At MDI, we follow the philosophy of “Learning by Doing”
"Interview with Dr. C.P. Shrimali"
MBA aspirants are always curious to know that what institutes expect from them and what is that which can motivate them to choose an Institute for admission; provided aspirant has been chosen in the cut-off list.
To get some answers for the curious aspirants like you, your portal MBA Rendezvous has initiated Interviews of Directors of the featured institutes so that you are getting a clear direction.
Today you will read excerpts of the talk with Dr. C.P. Shrimali, Ex-Acting Director MDI Gurugram
Profile of Dr. C.P. Shrimali
Prof. Shrimali holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Ph.D. from the University of Udaipur. He has a singular combination of entrepreneurial experience and teaching and consulting proficiency. He holds a diploma in Labor Laws from Delhi and Management Consulting Course from University of Philippines¸ Manila.
He has traveled extensively within and outside India for presenting papers in national and international Conferences, conducting sessions and programmes. He has also visited academic institutions and industrial organizations in U.S.A., Italy, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, France and Canada. He has been serving as a member of the Advisory Board at nine academic institutes /universities. He has also been on the board of directors of IMPCL – a central public sector enterprise.
Affiliation and Member:
- Member of the Sub-Committee on “National Diploma Course on Management Consultancy” organized by IMCI.
- Member of the Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD), Delhi Chapter and guide for Diploma Programmes
- Member of the HRD Network Delhi Chapter
- Treasurer of the Delhi Chapter of Management Consultants Association of India (IMCI), 1995-96
Team met Dr. C.P. Shrimali, Ex-Acting Director of Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurugram to discuss a plethora of relevant issues concerning management students. Here is an excerpt :
Team MBA Rendezvous - How is grooming of leadership enunciated at Business schools ?
Dr. C.P. Shrimali - For developing leadership a person should have some inherent competencies with an attitude of continuous improvement and grooming. Also leadership is about developing some intrapersonal and interpersonal attributes. However leadership is essentially knowing people in a better way and also caring for them.
In our business school, we give a lot of emphasis on understanding and appreciation of human behaviour. We follow the philosophy of ‘Learning by doing’. For instance, students organise a number of events throughout the year. Each student gets experience of mobilising funds, using those funds and producing an output. This experience helps in fostering leadership abilities in them and making them understand the processes involved in decision making. Also, I feel that leadership has to be built in my view, leadership needs to be chiselled, sharpened and developed.
Team MBA Rendezvous - How does ranking of Institutes affect students ?
Dr. C.P. Shrimali - Same Business school is ranked differently by different agencies. What determines the rank is the weightage on many aspects. For instance, different parameters of different agencies determine the factors for the ratings and as a result if one of parameter is not scored high it can impact on ranking.
I think MBA is about creating experts in doing business. This can happen with a combination of activities the students need to do. First, they should be able to cover the complete body of knowledge given to them through classroom interactions, library and so on. Secondly, they should be able to discuss and argue among themselves and develop the subject themselves, as MBA is a dynamic subject.
The real life projects are crucial, to enable students to practice what is being taught. If a business school provides all this, it is a good business school.
Ranking, in my view, should focus on the following five factors:
- The kind of students coming to the school and the way we select them (CAT, GMAT and so on)
- The quality of the faculty
- The availability of physical infrastructure (classrooms, hostels, sports and so on) and learning infrastructure (Library, e-learning, video conferencing, international connect and so on)
- The level and quality of international exposure to students
- The presence of an enriching learning environment.
Team MBA Rendezvous - As the overall employability scenario in the country is getting gloomy, hence, what can be the future course of action ?
Dr. C.P. Shrimali - I don’t think employability is ever a problem. It is more a problem of meeting what is being produced in the business schools with the competencies needed by the industry.
The business schools need to keep in mind the needs of the corporates and shape their curriculum accordingly. In MDI, this is not a problem. We assure the corporates that our students will be polished products and will be able to give output on the first day itself. For instance, in MDI and other similar top institutes, a large number of students get pre-placement offers because when their students go out to work in the industry, the recruiters find them ready for the jobs and hence, offer them jobs without hesitation.
Team MBA Rendezvous - How would you see the role of Management schools in the VUCA World ?
Dr. C.P. Shrimali - I strongly feel that Management schools will always be in demand. Economies are undergoing change and becoming larger, societies and industries are also undergoing change. In this changed environment, people need to align themselves with the change and hence, the management schools will be always needed.
Team MBA Rendezvous - Your action oriented advice to students in areas of challenges which they are likely to face in the ever changing economic scenario.
Dr. C.P. Shrimali - I think that the students have to develop a habit of continuous learning. Student have to introspect and see what their competencies are and what they need to learn. Also, any business/management education is relevant only if it is required by the society. So, the management graduate needs to be alert to the social issues and problems.
For instance, the present government is placing emphasis on digitization therefore, the graduates need to work for educating others, so that digitization can be a success because it will also have an impact on how business will be done. Cleanliness drive, smart cities, women empowerment are all opportunities for management schools to equip their graduates to participate and contribute in these issues.
As long as our management graduates are alive to the problems around and look at them as opportunities, with a positive mindset to resolve issues, I think they will be able to prepare themselves for management roles in future.
(To know more on MDI, Gurugram Please visit : http://www.mdi.ac.in/ )