“Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that's training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed”
In their two years at business school, students are likely to study theories of marketing, finance and behavioural concepts. What they may not be so lucky to learn or develop are the “soft skills” which are essential to their success as they join the workforce. In a research study conducted by the University of Missouri, St. Louis (UMSL) to investigate critical skills and skill gaps in business school students, the central findings had gaps around the skills of critical thinking, personal relationships, communication, and prioritisation.
Another study by Hult International Business School in 2014 on the future of business education and needs of employers also highlighted a similar story -- employers expect skills of team work, critical thinking, dealing with ambiguity/uncertainty, and creativity from the MBAs they hire.
These are known facts across the world and are discussed regularly. However, when business graduates land their first jobs, many of them face problems in adjusting and dealing with people, as these are totally missing from the business school curriculum. They are expected to evaluate and resolve problems and lead a team early in their careers, but they lack critical thinking and interpersonal relationship skills (since it is more important for them to start delivering on their expected KRAs), because they were not taught.
Theory over Practicality
The current education system appears to be based on theory, and while these students study in groups and work together, the practical understanding of how organisations function and interpersonal dynamics seem to be completely missing in their two years of management education.
Some business schools in the country take proactive steps to reinvigorate their curriculum and pedagogy;. However, the emphasis still remains on the latest theories or concepts, and the application or evaluation of concepts is neither taught nor practised. The scenario is worse for schools in far-flung areas, or the so-called MBA shops. They ask students to go through some textbooks and give them projects which are not relevant for businesses at all.
The challenge is not only with business schools, but also with teachers who are not willing to change from being teachers to facilitators, as well as students who are still hungry for grades rather than wanting to increase their knowledge. They look for options where companies will pay them good salaries and lose sight of their own self and their strengths.
With the ever-changing business environments, employers expect the business school students to start delivering on their KRAs as soon as possible. However, when faced with real life problems, students look for answers in books which do not provide any. They even turn to seniors in the systems who are too busy, so they get lost or demoralised. Companies do not have patience with MBAs whose return on investments is not quick.
The challenge here is not the ability, the will, or the knowledge. It is the total neglect of “soft skills” – in the education system, neglect by the teachers to hone these skills and the lack of awareness among students of its worth in the real world.
Inability to Apply Concepts
Let us give you an illustration of the above situation from a large corporate in the banking sector – a number of young MBAs were hired as part of a growth plan of the bank. After the initial induction and training stages, they were assigned to a number of functions including planning, diversification and organisational transformation. The Society for Human Resource Management India was consulting with the bank on talent development, and on many occasions the HR head revealed that most of the newly hired MBAs were not able to come up with any solutions for the assigned tasks, and were reluctant to apply any detailed critical analysis. The challenge for the bank is this MBA pool will be taking higher responsibilities soon, and with their inability to show critical thinking abilities, it will impact their manpower planning. The bank invested immediately on a programme on critical thinking and problem solving, added with Action Learning Projects for fresh MBAs. The bank also assigned individual mentors to young hires and created a talent pool. However, the HR head of the bank felt that this whole process raised many questions on the way the MBA curriculum is designed and taught at most business schools.
Most MBAs try to relate to case studies taught in B-schools (which may not have been updated in a decade!), and use them as benchmarks to solve all problems. They start looking for the best answers and get lost, since the focus is on results and not on the process of problem solving (critical thinking skills get clouded by their past experiences or bookish knowledge).
Another glaring challenge seen in business school graduates is the total inability to understand how to manage interpersonal relationships. Though they have always worked in teams, the challenge of how to deal with different stakeholders is not taught. They need to deal with peers, subordinates, superiors, customers, vendors etc., but they sorely lack the skill or the insight which leads to poor or inadequate performance.
So what is needed?
It looks very simple, but a change in mindset is what is needed in the way education is imparted and perceived in business schools. Continuous upgrade and revision in curriculum, pedagogy and approach is required.
The curriculum has to teach theories, but the emphasis has to shift to experiential learning and application of learning. This should be carried out through action learning projects, evaluation of actual business simulations, and creating business situations for students to start applying their own minds, rather than following what others feel or have experienced.
Students have to keep abreast of what is happening globally. They need to challenge the status quo and have healthy discussions. By the time a person is a part of business school, students are mature, and they need to be treated as such. A regular focus on creating something innovative is the need of the hour.
Employers also need to proactively give projects to B-school students in partnership with the learning outcomes of the course. Some business schools in India have also initiated a mentoring process by business leaders, and its added value is well appreciated by students. This is the ideal investment for the future, as the responsibility of creating a better and skilled workforce lies with all of us – the business schools, teachers, students, business organisations and the Government, which defined the policy to start with.
Students have to understand words like empathy, active listening, interpersonal skills, dealing with conflicts and start experimenting and applying what they have learnt. In the real sense these are life skills and ‘must’ skills to be successful in any organization.
These skills can be best developed by understanding oneself, understanding others and then applying them skills in appropriate situations. Organisations can help employees by training them in these important skills at the beginning of the careers, so that these interpersonal issues do not impact later when they are in managerial positions.
If an employee is not able to understand the challenges faced by a co-worker, and is not able to empathise with him/her, the outcome will be lack of trust and issues in the relationship, ultimately impacting work. MBA education does not teach empathy, but this trait can be developed in employees through proper training and mentoring.
There is a perception that the MBA student is not willing to take a new path to success, that they are the copy/paste brigade, and that they exhibit herd mentality. It is probably the reason why there is a perception that many successful entrepreneurs are not MBAs!
It is time for change.