International, local institutes differ on key to successful managers

There is a clear cut divide among representatives of Indian management schools and those from abroad over whether management graduates with prior experience make better managers than fresh graduates.

While students of some of the world's top B-Schools participating in the international B-School meet, Tata Confluence-2004, have advocated taking students with work experience to study in B-Schools as they make better managers, their local counterparts favour fresh graduates.

Dean of IIMA, Indira Parikh, said: "We believe fresh graduates who take admission in IIMA and other IIMs in India come out as better managers as these young minds are easy to be moulded and adopt the right lessons faster. Though IIM-A is planning to launch an executive programme designed for the people with experience of seven years or so, we will keep stressing on producing good managers from the fresh graduates."

Most students in IIMA's two-year post graduate programme (PGP) have no work experience, except a few in each batch who have little experience when they join the institute.

But Jim Efflumion, an experienced lawyer turned management student at Brisbane Graduate School of Management, differs. "Unlike the B-schools in India, a minimum of two-three years of hardcore work experience is a must for seeking admission at our B-school. It really helps us understand the subject better and should be a must criteria for admissions in B-schools."

Efflumion, a second year student, also said that people who enter B-Schools abroad with longer work experience also get better salaries than the less experienced ones as they are treated in the industry as 'efficient managers.'

"Some of the top management schools in India have introduced specially designed courses for working executives, but they are a minority "" and their number must be enhanced. It is obviously better to hire a candidate with relevant work experience in the desired sector," said Wing Commander Arun Kaul, HR Manager, Arvind Mills Ltd.

"Work experience should be the must for getting admission in the B-schools. It helps practically in solving case studies, a must in the best B-schools across the globe," said Grant Sernick, a second year student at Richard Ivey School of Business.

Chris Bower, a second year student at Richard Ivey School of Business, said: "Work experience in business schools helps in understanding of the subject matter as well as solving the case studies. With two-to-three year of work experience one can be able to support the education by himself. By combining your academic studies with work experience, helps to obtain the job of your choice."

G Raghuram, Senior Faculty of IIMA, who has remained instrumental in designing the proposed Executive Management Programme to be introduced by the Institute in 2006, said, "IIMA sees major opportunity in such courses as there are so many people working in various capacities in industries who did not choose or could not do an MBA before starting their work life but after sometime, they felt of going back to school after working for few years or so to get a proper lesson in management. While our focus will remain on teaching the fresh graduates in two-year courses, IIMA is also planning to give certain importance to the management courses to be introduced for people with work experience."

A faculty member of IIMC, also sounded same as he said, "Definitely we also can learn certain things from the students who take lessons in B-Schools after garnering work experience for few years or so but it is not necessary that they become better managers because of their experiences earned before they came to the School."

Edward Boom, a student of Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands, said: "At least three-to-four year of work experience is the eligibility criteria for getting admissions at our B-schools and it helps in solving the case studies. Work experience helps in development of increased maturity, with improvements in aspects such as motivation, self-confidence and interpersonal skills."

Richard Wenkaylo, another second year student at Richard Ivey School, said, "With work experience, one gets better salary after coming out of the B-school. Work experience undertaken as part of a course contributes to and complement the skills and knowledge you need for your qualification. One must consider work experience as part of a career planning programme, even if you may work in a completely different employment sector or job later."