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India Inc has become choosy about the kind of management development programmes (MDPs) it wants to skill its top and mid-level managers with. This in turn is elongating the sales cycle of MDPs for management institutes.
What else? With custom programmes keeping the cash registers of B-schools ringing, days for open enrolment programmes are more or less over, say B-schools.
For working professionals, B-schools deliver MDPs in two forms - open and customised. While open MDPs are designed and marketed by B-schools and meant for participants from multiple firms, customised MDPs are demanded by companies for specific number and kind of employees and are sponsored by companies.
"Sales cycle has become longer for open programmes. Partly, institutes need to be blamed for this. They have been getting business upfront from corporates for customised programmes; hence, the open programmes are witnessing some neglect. Days for open programmes are more or less over," says Keyoor Purani, chairperson-MDP at IIM-Kozhikode (IIM-K).
Enrolments for customised MDPs have more than doubled at IIM-K in the past one year while open enrollments have remained more or less the same.
IIM-Kozhikode is not alone in its experience. Chaitanya Kalipatnapu, director, Eruditus Executive Education, promoted by alumni of INSEAD and Harvard Business School, and which delivers executive education programmes to Indian corporations and participants, said, "Companies have become choosy in terms of their approach to a custom programme as it's a considerable investment. While we have not seen a slowdown in terms of enrolment, discussion with companies have become more focused on applications of the learning. Companies which plan to invest in talent continue to do so."
The current economic environment is a reason for this shift. Besides, with MDPs bringing in more revenues for B-schools, they have decided to increase their focus on executive education. For instance, Delhi-based International Management Institute (IMI) is targeting revenue of Rs 24 crore from executive education and management development programmes this year. This would be over double of what MDPs added to the institute's kitty last year.
No wonder, B-schools have increased fee for these programmes. While IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Indore declined to state the specific rise in MDP fees, IIM-Kozhikode stated the fees for open programmes increased from Rs 28,500 to Rs 35,000 for a three-day programme this year. Fees for customised programmes at IIM-K currently stands at $20,000-25,000 for 20-25 participants. Both open and customised programmes put together, MDP contributes around Rs 10 crore to IIM-K's total revenue.
The Rs 500 crore executive education has seen an increased supply of such programmes not only by Indian B-schools but also by the Ivy League institutes and other international B-schools, including Harvard Business School (HBS), Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Tuck School of Business, INSEAD, Oxford University's Said Business School and Duke University.
Management institutes say companies are increasingly getting cautious about the kind of MDPs they would want their personnel to attend at the institutes.
"Unlike 15-20 years ago, today the country is growing more as a knowledge economy and not a manufacturing one. Hence, with the growing number of blue collar jobs, companies are now more particular about what they want from MDPs. Also, corporates are broadly seeking emerging leaders rather than functional domains. They realise they have technical people but not general managers," says Purani.
IIMs also feel the potential for B-schools in MDP in India is in tapping the middle level manager training. "There is a vast market out there for the middle management levels," says Shyamal Roy, chairperson-MDP at IIM-Bangalore.
However, according to Purani, the IIMs have a good scope in the middle levels as well because some of the top level managers in large companies in India prefer to enrol in MDPs abroad.
On demand list of companies are several emerging issues and topics like strategic thinking, leading for change and developing global mind set. "Companies are looking for topics which can help them in the current scenario," says Kalipatnapu.
According to Shyamal Roy of IIM-Bangalore, new topics like senior leadership coaching, social media and its relevance to organisations, how organisations can use CSR initiatives to their advantage, global sourcing, retail productivity, and board best practices for company directors are being launched this year.
Meanwhile, at IIM-Kozhikode the same is on environmental issues, green manufacturing and green computing, among others.
CHANGING SCENARIO
- Customised programmes are growing faster than open MDPs
- B-schools believe open MDPs are being neglected due to focus on sponsored programmes
- MDP market in India is estimated to be worth Rs 500 crore
- Senior leadership, social media, green manufacturing and strategic thinking are the trendy topics
