3 lessons B-schools miss teaching

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Business schools are great! They add value to students’ education by actively providing insights into the learnings and practices of some of the world’s best theorists, academicians and business leaders. B-schools certainly do teach you a lot, but then there is more that needs to be learnt.
Initiative and risk-taking: Learning from others’ experiences is wise. The successes and failures of individuals and companies have shaped current-day management courses.

Each of those instances was pioneering in its time. There were a small percentage of risk-takers who lived to tell the tale, instantly defining newer paradigms. Each perspective comes with its assumptions and constraints, and it is up to the individual to challenge and break new ground.
Adaptability: To roll with the punches and come on top each time, an individual has to assimilate the operating environment and conditions and, using that as a base, act!

That is easier said than done since the environment itself changes so rapidly - be it politics, the economy, competition or consumer preference. A motley combination of various, seemingly unrelated, factors interact to create this environment.

Each instance of variation has a counterbalancing impact on some other factor, with a resulting change in the operating environment. The skill to succeed in this ever-changing, always evolving environment resides in the person, not in the B-school he or she went to.

Application: B-school courses use models, metrics and terminology to get potential entrants into corporate roles off to a flying start. They speak of and relate to events in the same way, using the same jargon.

However, the correct application of a model or tool is usually an individual’s discretion; it is his or her interpretation of the situation that forces a judgement, accurate or otherwise. The application of learning is the proof of the pudding - a realisation of the latent knowledge in an actual business context, which rests squarely on the individual’s shoulders.

B-schools, too, work continuously trying to bring in the best inputs possible, in terms of trends, preferences and principles, though the introduction of such knowledge in course curriculum happens only after it has been published or, at least, documented.

This involves significant lag time, and given the breadth and speed of change, this is an uphill and never-ending task.

In sum, a B-school is the basic foundation that equips individuals to get a firm footing in the corporate arena, but there are several other skills that one needs to assimilate to survive and succeed there.

But most important of all - don’t forget to live and have fun. It is too easy to get caught up in the rat race; stay out of it. Spend the first few years of your corporate life with your nose down, bury your ego, enjoy every moment of your work and make sure that you do the best you can. Success will follow.

CIHM records high placements

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Chandigarh, May 27: Hotel Management graduates find themselves in a enviable position as job opportunities in the hospitality industry is increasing steadily.

Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management(CIHM), Sector 42, has recorded 100% placements this year. Initially,most students are given stipends of nearly Rs 4000,which is increased after the 6 month training period.The highest pay package worth nearly 3 Lakh per annum was offered by Qatar Airways.

Placement in charge,CIHM , Mohammad Shahid Hasnail says that most enrolled students are mostly from rural background and lack adequate communication skills. “As far as placements are concerned , a great deal depends on the personality traits. Students having a pleasing personality and good communication skills get the best placements ,” he said. Hasnail contends that with a large number of hotels, fast food joints like Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Cafe Coffee Day setting shop in the city Job opportunities are bound to increase manifold .

The Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management(AIHM), Sector 42. also recorded 100 % placements.AIHM Principal Naveen Kumar said that for most trainees,the salaries ranged from Rs Nine thousand to Rs Eleven thousand .Naveen added that job opportunities are bound to increase,once the Commonwealth games are organised in Delhi in 2010.

B-schools bring big bucks

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Watchdog Bites
• India has 348 universities and 17, 625 colleges, the highest in the world
• In 2005 & 2006, educational institutions spent Rs 3, 174 mn and Rs 3, 655 mn, on ads respectively.
• Parents spend Rs 18, 675 crore of the estimated Rs 37, 675 crore (0.4% of GDP) spent on education annually
• The entrance exam, training market is worth Rs 8,126 million according to industry estimates

Higher education in India is big business today. And this time of the year (April-July), there is frenzied activity in the marketplace with institutions – domestic and foreign – burning serious money in advertising to flaunt their course-ware and attract students from across the country.

The business potential is undoubtedly enormous. Almost 55% of India’s population is below 25 years–the ripe age to enroll for a post-graduate course. And do not underestimate the competition amongst institutions to get these students in. Government statistics show India has 348 universities and 17,625 colleges, the highest in the world.

And in the last couple of years, a large number of universities and colleges from not just the US and the UK, but also from Australia, Ireland, Canada, Russia, France, Germany and Singapore have been very active in India. No wonder, as many as 100,000 Indians go to study abroad every year. Over 300,000 Indian students are enrolled in courses abroad, with the US accounting for 76, 503, Australia 27, 661 and the UK 16, 227 in 2005-06, according to industry estimates.

To get a foothold in the higher education business, institutions spent as much as Rs 317.4 crore towards advertising in the print medium, says AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research. The next year, they hiked their budgets over 15% to Rs 365.5 crore. This was next only to the booming realty business that shelled out Rs 370.5 crore.

In India, more than in most other countries providing education is very important for the middle class, the vast majority. Siddhartha Mukherjee, vice president, communications, TAM Media Research, says matter-of-factly, “Education is booming because parents feel their children need some kind of career specialisation.”

And complementing this desire of parents is the market opportunity for the private unaided colleges. Says Atul Chauhan, chancellor of the Rs 500-crore Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, “Education is among the biggest spenders in print in terms of advertising. They must be spending close to Rs 700 crore a year, mostly in print. And the prime time is April-July when students apply. Hardly any educational institution uses TV as it is used mainly for brand-building. Print advertisement is preferred since it can accommodate lot of information like courses are on offer and how to apply. Radio is very cluttered, though cheaper. Some institutions use it for event-related announcements though.”

IT steals students from core engineering sectors

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Kolkata, May 29: The state’s information and technology sector is growing faster than the national average, attracting a pool of talent from other sectors. However, this trend has left other manufacturng sectors gasping for skilled and quality manpower.

It has been noticed that top scorers at the state’s joint entrance examinations make a beeline for the IT sector, preferring it over other core disciplines like civil, mechanical, electrical engineering etc. IT offers better salaries.

A quick survey of the courses offered in some of the new private engineering colleges show that many have not bothered to introduce departments on core subjects. Among them are the Institute of Engineering & Management and B P Poddar Institute of Management & Technology. It is also seen that those who fare better in the joint entrance exams prefer IT degrees. In 2005-06, students who opted for IT in the MCKV Institute of Engineering & Technology had ranked between 4,443 and 9,430. Those who opted for automobile engineering ranked between 7,290 and 18,942. This, in spite of the fact the MCKV Institute is one the few colleges that offers automobile engineering and that the automobile industry is booming now.

The West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) offers an undergraduate engineering course only in IT. But, in the four other streams of biotechnology, bio informatics, computer science and engineering, natural science, humanities and management, it offers a post-graduate course.
The placement scenario also reflects the skewed demand for education in this course. The undergraduate IT course has 70 seats, of which 51 students were recruited on campus placements in the year 2005-06. In contrast, only 17 students out of 115 in the PG courses (including PG-IT) bagged jobs in the on-campus recruitment drive.

Placement in-charge at Jadavpur University Dr Siddharth Bhattacharya said, “The basic salary for fresh engineers, irrespective of the stream, is an annual pay package of Rs 3.25 lakh in any IT company. That amount is around Rs 2 lakh for a core sector graduate.” Prof Samiran Chattopadhyay of the IT department said there are other factors that prompt students to avoid core engineering courses. He said IT offers better lifestyle, better chances of working abroad and the opportunity of being associated with multinational corporations. At the same time, IT companies like TCS sponsor various events on campus, creating awareness about the company and the scope of work.

Srinil Majumdar, an electrical engineering graduate of the 2006 batch from St Thomas College, said: “The scope in core sectors is limited, the pay is less and opportunities for growth and placements outside the country are fewer.” Majumdar works at Infosys.

Biswadip Gupta, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s eastern region wing, said the biggest challenge for industry is people. “Even if we get people, we are unable to retain them,” he said. Gupta admitted that core engineering sectors have not been able to market themselves well.

Big bucks for fresh grads

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KOLKATA: Even five years ago, no one would imagine that a 21-year-old undergraduate would command a salary package of Rs 4 lakh even before he/she passes out. Now, even ‘ordinary graduates’ from Kolkata are hot picks for top firms like Infosys and McKinsey, who are roping in freshers not by the dozens but by the hundreds.

This year 100 graduates from Presidency College have been offered jobs by corporate houses and St Xavier’s has already managed to place over 250. Scottish Church College, Lady Brabourne College, Bethune College and Ashutosh College have already placed several students — and the placement season is not yet over.

Students are thrilled that a new world of opportunities has opened for them, sparing them the drudgery of going through a masters degree. While St Xavier’s has been routinely holding placements for its graduate students for more than six years now, the others have taken to it over the last three years.

And the phenomenon is still gaining momentum. Even colleges like Lady Brabourne and Bethune, which were somewhat conservative about students getting into jobs right after graduation instead of going for higher studies, have chucked their inhibitions. “Unless one wants to become a teacher, there is no point pursuing an MA or MSc course,”said Ashish Fogla, an economics student of Presidency College, who has just given his part-two exam and has already bagged a job with the Gurgaon outfit of McKenzie with a starting salary of nearly Rs 4 lakh. His classmates Swati Nahata and Chetan have bagged similar offers while a third, Rahul Singhal, has been picked up by Maruti Udyog for a comparable offer for its Faridabad unit.

Google has picked up 12 graduating students from English, economics, sociology and political science departments, whereas Infosys has netted 14 students for its Bangalore office. “We are noticing a marked change in the job scenario. Even two years ago, it was difficult for a fresh graduate to bag a decent job. This year we have had undergraduates hooking jobs that pay over Rs 4 lakh annually,”said Amitava Chatterjee, faculty member and placement cell in-charge of Presidency College.

At St Xavier’s College, where at least 50 graduating students have been offered packages of over Rs 4 lakh per annum, this year’s placements have been much better than expected, said placement cell in-charge, Aniruddha Sinha. McKinsey, which has picked up 12 students, Google (16 students) and Jet Airways (10 students) have made the highest offers.

It’s a boon for students of English, political science, mass communication and BBA. “Though we have not bagged jobs worth Rs 4 lakh, we are happy with our offers of nearly Rs 3 lakh. It is not only the money that excites us, but also the fact that we have been able to start a career without forcing ourselves into higher studies,”said Ankush, Ajay and Kalpana, who have been offered jobs by CTS, ITC Infotech and Future First.