'Students need to be prepared for multi-cultural environments'

WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU AT B-SCHOOL/ PRAVEEN VALECHA

Praveen Valecha

I have been lucky in my employers. Not only did I get to study for a management course, I was also sent a couple of times on management development programmes (MDPs). Of the two, I would consider the MDPs more useful.

That's because these initiatives help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and, more importantly, help you decide which you want to focus on first: improving your weaknesses, or consolidating your strengths. The format the MDPs followed is similar to MBA courses: role plays, case studies and so on.

Having said that, I must add that the market teaches you much more than you can gain from any book or theoretical knowledge. Although the seeding starts at B-school, real life has more challenges.

Let me explain with an example. When I was at Philips, I was in charge of a project in the mobile phones division. At that time, Philips' market share was plunging "" from about 20 per cent, it had come down to less than 2 per cent. Philips Mobile was a negative in the market at the time, with daily rumours of closure.

It's easy to satisfy your channel customers: give them new technology and new gizmos, and they're happy. But how do you convince consumers of the viability of your product? Getting rid of the consumer's negative perceptions about a product or company or brand is a difficult task, and it's not taught in any B-school.

We organised a door-to-door awareness programme, educating potential customers on the look and feel of Philips mobile phones. We also emphasised our after-sales services, set up service camps, beefed up our distribution network and so on.

Now, none of this was "taught" at any B-school "" instead of the 4Ps of marketing that all management courses emphasise, we opted for a combined package of above- and below-the-line promotions and managed to establish the re-entry of Philips handsets in the Indian market.

There's a gap between the real world and what is taught in B-schools. That's true especially of sales and marketing. The reason is probably the fast-changing market dynamics.

What happens is that most B-schools teach their students to take a long-term perspective. If there's a new product launch, a rookie will probably want to first create a market, check out consumer needs, go about creating awareness and then launch the product.

Nothing wrong with that, except that the market often doesn't have the time for such niceties "" it wants the product immediately. The work needs to be done in the short term, while the vision is long term.

Another thing I've learned from practical experience is the importance of blending in well in an organisation. I've always worked with expats "" at various times, my seniors have been from Australia, Japan and Korea. Naturally, there is a need to build cultural and professional bridges if you are to establish a smooth work relationship.

B-schools must prepare students for working in today's multi-cultural environment. The new Budget has increased the foreign direct investment limits in telecom, insurance and civil aviation. The opportunities in India are increasing, which means we'll see even more foreign companies establishing offices here.

B-schools must consider starting courses that will prepare Indian students to work across cultures. Knowledge of different cultures and styles of working will definitely help. It's very easy to work in multinational companies if you know how to blend in. Most of the failures or burn-outs are due to differences in the styles of working.

Some grounding in business etiquette will also come in handy. From addressing emails, to the right way of going round a revolving door, to making business presentations "" MBA students are often ill-equipped for the corporate world. That must change.

It would help if B-schools increased addresses by visiting faculty. Here, it's necessary that B-schools choose their visiting faculty carefully. We should take advantage of the fact that some of the world's best-managed companies are in India as well.

Executives from these corporations should be invited to share their experiences. Importantly, the guest speakers should be foreigners posted in India, so that they can explain, in the Indian context, what it means to work in a multinational company.

(Praveen Valecha is the product group head, GSM, LG Electronics India. He graduated from Japan's International Trade Management Institute in 1993 )