The Hindu Business Line : <I>The mercenary instinct is dominant </I>

The fundamental problem in management education in India is that good placement record is paramount. "Other factors that make for a sound academic institution, namely the extent and quality of research and publications, are neglected," rues S.L. Rao in `From Servants to Masters?' published by Global Business Press (www.atfullcircle.com) .

Rao flays the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) for the superficial inspection it undertakes before granting recognition to management institutions. "Management specialists, not engineers as in AICTE, should oversee management education," he suggests.

The book, brought out to commemorate the golden jubilee of AIMA (All India Management Association) chronicles the history of management beginning from the days of British rule.

While the East India Company may be an example of corporate (mis) management, it may be naïve to overlook the many nuggets of management wisdom strewn all over in ancient Indian tomes.

For instance, Thiruvalluvar, a poet-saint who lived more than two thousand years ago, devoted a chapter in his 1,330-couplet work to `selection and employment'. Employ the one whose nature leads him to choose the good, after having weighed both the evil and the good in any undertaking, says Kural 511.

And Kural 517 captures the spirit of delegation thus: "`This man, this work shall thus work out,' let thoughtful king command; then leave the matter wholly in his servant's hand." If we search hard enough, there must be millennia-old insights to help us resolve the many ills in our management education.

Universities set up management departments, not so much to enable interaction with other social sciences, but to make sizeable profits, laments Rao. "Becoming a professor in natural or social sciences calls for some academic distinction. Not so, in management."

With nearly a thousand recognised management institutions, "a mobile teacher, within three years of starting to teach, can expect to achieve a professorship and then a directorship." Research is sparse, and `consultancy' often means `teaching in in-company programmes for high fees'. Chillingly, `the mercenary instinct is dominant'.

The author is of the view that management teaching should take into account `elements unique to individual societies', rather than blindly follow methods from abroad. Management education is an industry that we have created, and it does little education, frets Rao. Management schools provide employment to faculty, make selection easier for large companies, and are of no use to medium and small companies, he notes. "Unfortunately, the integrity of the selection process itself is now subverted in an increasing number of institutions."

A book that provokes navel-gazing.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com