

Yes, but outside the class as well. Half ofyour learning must be outside of class.Organizations will invest in talent thatcan apply their learning in a global, real-

world context.

Joseph Palumbo is executive director,career development, Schulich School ofBusiness, York University.

THERES NO SUCHTHING AS TALENT

SHORTAGE.THERESA LEADERSHIP

SHORTAGE.AND JUST LIKE OILPRICES, RIGHT NOW

PRICES AND DEMANDARE DOWN, BUT IF

YOU THINK IT IS OVERYOU ARE WRONG
http://execunet.com/http://execunet.com/http://execunet.com/



LEADERS MANTRA

Focus on the future

The changes taking place inIndia and China are seismic. Idont have to emphasize thispoint to you MBA studentsfrom India studying in

Canadian business schools.You have the great advantage of a

superb Canadian education that you cantake to whichever part of the globe youchoose to make home. The FinancialTimesa few years ago noted, companiesthat do not yet have an India strategy arein danger of being left behind. All of you

will be the strategists and leaders advis-ing us on how to get it right.

When you combine Indiasemergence with China, you cansee why BusinessWeekstated in2005: Never has the world seenthe simultaneous, sustained take-offs of two nations that togetheraccount for one-third of the planets pop-ulation. Our interest with India is bestsummed in the words of Raja Mohan, aleading Indian strategic thinker, when heobserved in 2006: India is arriving onthe world stage as the first large, eco-nomically powerful, culturally vibrant,multiethnic, multi-religious democracyoutside of the geographic West.

In my view, it is this combination ofeconomic rise with geopolitics thatmakes the study of India a most com-pelling one to understand. All the otherreasons that are usually cited democ-racy, widespread use of the English lan-guage, rule of law are profoundly rele-

vant, but by themselves provide anincomplete picture of our current andfuture interest with India.

An area that has not garnered muchattention, although it should, and it will,is the India-China relationship, both onthe economic front, where the bilateral

numbers are increasing at a phenomenalrate, but also in the political arena wheretheir relationship will be more nuanced.Strategic concerns on Chinas actions onIndia borders, in Asia and beyond Indian Ocean, Africa, diversification ofenergy sources are all factors which

will make these two giants collaboratorsand competitors. China and India have

been dealing with each other for over2,000 years. In Dr Amartya Sens highlyreadable The Argumentative Indian, theNobel Laureate devotes an entire chap-ter to the interactions between these twogreat civilizations. Then of course is the

fact that India exported Buddhism to

China.While there is this relationship stretch-

ing over many centuries, about four anda half decades ago, a seminal event tookplace between them. The month ofOctober 1962 will forever be etched inour memories for the Cuban missile cri-sis. That same month, half a world away,China and India were at war, whichended swiftly and decisively in Chinasfavor. It left an indelible imprint inIndian strategic thinking.

The India-China relationship will needto be understood, and as you can see, not

just from the business perspective butfrom a much wider lens. As businessleaders, if you can combine the depth of

your business education with thebreadth of politics and history, you willbe able to advise your organizations evenmore strongly on the global develop-ments that will take shape in the coming

decades. To do this, we all will need to:1. Demonstrate an attitudinal shift.

From a conceptual standpoint, we needto recognize the breadth and the perma-nence of this rise. According to a BCGreport three years ago, which has since

been updated, 21 Indian companies areon the list of top 100 global challengers,

with China at 44. Interestingly, fiveIndian automotive companies made it tothis list. India has emerged as one of thefastest growing car markets in the worldand the production of the Nano is fur-ther testament. Similarly, in the fall of2007, BusinessWeeklisted Asias top 50

performing companies. Of these, 12 were

Indian or India-based; more interesting-ly, only one was from the tech sector.2. Understand geopolitical factors.

India is becoming the swing power witha relevant role in international affairs, G-20, the Gulf Cooperation Council, theShanghai Cooperation Organization andthe African Union. Next years G-8 lead-ers summit will take place in Muskoka,Ontario. Perhaps you can organize thisconference again next year and provideadvice to those leaders on what you thinkneeds to happen.

3. Understand the need for physicalinfrastructure. For all of its vaunted

strengths, Indias ascent cannot maskcertain harsh realities. The contrasts andcontradictions are very much in evi-dence: Brilliant scientific and technicalpersonnel and still 40 percent adult illit-eracy; spanking state-of-the-art researchand corporate facilities, but located adja-cent to decrepit physical infrastructure.Significant opportunities are there in thelong term. India is increasing its infra-structure spending. Canada has greatexpertise and you are the perfect conduitto make the key relationships happen.

4. Focus on higher Education. Half ofIndias population is under 25 years ofage and the middle class is clamoring forgood education for their children.Canadian universities and colleges arecollaborating with Indian ones. TheCanadian brand is taking shape inIndian minds and again you can play ahuge role in advancing this cause in thecoming years.

5. Devise Diaspora strategies.Important Diaspora organizations likethe Indian Institute of Technology Alum-ni Association gather across North

America every year. You can create yourown Indian graduates of Canadian

business schools! I assure you we willpay attention to what you have to say.This year you have three institutions,

why not make it provincial, and indeednational?

6. Not ignore non-profit organizations.Your business education and knowledgeare deeply relevant in this sector both inNorth America and more so in India. InIndia recently, I was struck by the small

but growing section of leaders withMBAs who are making a real differencein advancing the public good.

Kasi Rao is a consultant with several

Canadian universities.

KASIRAO



ALUMNIADVICE

A degree in commonsense

Ihad an opportunity toearn my MBA degree in1985 from the Universityof New York and received

what I refer to as a doseof formal commonsense edu-cation. I have not looked backsince.

I believe that earning myMBA was the best thing thatever happened to me andhelped me to grow as well as torediscover myself. This founda-tion guided me in opening a

whole new world of opportuni-

ties in my career. I first recog-nized these opportunities as Irose to senior vice president ofa large company from the posi-tion of a mid-level manager.

With my education in hand, Itook advantage of all opportu-nities that presented themselves to me,allowing me to become an astute busi-ness owner and entrepreneur.

Would I have been able to accomplishwho I am without an MBA? I really donthave to think about this question; theanswer is very simple: Without an MBAI would not have been able to accomplishall of the things I have in my life. MyMBA has taught me the desire to suc-ceed and without that desire I may nothave pursued opportunities nor have

been able to achieve the successes I have.Please allow me to share a few

thoughts about how obtaining an MBAchanged my life and how it can change

yours.The first day I walked into my class, my

professor said, What all of you will getout from this degree is how to use com-monsense in a formalized fashion; 95percent of people have commonsense but

unfortunately 95 percent of people donot use commonsense or do not knowhow to use it. That was certainly a goodstarting point.

Leadership is a quality that we all thinkwe have. We all assume we were bornwith this quality. I come from the schoolof thought that leaders are not born butmade. We all have some leadership qual-ities. An MBA degree will help youunleash those qualities to become trueleaders.

Innovation and creativity always putyou ahead of the crowd. The questionyou have to ask yourself is: Do you want

to follow the crowd or do you want the

crowd to follow you? By enrolling your-self in an MBA program, you are alreadyahead of many individuals who are stillthinking or considering pursuing thisgoal. Out of the box thinking is finally in!

Making sound decisions in any busi-ness environment is considered a trait.These traits are always in short supply.The days of crystal-balling and guessingare over. In order to make intelligentdecisions, you need to take calculatedand educated risks. I strongly believe anMBA degree will give you the tools andfoundation to ensure educated guessesand calculated risks are taken.

Nobody today wants to be known as amediocre or an average person. We all

want to be excellent at whatever we do. Ican tell you that in order to achieveexcellence you must first establish asense of purpose and then a sense ofaccomplishment. Once you earn your

MBA degree, you will have defined yoursense of purpose.

Group dynamics working with peo-ple is an important tool to achieve anysuccess today. Companies today continueto promote and market that theirstrength is their team. Working with

your peer group of students, listeningand participating in these sessions estab-lishes a sound footing to acquire thesenecessary skills.

In todays environment a debate oftenleads to the question: Is it really worth itto obtain an MBA? I often hear the fol-lowing arguments:

I dont have the time. Well, make time

then! Time management is inyour control. Manage yourtime and dont let time manage

you.I dont have the financial

resources. That is an impor-tant consideration. The onlything I can suggest is that get apart-time job, or considergoing to school part time. I canassure you that even if youhave to get a loan to earn thisdegree, it will be one of the bestinvestments in your life.

MBAs are

dime a dozen.Sure they are,

but if you donthave an MBA

you will be inthe category of a penny adozen. Its all relative.

I believe in practical work experience Idont want to be bookish. Great line byobtaining your MBA you have some

bookish smarts to go with your workexperience, making you extremely mar-ketable.

Apparently, MBA students today donot command the salaries they once did.Too many MBAs chasing too few jobs.This is true, but lets look at the otherside of the coin. Leadership qualities,sound decision-making and the ability tomake informed decisions are more criti-cal than ever in todays economic envi-ronment. In these times, the fittest and

best-experienced leaders will survive andprevail.

Yes, it is also true that MBA graduatestoday are not compensated as they wereprior to the economic slump. However,everyone else earns less also whether

you are a corporation, individual or even

government.Remember, when there is too much

competition, you need the competitiveedge to be in the 5 percent category ofleaders. By obtaining an MBA, you willhave earned that competitive edge.

Todays economic climate poses manychallenges. These challenges can alsocreate opportunities. An MBA will allow

you to explore opportunities that arisefrom challenges.

Also remember, the knowledge andskill sets you acquire with an MBA willoutlast any economic downturn.

Ajay Virmani is president, Cargojet

AJAYVIRMANI



LEADERS MANTRA

Focus on yourself

The current economic environ-ment has put tremendousstrain on all of us and definite-ly on new MBA graduates of2009. While students should

be aware of this, they shouldnt be direct-ed in their efforts by this.

Their dividend will come from focus-ing on themselves and how well they areable to interact and network with people

who may be able to open doors for them.A solid interaction with just three to fourinfluential individuals can be more valu-able than applying endlessly in responseto job advertisements, etc.

Networking is not abouthow many hands you pressor how big your rolodex

becomes. If you focus onjust one or two individualsand ensure that they willremember you and become motivated toconnect with you and your needs, then

your mission is accomplished.Success is not a continuous stateIt is ironic that we keep addressing

individuals as successful as though suc-cess is a continuous state. The reality isthat success is just a point in time, anevent in ones life and the more luckyones have many such points in their life.

If you sat with a successful business-man like Bob Dhillon in a relaxed envi-ronment so that he is open to share hisinformation with you, then I would guesshe might convey that in his professionaland business life he has encounteredmore misses than he has had hits.

Let me take my own case. Five of usstarted our software venture in late 1990

with an initial investment of $1,000, andafter three-and-a-half years it gotacquired by Sun Microsystems for a low-three-digit-million dollars. This was def-

initely the pinnacle of our professionaland entrepreneurial life. However, today

when I am referred to as a highly suc-cessful individual or a business rolemodel, I cringe as I know that I have not

been able to replicate any more such suc-cess points or events in our life.

Having said that, I think that entrepre-neurship is one of the best pursuits ofexcellence in ones life. The highly effec-tive entrepreneurs are good at under-standing the power of multiple layers ofleverage. It is multiplicity of leveragethat is going to win because the thin edgeof winning is so thin that the multiplici-

ty of leverage would be the clincher.

Pursuit of passionEntrepreneurship should never be

viewed as a career option; it is about pur-suit of passion to create wealth. Anentrepreneur by nature pursues oppor-tunity of wealth creation that is beyondhis/her current resources to pursue thesame. To succeed in entrepreneurial ven-ture, the defining trait is intensity in pur-suing your passion about the venture.The success comes with a mixture ofteam, timing and talent and I wouldeven say that in that order of importance.

Assembling the team and then havingthe emotional talent to keep it when youare successful or when you face challeng-ing times is what differentiates whether

you will be massively successful or not.The next important aspect is workingsmartly but also working very longhours. The definition of having a bal-anced life needs to be redefined. I read

about Carol Bartz, who recently becameCEO of Yahoo! She said if her husbanddoesnt put their dinner appointmentthree months in advance then it is mostlikely that they are not having dinnertogether. But, they say that they have anormal life. They have redefined what isnormalcy and each of you who aspires to

be successful CEOs and entrepreneurswill have to understand what is normalin your extended life and how would it fit

with your pursuit of passion.Mindset changeAs you enter the workplace after your

MBA degree, you would not be served

well by the industrial-era mindset of an

employee. It is no longer someone elsesjob to help you grow. That is your andonly your responsibility. Dont put toomuch faith on the PowerPoint presenta-tion from your human resources depart-ment. It is in your interest and your jobto make it happen. Companies no longerowe you anything and the entitlementmentality has to go. You should notattempt to be indispensable; rather,make your organization and your seniormanagement dependent on you. You andonly you have to take initiative in areas

beneficial for your organization. Youdont get paid for the job but you should

be engaged because you like to do the job that is the mantra to be highly suc-cessful in a professional environment.Lifestyle-support earning should begiven and be just the starting point.Today, high-performing professionalsconsciously or subconsciously thinkabout wealth creation and not just get-ting high salary. This new mindset willmake you tremendously useful to yourorganization.

Philanthropy is good for youI would urge students to make philan-

thropy an integral and well-thought partof your entrepreneurial life. The com-mon approach of looking at philanthro-py is that since you have the resourcesand you have been fortunate, you shoulddo some good for the society. I have cometo realize, on the contrary, that philan-thropy is good for you good for othersis just the byproduct. Herbert Simon, theNobel Laureate, discovered that 90 per-cent of wealth we create in a wealthysociety is due to the social circumstances

we live in. If that is the fact, then it is ourresponsibility and in our own selfishinterest to support such social circum-stances so that we and our children con-

tinue creating wealth because of the con-tinued presence of such social circum-stances. Second, you will be amazed torealize that when you give time, money,

your talents and passion to the socialcauses you believe in, it enriches your-self, your thinking and your self-worth.It brings you in close contact with people

whom you would have never met other-wise and they will value you and look atyou and listen to you in a very differentway a good way. Philanthropy givesyou opportunity for benefiting mostfrom the multiplicity of leverage.

Aditya Jha is president, Karma Candy.

ADITYAJHA



LEADERS MANTRA

You have heard the story

before. In 1907, whenasked to consider devel-oping a business school,then Harvard

University president CharlesWilliam Eliot said, Theres nomarket for it. Against that notion,the MBA program began in theearly 1900s in the United States. It

started as an educational responseto the demand for increasedsupervisory and managementcadre triggered by the active paceof automation and industrializa-tion taking place on shop floorsacross the country. Therefore, as

was obvious then, and quite as rel-evant today, the industry and eco-nomic practice in mainstreamUnited States and its physical and

virtual shop floors have been keyinfluencers in the demand formanagement talent and hence inthe development of this educationprogram.

If you pursue the precedingargument, it is easy to relate theevolution of the MBA pro-gram, content and peda-gogy to three main devel-opments. These include:

1. The increased levels ofautomation and engineer-ing progress witnessed inthe early 20th centuryenabled increase in scale and throughoutof operations. This resulted in the needto develop personnel skills beyond shop

floor practices to supervisory and man-agement skills that facilitated oversightand guidance of larger, more sophisticat-ed and distributed work environment.For example, the notion of capacity uti-lization evolved from basic labor capaci-ty assessment to an interdependent bal-ance between labor and machine capaci-ty and level of automation. Hence, theearly MBA was built off the traditionalmanagerial accounting, book keepingdomains coupled with industrial humanresource practices. The Tuck School ofBusiness, one of the first such programsin the US, began awarding masters

degrees in the commercial sciences, a

precursor to the MBA.2. The MBA program of

today was substantiallyinfluenced by the 1959

Ford Foundation report that character-ized the programs as vocational in con-tent and indefensible in quality. The

report suggested making the programmore entrenched in disciplinary knowl-edge, analytical practices and experi-ences. This is still the model that shapesthe curriculum of business schools andMBA programs worldwide.

3. The emergence of the Internet andits adoption in the commercial domainresulting in the birth of the Internetentrepreneurialism triggered thedemand for entrepreneurial focus withinthe MBA programs. The reach and

boundary-less nature of the new enter-prises that emerged from this phenome-non also brought into greater focus the

need for a globally conscious and aware

curriculum at most schools.Impact of this includes the

branding by schools around thistheme, for example INSEAD inFrance is now the BusinessSchool for the World.

oreCriti ismThe criticism of the MBA pro-

gram has been long ongoing, eversince the Ford report. The recent

criticism of the program has beenaround three main themes: Thelimited relevance and impact ofthe research, insight generationand knowledge creation from theprogram; unclear linkage

between the MBA curriculumand content and ability to build-ing effective leadership and man-agement; and relevance, or lackthereof, of the increasingly com-moditized technical skills around

which the original program thathad its roots in manufacturingautomation was designed.

Warren Bennis has argued thatthe MBAs institutionalizing theirown irrelevance as a result offocus on scientific research thathas limited linkages to day to day

business realities. HenryMintzberg of McGill University

has been more scathing in his perspec-tives that conventional MBA programstrain the wrong people in the wrong

ways with the wrong consequences.In a recent BusinessWeek article,

Mihnea Moldoveanu of the RotmanSchool argued, The MBA is in crisis

because it selects for and cultivates traitsand skills that are increasingly vacuousand superfluous. Finally, as if to drive astake through the argument, RakeshKhurana from the Harvard BusinessSchool has even linked MBA schools tocorporate scandals by arguing that theMBA graduates fixated on shareholder

value at the expense of other stakehold-ers have been drivers of corporate crime.

Despite all the criticism, from a prag-matic and market acceptance stand-point, the MBA program appears to bealive and well. Claims to the contrary areeither too premature or too biased. In an

increasingly global business and corpo-

PRASHANTSHANKARPATHAK

MBA: Looking back,

looking ahead


17/36

17 India Abroad June 2009

LEADERS MANTRA

rate environment, with greater interna-tional trade the demand for trainedmanagement talent has increased.Furthermore, in the absence of any othergeneral management program for train-

ing individuals in skills and competen-cies, in a risk-free environment, the MBAremains the destination. The numbers

bear it out. A recent research conductedby the HBS concluded that B-Schoolsaround the world turn out about500,000 MBAs a year, with upwards of150,000 of those in the US alone.acktothefutureFor the foreseeable future read

decades the MBA will continue toprovide a significant portion of theraw input required for meeting themanagement and leadership demandsof enterprises globally. There are sever-

al reasons for this relevance. The criti-cal ones are:

1. The key proposition of MBA pro-grams to enterprises often tends not to

be the educational content but thecredible stamp of approval or confir-mation of the highest selection stan-dards. This is reassuring for the multi-tudes of new graduates in the currenteconomic environment. They can andshould take comfort in the fact thatsimilar to other selections standards orlists, by virtue of progressing success-fully through a recognized and well-placed MBA program, they haveincreased their professional profile andhence if I use generalities theiremployability.

2. In an increasingly complex andinternational operating environmentcompanies are looking to get theirmanagement bench strength and leader-ship talent trained in risk-free environ-ments where lessons are learnt not fromexpensive mistakes but from sharedknowledge and experiences. The MBAprograms at most schools provide a richportfolio of course content and interac-tions that enable the keen student to

learn and grow from codified experi-ences and orchestrated class interactions for example, international partici-pants that are hard to replicate intheir job or work environments.

aveat

Having touted the relevance in thenear term, I also believe it is worth high-lighting some caution for the MBA pro-gram based on personal experience.Increasingly administrators, teachersand participants of the MBA programsneed to ask themselves how they expectto not only remain relevant but alsomore critical to the human capital

required for global enterprise. There are

three considerations I will offer:1. Remember Dubai, Mumbai,

Shanghai. There are two direct implica-tions of this phenomenon: Analyticaland algorithmic skills prized by most

managers and MBAs like excel modelingand five forces analyzes, are commodi-tized. These tasks can and will be arbi-traged to workers in lower cost coun-tries, not too different from what hashappened to other jobs. The programand its participants therefore need tofocus on acquiring experiences para-

digms and deliberation habits that focusingenuity and not just focus on algorith-mic and analytical skills to simplisticallymodel and structure complex anddynamic problems. Second, the MBAprogram that within its curriculum orexperiences ignores to address the prag-matic aspects of the tectonic shifts in

supply creation, demand and consump-tion habits and capital formation, capitalflows caused due to the DMS phe-nomena risks being relegated to irrele-

vance.2. The worldview changes when you

have capitalist profits and socialist loss-es. A key outcome of the recent turmoilhas been the socialization of the losses ofinstitutions that are characterized as too

big to fail. This is counter to theSchumpeterian concept addressed in

business schools about the wave of cre-ative destruction; it is also a signal thattraditional models of competitive struc-

ture and industry conduct are incom-

plete. When Detroit is run fromWashington, DC the implications ema-nating for MBA programs and their par-ticipants are a greater need for appreci-ating and illuminating the systematic

and interplay between governmentintervention and corporate value cre-ation. Mercantilism and autarkic princi-ples denounced for long are alive and

well, though in a different form.3. If opportunity doesnt knock, build a

door. Amidst all the uncertainty outthere is some certainty the traditional

promise of the high-flying financialsector, consulting and professionalservices opportunities emanating from

business schools post an MBA havevaporized. A research within the busi-ness idea marketplace concluded thatmost business schools have not been

very effective in the creation of usefulbusiness ideas. Clearly that statistic,state and stance will do little toimprove the future well-being of theMBA participants or the programitself. In the current economic environ-ment it behooves schools, administra-tors and participants to think entrepre-neurially with regards to each elementof the old proposition and entrepre-neurially explore potential elements ofthe future proposition from the MBAthat will ensure they are creatingdemand for the talent and skills thatthe program endows. In a simple man-ner, this asks participants and schoolsto shift focus from enterprise manage-ment to enterprise creation, from seek-ing jobs to creating jobs, from thinkingthat is left-brain-biased to whole-

brain-balanced. It is these changes thatwill enable the current crop of partici-pants and the MBA schools to create theenvironment where the exploration for

building a new door begins. Building thenew door is critical since ability is noth-ing without the opportunity.

In conclusion, I will add the MBA pro-gram has and will continue to have rele-

vance in the medium term as an effectiveeducational and training platform for

building the managerial and leadershipworkforce. Ironically, the seeds of itsirrelevance as a moniker or degree arenot outside the program but maybe sownin its very fabric. The threat from within

being the active growth in continuouslearning and executive education pro-grams being offered by the sameproviders of the MBA.

Prashant Shanker Pathak, who did hisMBA from the French business schoolINSEAD, is managing partner,Reichmans Private Equity Funds.

DESPITE ALL THECRITICISM, FROM

A PRAGMATIC AND

MARKETACCEPTANCE

STANDPOINT, THEMBA PROGRAMAPPEARS TO BE

ALIVE AND WELL.CLAIMS TO THECONTRARY ARE

EITHER TOOPREMATURE ORTOO BIASED



EXPERTSBRAINSTORM

I

n such challenging economic times,

how does the future look for businessstudents?On a chilly Saturday in early Spring, a

group of dedicated South Asian MBA stu-dents from the Greater Toronto area gath-ered to reflect on the world of the MBA,their education and their future.

The setting was Prego, a beautiful Italianrestaurant in Toronto, which the owner,

Aditya Jha, had generously provided forthe event.

I had the privilege of moderating apanel of eminent business leaders,mostly of South Asian origin, who

volunteered their time to provide

their perspectives and advice to thestudents. The panelists included rep-resentatives of business schools andself-made entrepreneurs: Bob Dhillon,president, Mainstreet Equity Corporation;Professor Mitali De, associate dean,

Wilfrid Laurier School of Business andEconomics; Peter Sutherland, formerCanadian high commissioner to India;

Aditya Jha, president, Karma Candy; HariPanday, president, ICICI WealthManagement; John Palumbo, executivedirector, Schulich School of Business, YorkUniversity; Kasi Rao, consultant with sev-eral Canadian universities; and Ajit Jain,managing editor, Canada, of India Abroad,

which organized the seminar.As a professor at the Rotman School of

Management, I advise students on a dailybasis and I was curious to see how the pan-elists would deal with the burning ques-tions that I know were on their mind.

The tension in the room was palpable.The students had rolled the dice on a high-cost educational gamble: Spending tens ofthousands of dollars for a business educa-tion with no assurance of work at the otherend. The MBA is one of the most expensivedegrees one can take, and many had taken

out large loans to pay their tuition and liv-ing expenses and moved far from home.

Yet, the environment was far fromencouraging. Television, the Web andnews reports were screaming of economicdisaster and warning of job lossesthroughout the economy. The students inthe room, like business students every-

where, were, to say the least, nervous.The panelists, with the benefit of experi-

ence and maturity, took the issue head-on.Take the long view, was their advice: TheMBA is a wonderful investment in thefuture, one that will give students skills fora lifetime. While concerns about the job

market for MBAs were understandable,

the investment the students were makingcould be expected to pay back many timesover if one takes a longer-term perspec-tive.

Yet, to take advantage of their invest-ment, MBAs needed to be nimble, flexibleand conscientious. While the economicnews looked grim, there were still manyareas of opportunity. While the dynamiceconomies of China and India wereexpected to slow down, there was still agreat deal of momentum and, with thatmomentum, opportunities.

The students were encouraged by onepanelist to follow the money: Not bylooking for the highest salary, but by look-ing to see where the greatest investmentsin technology and jobs could provide them

with opportunities. Other panelists dis-agreed on this point: One suggested thatgraduates should anticipate where themoney was going to be, rather than go

where the money is now; others felt that

Canada remained a good place to makemoney but all emphasized the impor-tance of building a career over time, ratherthan looking for the short term financialscore.

Panelists acknowledged that, in the shortterm, MBAs may not get exactly the jobthey want when they emerge from theirstudies. It was likely, one panelist suggest-ed, that they would have to take a lowersalary to begin with than they might behoping for. But the skills they were learn-ing in their degree program would servethem well.

What specific skills? Interestingly, many

of the skills panelists emphasized are not

usually mentioned on the MBA curricu-

lum: Hard work, focus, ingenuity, risk tak-ing. These are real-world skills that MBAstudents learn these through the project

work they do and through the pressure ofmeeting deadlines.

In addition, panelists recognized thevalue of the business tools MBA studentslearn, but several speakers argued thatthese were not the main point. There wasgreat value in learning how to deal withpeople: Again these skills were oftenlearned implicitly in study teams, but alsothrough courses in leadership. What wasparticularly significant was that the valueof these leadership skills may not be seen

for some years again underscoring theimportance of taking a long view.

Students also raised questions about thevalue of entrepreneurship, a particularlyuseful topic as there were several success-ful entrepreneurs on the panel. The advicehere was a) to learn while working forsomeone else; b) find a mentor, and c)remember that all entrepreneurs fail alongthe way to success and not to give up.

For many MBA students, networkingwith potential employers can be particu-larly intimidating. Here, students wereadvised to flip the situation on its head,recalling the words of John F Kennedy:Think not about what you get from theencounter, but what you are bringing to it.Networking was not about competing tosee who could collect the most businesscards, but about selectively developinghigh-value relationships that will last alifetime.

It was obvious that the students wereintensely curious and attentive. Each in hisown way was a role model, a picture of

what they could become in the future. Itwas clear that they benefited enormouslyfrom the discussion.

I benefited from it too. What a privilege

it was to see how the students absorbedthese ideas and hung on to every word.There is nothing like real-world experi-ence to put things in perspective.

After the discussion, everyone reflectedon what they had just heard, what it meantto them and how they saw their futureunfolding, over a delicious mix of South

Asian and Italian food. The real heroes ofthe day? The kitchen staff, who were invit-ed to come forward and were warmlyapplauded by all present.

Professor David Dunne teaches at theRotman School of Management,University of Toronto.

DAVIDDUNNE

A dose of the real world


19/36

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EXPERTS BRAINSTORM

AJIT JAIN

Professor David Dunne of the Rotman School ofManagement moderated a panel discussion that waspart of the symposium on the value of MBA educa-tion in the global economic scenario that India

Abroad organized March 21. Students from threebusiness schools the Rotman School of Management, the

Schulich School of Business and the Wilfrid Laurier School ofBusiness and Economics actively helped in organizing theevent, which was attended by about 75 students.

The panelists Bob Dhillon, president, Mainstreet EquityCorporation; Professor Mitali De, associate dean, WilfridLaurier School of Business and Economics; Peter Sutherland,former high commissioner to India; Aditya Jha, president,Karma Candy; Hari Panday

indiaabroad mba dl

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