Janat Shah is the founding director and professor of Operations Management at IIM Udaipur. Author of 'Supply Chain Management: Text and cases', he is a leading authority in the fields of Supply Chain Management and Operations Strategy which has been used in MBA and executive MBA courses at IIM Bangalore as well as at numerous other business schools throughout India.
Janat Shah has been the Chairperson of the Post Graduate Programme, coordinator of the Management Programme for Technologists and Chairperson Supply Chain Management center at IIM Bangalore. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Sloan School of Management, MIT. He was also a visiting faculty for a term with The Logistic Institute at National University, Singapore. He was the President of Society of Operations Management India from 2008 to 2010. He currently holds a position of Special professor at Nottingham University. Deepshikha Singh, Managing Editor, Higher Education Review magazine, recently got in touch with Janat Shah, Director, IIM Udaipur. In this current interaction, he highlights on MBA education, transformation, need for diversity and more.
∙ Tell us about your journey towards being the Director of IIM Udaipur, and what motivated you to be an educator?
The opportunity of being the Director of IIM Udaipur was exciting as it was a chance to build a model institution with a focus on student transformation and high-quality research. Learnings from the older IIMs helped us immensely with the groundwork. The concept of IIM in itself shows the imagination of building capabilities within the country. Additionally, premier management schools in Singapore and Hong Kong helped us understand the global best practices.
We were able to innovate on many fronts like building a robust ecosystem for research; leveraging the philosophy of immersion to provide students with a transformational learning experience, and taking the help of professionals with the administrative responsibilities instead of faculty.
The outcomes in terms of receiving AACSB accreditation in less than ten years or being one of the youngest schools in FT and MIM global rankings for consecutive two years have been quite encouraging.
∙ According to you what are the pain points that have been plaguing the management education field in the country and what are the changes necessary to increase the quality of education offered?
First, I believe, is the fixation on placements as the only goal of an MBA degree. Yes, MBA helps prepare students for the world of practice, but we need to think beyond the first job and focus on the long-term career. Placement should be an outcome and not the goal of getting an MBA degree. Additionally, due to the emphasis on placements, we see that sometimes the numbers given by institutes are not reliable. I believe the placement reports need to be audited externally to ensure transparency.
Another issue is the high fee structure. It forces students to make safe choices after the degree, and they refrain from pursuing opportunities in entrepreneurship or social sector.
Over the years we have seen improvement on the gender diversity front in the classroom, however, we need more diversity in terms of educational background and international students.
∙ The corporate realm is moving at a rapid pace and according to you what are the major traits that a business professional should need to thrive in the future?
Given the way technology is transforming the world, the jobs of the future are going to be quite different than today. Along with learning the fundamental concepts, the skills and aptitude managers should focus on are curiosity, adaptability and the ability to continuously learn. Also, digital transformation is one thing which managers in any domain cannot ignore. We need managers who understand technology from the lens of management and can leverage it across value chains and industries.
∙ There is a significant industry academia gap prevalent in India and what are the steps that need to happen in the Indian business education space to bridge this gap?
Educational institutions need to create stronger linkages with the industry for education as well as research. Including alumni on the board can be immensely helpful as they understand the institute as well as the industry.
At IIM Udaipur, we have also created advisory boards of highly experienced professionals from leading companies for our one-year MBA programs to bridge this gap. The purpose of the advisory boards on strategic initiatives and development plans.
∙ As an eminent personality in the business education fraternity of the country, what are the key areas that aspiring students should concentrate on to increase their employability?
Students should plan for both short-term as well as long-term. They should quickly start adding value to the company but should also understand the big picture of the organization. They should invest time in understanding their teams. A summer internship can be a great opportunity to learn and explore on this front.
∙ As the Director of IIM Udaipur, what are the measures and innovative teaching pedagogies that you have introduced to equip the students with the skills needed to thrive in the modern world?
No one pedagogy prepares students completely for the real world. At IIM Udaipur, we have tried to focus on strong fundamental concepts with application orientation. The component of experiential learning through the philosophy of immersion was something we included from the beginning of our pedagogy. Additionally, as an Institute, we have emphasized learning beyond the classroom. Participation in clubs and committees help students learn skills which are needed in the real world.
Additionally, we are exploring how online learning can add value to the classroom component. We are clear that on-campus learning would be the core-value offering. Nonetheless, it can be enhanced with online education tools like MOOC.
∙ What are the changes that need to happen in the Indian corporate realm to be at level pegging with their western counterparts?
I believe that Indian corporate can benefit from building a culture of innovation and giving more room to the young leaders. Also, the corporate sector should look at leveraging technology and analytics to design better solutions. Some sectors are already doing it (for instance, e-commerce). Older and larger organizations from other sectors can learn from their experiences.
∙ According to you, how much of importance will management education have in the future when it comes to training capable business professionals?
At different stages in the life of a professional, different skills are required. Professionals need to regularlyupgrade their skills in an environment where a diverse set of experiences could be shared. This is equally valid for our MBA program as well. Thus, the institute needs to create a lifelong learning opportunity for their students so that they come back as alumni. Additionally, a quality education program can provide professionals with the right learning opportunity at different stages of their career.
