What according to you would be the principal need for an MBA program
that focuses on international business, such as the MBA-IB program in place at IIFT?
an MBA program in international business. It was set up 45 years back and at
that time India had a philosophy based more on self-reliance. Nobody thought
that international business and globalization were issues of significance for India.
Inspite of this, Indiaas first Prime Minister envisaged that the country needed
to have development of professional skills in the areas of international trade
and business. This started reaping dividends by 1971 and so the first post
graduate diploma program in international business was started at IIFT. A host
of programs including PhD, MBA, and executive MBA is now offered at IIFT. The
difference between domestic business and international business is reducing as
we speak. Even if a companyas prime focus is on the domestic market, it also
needs to understand issues related to logistics, finance and marketing in the
international arena because products from outside might compete with the
companyas products in the domestic market. Unless these issues are understood, it
will be difficult to face competition. Thus international business issue has
become integral to understanding oneas own business. How exactly is a focus on
international business incorporated in the program at IIFT? The second year of the program has about 35
electives concerning issues relating to international business. The first yearas
curriculum at IIFT is more or less similar to that in place at an IIM or any of
the leading business schools in the country. The second year when more
electives come in is when there is more emphasis on the issues of international
business. There are subjects concerning negotiations in supply chain management,
logistics, finance, marketing and a whole range of issues which exclusively
caters to the specialized field of international business. How is the focus on the international business reflected in the campus placements
and careers of graduates of the MBA a IB program at IIFT? This is an issue Iave been asked often about.
In past years at IIFT, 25 percent of graduates may have gone to the financial
sectors or 15 percent would have chosen the telecom sector. So, how is the international
business focus in the program helping students in their work in these sectors?
My answer to this is that even domestic business is international business and there
is nothing called international business anymore. Consider a student who graduates
from IIFT and opts to work in the telecom sector. Unless he or she understands
how the current telecom sector is poised and the issues that it faces, that
person will not be able to protect even the companyas own market share. An
understanding of how companies in the sectors work, how service providers are
moving, the feasibility of entering India and offering services is required for
the success of the company. Even if one were to consider banking, how is it
possible for Indian banks and insurance companies to function effectively
unless they understand the international scenario? Therefore a student of international
business need not attend international training per se in order to utilize the
expertise gained during the MBA program. In the way that they function in todayas
times, all sectors of the economy are strongly linked to the international
market. Given
the credit crunch crisis, is it the right time to do an MBA or should one wait? The way I look at the scenario is that when
the going gets tough in the economy then the relatively less knowledgeable
employees get weeded out. Thus times of hardship are the best times to add to
oneas knowledge. The lean period can be utilized to enroll for an MBA from a
good institution to add value so that even in a difficult situation oneas
employability remains on a good footing. In many good institutions the lean
season is the time when more people wish to upgrade their skills, make
themselves more employable and increase their knowledge. So is it possible that we see a change in the nature of companies which
recruit, if not in the number of offers? In the financial sector one would need more
people to move into traditional banking as opposed to investment banking. The
profile will vary and not the need for people itself. Maybe if some sectors
such as the gem and jewellery sector are not doing well then they may not hire
but then these are by and large sector specific issues. Even in these times,
the Indian economy is to grow by seven percent and this is by no means a small
figure. How do
you see salary growth being affected in these times? Salary growth may not experience the same
increase as was there earlier. In my opinion, presently everybody accepts that
salaries cannot consistently increase year on year. There may be some
flattening of the pyramid but then thatas about it. How have you seen students
reacting to the situation?
I donat think there is any panic among
students. They are reasonably comfortable with the quality of education they
are making use of and therefore sufficiently hopeful about companies which
would recognize their competence and hence utilize their services.
compromises, if any? Maybe some compromises in salary would be
required in terms of the hike in salary which students normally expect.
Inflation levels are likely to stabilize and reduce and therefore I do not
think that salary hike of a phenomenal nature should be a matter of great
concern. What would be your advice to current MBA students and MBA aspirants who
are preparing for careers in the current economic situation? A credit crunch, economic slowdown and other
related economic problems are all part and parcel of business risk. The only
issue is that for the last decade or so we have been witnessing only an upward
movement in the economy. When something contrary to that happens then people
get perplexed but it is important to understand that some businesses will
collapse, some ventures will close and some new enterprises will come in. It is
part of a cycle of development. If one is able to imbibe sound knowledge and if
that is diligently polished then there is nothing which would make it obsolete
and it is this knowledge which would stand an MBA in good stead. IIFT has opened a branch in Kolkata. Could you comment on how this
branch is faring? The first batch of students from IIFT – Kolkata
batch graduated in March, 2008. As far as salary packages and quality of
students were concerned, the batches from Kolkata (60 students) and Delhi (120
students) were similar. Of course, faculty is common across the institutes.
There has been an increase in the number of students that have applied to IIFT
this year. How exactly are the placements and exchange of faculty managed between Delhi
and Kolkata? Utilization of faculty in management education
is not very difficult because a trimester system is followed at IIFT. Consider
a professor who teaches international business or international marketing in Delhi.
If the trimester in which he teaches that particular course is over then he can
teach the same course in Kolkata or in Dar es Salaam because of a trimester system
and multiple faculty being present at IIFT. As far as placements are concerned,
simply put, IIFT is a single institution with two campuses. IIFT Delhi and IIFT
Kolkata should not be considered as separate institutions How would you differentiate between the two campuses and are companies
required to visit both Kolkata and Delhi? No, they need not visit both places. The
recruiting company gets a placement brochure wherein there is a list of
students studying in Delhi and Kolkata campuses. Information about all the
students is given campus wise and on the basis of this, companies select and
interview students. Students from Kolkata visit the Delhi campus for placements
and once the independent campus in Kolkata is built, this would not be
required. How would you describe your experience managing the students in Delhi
vis-A -vis students at the Kolkata campus? Do students in Delhi consider
students in the other campus to be in some respects different from them? No,
they do not do so. They would have done so if there were major differences in
the eligibility criteria of students who finally get admissions. Secondly, one
cannot really differentiate between the quality and competence of students at
the two campuses. Further, students from both Delhi and Kolkata are involved in
all committees including the placement committee. There may have been issues if
such synchronization and integration had not been possible. Do you think the demand for the management education is best met by
starting a new centre which you have done in Kolkata for IIFT or by building
upon existing centers on the lines of Indian School of Business (ISB) which has
increased student intake at Hyderabad? These two examples are like two sides of the
same coin. I would have probably increased intake at IIFT Delhi if there had
been land available there. Itas a question of the faculty being able to teach
in other campuses. This may be possible at a distance of 500 km or 1000 km and
in that case it is a single institution operating out of two or more campuses. However,
if a separate institution which is run by separate management is started then
that institution would have to prove its competence. In terms of managing two institutions at the same time, do you feel
that the Kolkata institute may choose to break off on its own and carve an
identity for itself?
A few years later, maybe. Currently core
faculty based in Kolkata consists of about 13-14 members and there are
approximately 35-40 faculty members based in Delhi. Faculty exchange between
the two campuses happens often and this has been efficiently managed thus far.
Some years down the line the issue of the Kolkata campus having a separate
entity may be discussed but at the moment it is not part of the scheme of
things.
Could you explain the objectives behind the IIFT branch which has been
started at Dar es Salaam?
started keeping in mind a different objective. As a third world leader, India
is committed to capacity development in Africa and wished to contribute to
development of knowledge and skills in the continent. This motivated the Indian
government to request IIFT to start an MBA program in Africa and it was decided
to jointly conduct the program in Dar es Salaam with a leading institution
there – Indian Institute of Financial Management (IIFM). An Executive MBA
program is in place at the IIFT branch here. During the two and half year
period of the program, professors from India teach some of the core courses
there such as the skill based courses like statistics and economics. In the
first year about 90 percent of the courses there are taught by the IIFM faculty
and the remaining portion by IIFT faculty. This is reversed in the second year
of the program. As in India, a focus on international business is incorporated
in the programas second year. There has been a good response from neighbouring
countries such as Tanzania.