Wither Management Education?

Management education has been undergoing transformation in small measures over the years gone by. These changes have been caused by the incremental changes in the business environment and management practices in contemporary industries. While movements such TQM, Six Sigma, TPM etc. accentuated the need for changes and business schools were compelled to adapt their curriculum to these changes, there were no ground-breaking or very innovative restructuring of the curriculum.

Now, in 2021, we are witnessing an unprecedented environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The canvas of the changed environment is vast, encompassing economic, technological and social dimensions in particular. Technology has advanced at frightening speed (it was already accelerating) opening up newer vistas of opportunity for those willing to embrace change. It has also enabled opening up of newer, innovative areas of focus in management education. The future of work would demand skills that are difficult to be imparted by conventional curriculum and courses. Management faculty would need to unlearn and re-learn pedagogical tools and techniques that are appropriate for the changed platforms of the teaching-learning process.

Management education is fundamentally based on practice and derives its framework, concepts, and principles from the environment. Therefore, management educators need a mindset of change and need to adapt in order not to become extinct!

by Prof S Balasubramanian