VIEW:
Dr. Madhumita, Dean academics & student affairs, Prof. HRM,CSR & sustainability:
In India any B school is considered to be a placement agency. Even institutes started publicizing themselves as a window to high salary job. Placement has become a hygiene factor in MBA education. Institutes who are looking at a concept of life enrichment, continuous employability or learning for life find it difficult to attract students. Hence necessarily MBA may not change the attitude as most of the students come with a closed mindset that they do MBA for a job. To change such attitude MBA has to relook at itself and bring in the attitudinal factor by imparting soft skill training, practical approaches and by letting practitioners to come in. Hardly any institute follows the same and hence just an MBA degree fails to change the attitude of a student. Considering the 3000+ B Schools in India, very few have been able to have a regular industrial partnership. The MBA curriculum has started becoming very technical oriented and somehow the softer side like changing the attitude of the student got lost in between. The curriculum design will play an important role in sensitizing the business attitude.
Prof Anand, Dean Planning & development, Prof of Marketing:
Attitude cannot be taught, it has to be caught. We create interventions in our curriculum through which we hope that a student will catch the right attitude. 3 things that should be designed in curriculum
1) Impart the correct knowledge (Knowing)
2) Imparting right skills (Doing)
3) Inculcate the right attitude (Being)
The ethical deficit in the current corporate culture is due to the lack of right attitude. MBA is not a spiritual training which will evolve a student but it can impart knowledge on sustainability & ethics through social projects. MBA curriculum can sensitize students to the social issues. It can also help in removing cynicism and bring more positivity in their attitude.
Interact with current students and know their experiences.
COUNTER VIEW
Vivek, Manager Corporate Relations:
MBA as a qualification has the potential to change an individual’s attitude towards professional and personal life provide it is conducted in the right manner. There are 3 elements to ponder on:
1) You live with a deadline in your 2 years of MBA. You have project submission, presentations, case study, discussions, and deadlines for each and every activity is sacrosanct. So a student has to live the reality of respecting the time and meeting deadlines.
2) You are always under evaluation. Your performance is mapped and every effort one makes is measured continuously. This element of constant effort changes your attitude
3) Constant competition with colleagues. When this combines with the above two elements it gives the push to an individual to perform his best. There is no laid back situation where you have a chance to relax instead you end up in giving your 100% effort. This definitely reflects in your life outside the subjects.