The Hindu Business Line : K Ramakrishnan, Country Head (Marketing), Lenovo India; EBET Group of Institutions

Industry & Economy - Education
Columns - BL Club
States - Tamil Nadu
K Ramakrishnan, Country Head (Marketing), Lenovo India; EBET Group of Institutions

M. Balaji

New role: Mr K Ramakrishnan, Country Head (Marketing), Lenovo India, speaking at the launch of the BL Club series at EBET Group of Institutions —

L.N. Revathy

Kangayam, Nov. 1

“Management education is like a jig-saw puzzle with gaps here and there. It is non-linear, has no sequence and is unlike any other stream of education,” Mr K. Ramakrishnan, Country Head (Marketing), Lenovo India, said.

Comparing management education of yesteryears with the present, Mr Ramakrishnan, who was speaking at the Business Line Club lecture series sponsored by Karur Vysya Bank at EBET Group of Institutions at Kangayam in Tirupur District, said “it was considered a holy grail, had limited options and focused on leadership traits. It was education-driven and was not about getting marks. That was say, two decades ago. Today, it is a complete racket with mushrooming of institutions and has become a feeder into entry level jobs.”

He further observed that during the boom period, there was tremendous pressure to place B-School graduates, and the industry and institutions invariably conspired to place them in entry level positions.

“Communication skills became more important than analytics. So, from a holy grail, management education turned out to be an empty vessel mode of learning,” said the Lenovo India official.

Admitting that he was also a part of this pool, Mr Ramakrishnan, a management graduate from Bharathidasan School of Management, stressed the need for making to-be managers more analytical and rigorous.

He conceded that a majority of those pursuing a programme in B-Schools did so to get a qualifying degree, for prestige, to earn respect and position in the society. “Insanity is in doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different things to happen,” he said and asked the students to introspect, to find out if they had gained something by pursuing the course and what difference would their qualification make to the business or industry, organisation and society.

The options for management graduates are aplenty, be it sales opening, marketing and brand management, finance, human resource, supply chain management and IT. He also listed some unconventional routes such as sports management, films and creative writing, media, business journalism, teaching and research, before adding “the biggest opportunity is in creating wealth, employment and societal impact.”

“Management study is no longer an education of skills, but an approach to solving a problem,” he said and called upon the young managers to set a benchmark for themselves.

More Stories on : Education | BL Club | Tamil Nadu

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page