KOCHI: Business schools help in shaping MBA students into future CEOs. With more youngsters longing to become suave, jet-stepping corporates, the number of students making a beeline for business schools in Kerala has increased exponentially. Many parent expect their children to get shaped as future CEOs. Despite the promises and tall claims of many business schools in Kerala, the realities remain different. Are our MBAs being groomed competently to take up fresh challenging jobs?
Are they really moulded in professional way to rise to the level of future CEOs? How our MBA students are being trained in business schools to become successful individuals? Are their personality, body language, code of dressings, etiquettes, communication skills improving after their MBA course to match with global corporate professionals? If so, why many of our fresh MBAs are not getting desired job placements or being rejected after completing their money-spinning MBA education?
Having trained large number of MBA students from different International business schools such as Dubai International Academic city, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ghaziabad and Kerala, my recent training program in a business school campus in central Kerala shocked me in many ways. It is said, your energy level, your eyes, your expressions, and your attire speak before you open your mouth. And that was precisely what came to my mind as I met the young lady front office manager of Kerala’s one of the leading business schools where I was invited for a training program on ‘Employability Enhancement’ in MBA students, recently.
”Whom do you want to meet, sir?” quipped the girl in Malayalam when I greeted her ‘Good Morning’ with a smile. Her face was devoid of any expression. Her poor dressing gave her a weary look. A warm, refreshing smile seemed to be alien to her. She did not bother to greet me back with ‘Good Morning’. And that was the front office girl employed by the B-school to receive its visitors, parents and guests. When I told her I was there to deliver a training programme for their final year MBA students, she showed me the way to the college director’s room. While walking towards the director’s office, the Front Office Manager’ overall frail image reminded me of the age old truth, a front office employee is an ambassador of the organisation she or he works for.
Leaving her uninspiring image behind, I entered the director’s cabin. A dynamic professional who joined the institute recently, the director was in full of ideas on how to bring a paradigm shift in MBA education. During our discussion regarding the modules of training programme, he summoned the head of the faculty to assist me to the training hall. The head of faculty, a lady in her late forties, draped in traditional attire, appeared with a mobile phone in her hand. The director introduced us and I gave her my business card as she wanted to mail me on future schedules of trainings.While our discussion shifted to students’ general behaviour, their challenges, the falling campus interviews and meagre salaries recruiters offer, I happened to notice that she had coiled my business card like a paper cigarette! She played with it, coiling and uncoiling the business card.
The long interactive session with the students, in presence of college director and teachers, finally spilled the beans. “How many of you read Financial News papers regularly?”, I askd to which none replied. Even those who are specialising in MBA-Finance confessed they don’t read anything other than their favourite vernacular daily. No one from MBA Finance stream, could explain the latest Sensex trends. True, yet the students don’t read. And no one insists them to read it either! International best sellers in Marketing, HR, Finance and Motivation, recommended for MBA aspirants, seemed Greek to them.
With the paradigm shift in education in the last few decades, we hear parents demanding their children to be developed as wold class global citizens. But to respond to their demands, we need world class MBA Faculties too.An earlier report by the industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) discloses only negligible number of fresh MBA graduates, excluding those from top 20 B-Schools in India, are actually employable. It is a point to be pondered by our Business schools.
(The author is a Corporate Trainer, B-School Coach and columnist) The views expressed in the article are those of the author.