You have been teaching management students over the last seven years. With the advent of the technology into everyday lives & access to information from across the world, have you observed any significant improvement in your students’ understanding of how businesses are run (owing to this exposure)?

Technology is changing the methods, purpose and perceived benefits of education. The student teacher dynamics is being altered by the introduction of technology based class structure. A teacher has now become a facilitator between information and the student. From passive sponge soaking learners students are becoming integral to a new participatory learning pedagogy in classroom where they are procuring and displaying information from various sources. Technology is ensuring higher quality of teaching materials and better communication between learners and instructors.

It has generally been observed that sales as a profession is not the most aspirational choices amongst the management grads, unless it is assured to be a temporary stint before they evolve into a marketing profile. You have been in sales management roles at top FMCG companies. What are your observations/opinions regarding this trend?

Management Grads tend to equate sales management profiles with a sales job. Sales Job is an individual activity requiring individual motivation, key skills and achievement. Sales Management has totally different requirements and is a Leadership role. Being a sales manager is a team activity requiring one to get results through others. It requires an ability to understand, train and motivate & influence your team and a result orientation. A sales manager needs to be adept at goal setting, planning and review of processes, all of which require strong analytical skills. Management Graduates with their strong analytical, communication and team skills are naturally suited to a sales management profile. A career in Sales Management is highly rewarding and for the creatively inclined a stepping stone to Marketing profile. In my opinion to be successful in Marketing role there has to be a significant practical exposure to Sales Management.

There is no dearth of MBA institutes in India. According to you, what are the most important things that a student has to keep in mind while selecting a B-School of his choice that will hold him in good stead in the future?

Students have different aspirations and different aims for choosing a B School however some of the key things that all students should consider while selecting a B school are the quality of faculty, the infrastructure, reputation and the return on investment.

Faculty plays an important role in inspiring and adding value to a MBA program hence candidates should do a meticulous research on the qualifications and background of the faculty at the prospective B School.

Similarly a world class campus, great facilities and resources offer a conducive environment for study and make learning worthwhile. Infrastructure and ambience greatly influence the subconscious learning behavior.

Reputation of an institution and the vision of its founders are other important aspects to consider. Programs from institutions with professional managements and well known founders with good corporate linkages are more readily accepted by the industry.

Finally an MBA program should provide a candidate with maximum returns i.e the value received from the program vis a vis the cost of the program.

Very few universities in India have been able to make a mark with their MBA courses (unlike the Whartons of the world). What do you think are the possible reasons for this?

Not every university in India is aspiring to be among the “Whartons of the world.” Nor would they need to. There is a very wide spectrum of universities/institutions in India with offerings to different target groups of students and companies. At the upper end of the spectrum are institutions like IIMs which cater to the brightest minds of the country as defined by various management entrance tests and similarly there are other institutions which aim at attracting students at different percentile bands with their offerings. On the demand side, there are different needs in the industry. Not all organizations would require management graduates from top Institutions. The key for institutions is to develop the right value proposition by achieving the fine balance between the quality of students and rigor and cost of the MBA program.

What do you look for in a student when you recruit him for you MBA program?

The first and the foremost thing that I look for while recruiting a student for SSN MBA program is Passion for whatever he or she has done till now. A key indicator of this is a students’ past academic record and his extracurricular activities. A good academic record in school and under graduation is a sign of a interested and focussed candidate who has spent his time productively and who would be able to make the most of a MBA program. The second important aspect is the ability of a candidate to unlearn and relearn from varied experiences which the candidate is going to experience in the MBA program and in his career. A career post MBA brings entails varied experiences which cannot be navigated on the basis of bookish knowledge alone and an ability to think out of the box is essential.