• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Making management education more relevant

C. Gopinath

MANAGEMENT EDUCATION often appears to have been hijacked by the West. Most management theories have had their origins in the West and are based on the attributes of people in the West. They have been packaged into courses in the West, and these courses have been put together into a programme called the MBA, again in the West.

Thanks to the advanced and successful appearance of Western economies, there is very little challenge to this model, and the rest of the world is left to adopt or adapt as they deem fit. Developing nations are increasingly seeing management education as a tool needed to develop their economies to `western standards'. Even Japan has slowly succumbed to the US version of the product.

One conference recently provided participants the opportunity to reflect, and suggest methods of adapting, adopting or even coming up with new formulations with which to approach management education. The College of Business and Economics of the United A rab Emirates University hosted an international conference last month at Al Ain, UAE, on the theme of `Management Education and Development in the Developing Nations'. Fifteen papers were presented by participants from Europe, North America, and Afri ca. The perspectives and the topics covered a wide array of issues and approaches, some of which are discussed below.

Many scholars in India are looking to traditional writings and scriptures for an explanation of basic values that can be used as building blocks for a system of management indigenous to India. To some extent, clarifying these roots also serves as a justi fication for the renewed importance of economic activity. For instance, referring to the dharma, artha, kama and moksha as the four ends of human endeavour serves to give due recognition to commerce as a justifiable pursuit. Moreover, legitimacy for the pursuit of wealth is important in a society that for a few significant decades had wrapped itself in socialistic thought. As the nation moves to lessen the obsession with the distribution of wealth and give equal importance to the creation of wealth, rel igious writings are drawn upon to provide some intellectual support.

In a similar vein, Dr. Mahmoud Begg, an Islamic scholar from De Montfort University, UK, sought to argue that the Internet is a viable teaching and learning tool in an Islamic environment. Some traditional Islamic societies have been seeing the explosio n of information on the Internet as a threat to the position of the clergy and their interpretation of the religious texts.

Some scholars see the spread of the English language and popular western culture through the World Wide Web as a threat that competes with their traditional hold on their followers. Thus, Dr. Begg's point was that from the perspective of the Koran and th e Hadith (sayings), reading and recording information are valued activities that need to be encouraged. His legitimising approach of seeking approval from religious texts was a voice against the hardliners.

Relevant consultation

The irony that many developing countries find themselves in is that in order to procure funds from abroad, they have to acquiesce to reforms that they should be making on their own. Sometimes, it is politically more useful to put the blame on multilatera l agencies than to stand up and argue in favour of hard decisions. One presenter, Dr. Siddieg, who is from Sudan and presently teaches at the University of Qatar, addressed the interesting issue of what follows in the wake of pressures to reform from mul tilateral agencies.

On the face of it, one might assume that these international agencies would be more sensitive to cultural factors. But he argued that the international consultants who arrive apply a standard formula in a very unfamiliar organisational context. The unfamiliarity arises out of differences in aspects such as authority relationships and the `informal' structures of organisations in some parts of the world.

Dr. Siddieg argued that by treating every assignment as a learning experience (which it is in reality for most consultants), they would be more open to allow participation by local experts and beneficiaries of a project, which can lead to greater managem ent success.

An interesting example of how new uses of information technology can help effective communication was demonstrated by Mr. Geert Vreede of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He used a software package that goes by the generic name of `group support systems' and which facilitates a meeting to take place. Participants discuss an issue using computers in order to arrive at a consensus quickly, while protecting their anonymity.

Applying this methodology in various educational institutions in Tanzania, Mr. Veerde found that contrary to the norms of local culture where people defer to their elders and superiors in a hierarchy, participants freely exchanged their views, even on se nsitive topics, much to the discomfiture of the bosses. So all it took was the anonymity provided by the technology to not only unleash a lot of creativity and initiative, but to also challenge what were supposed to be deep-rooted cultural tr aits of deference.

I was also a participant at the conference and shared my views on the relevance of experiential learning techniques to unlock the innovation and creativity of students in developing countries. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore a couple of years a go called for a complete revamping of the education system in Singapore in order to foster a spirit of innovation and creativity among the workforce.

Seeing the trends in investments that chase low-cost manufacturing around the world, he realised that Singapore's past economic progress reduced its attractiveness as a cheap location and could jeopardise the same progress. He, therefore, foresaw the nee d for a new set of skills among the workforce and correctly argued that it needed to be tackled right at the roots of society -- the educational institutions. In the knowledge and information world of today, our educational institutions are where o ur competitive advantage is produced.

My case is that this is a special challenge in societies that stress conformity, and teach respect for authority. When the teacher occupies an exalted position not only in the classroom but also in society, the creative and innovative student will find i t very difficult to raise her hand and provide an alternative argument in class.

Using experiential learning methods in the classroom transforms the teacher from being an expert and an authority to that of a coach and a facilitator. These methods enable the student to be an active participant in the learning process. The s tudent is encouraged to explore his or her own set of beliefs and values, internalise the knowledge, and also imbibe methods of learning how to learn.

Such methods can go a long way to break-away from Macaulay's system of education that continues to produce armies of clerks in our schools and instead of leaders and managers.

(The author is a professor of international business and strategic management at Suffolk University, Boston, US. His e-mail address is: cgopinath@suffolk.edu)