Top MBA
Colleges in Delhi NCR like Ishan Institute of Management & Technology have
regularly engaged in intellectual pursuits that put the construct of a free
market with freedom ahead of a free market itself. Coming straight from the
horse’s mouth and that too from one of the top MBA Colleges in Delhi NCR which
in itself has been a supreme epitome of free market mechanism, the statement
may appear to subversive if not paradoxical. History repeats itself, first as
tragedy and second as farce. Being an academician who has spent the formative
years of his career teaching macroeconomics that is built on positivism, one
can only appreciate the stark truth that is ingrained in opportunity cost,
sacrifice ratio and compromise.
While
most business schools that render MBA programs stylised on Anglo-American
manuals of management stop at the teachings of the Chicago school that there
are no free lunches in economics, top business schools in Delhi NCR like Ishan
Institute of Management & Technology extend this learning to embrace yet
another truth that the need for achievement, power and affiliation are all
based on the quantum of the self that we are willing to sacrifice. To love a
goal is to achieve it. To achieve a goal is to submit to a mission. To submit
to a mission, is to sacrifice the gloss. To sacrifice the layers of gloss is to
be content with the core. The distinction of the core and gloss perhaps is a
capability that true managers, executives and business leaders possess in
abundance. Almost a hundred years ago, the Mahatma had showed this to the
world. Great business acumen, great transaction oriented behaviour, great team
building, great enterprise creation and even great social and community
building stand on the pillars of how much we are willing to compromise. Perhaps
it is this understanding that makes the Mahatma truly invaluable to business
schools. As documented in one of the earlier blogs, there is a scope and
necessity for the evolution of an Indian school of business management.
Whenever this foetus gets engineered into a new born baby, it shall evolve
inside the womb of India (as an economy and a market) and shall inherit the
genes of Gandhism to the fullest. In the
next few paragraphs we take a look at the rationale behind this statement and
why Gandhism has to make its way stumbling and staggering into the academic
curriculum and marketable skill formation of aspiring Indian managers and
business graduates.
Gandhi and the Science of Adapting to Time, Space and Scale:
Gandhian Innovation
There
are many facets of the Mahatma’s life and teachings that show different
colours. There are many instances which to a business executive may seem to be
logically inconsistent. As much as the Indian school of thought bases itself on
obedience versatility and the spirit to experiment go for a toss. Innovation
gets strangled in the rough and coarse hands of compliance mode of governance.
The biggest truth that emerges out of the different colours of Satyagraha is
that truth should not be sought in the bisection of actions into black and
white. The market is a place full of colours. Each colour calls for a different
solution to a unique problem. Adaptation is the truth that continues to evolve
in a market that always evolves. Adaptation along the parameters of time, space
and scale leads to the engineering of optimal solutions that fit into
situations. The realization of this teaching of Gandhi is the foundation of
Gandhian innovation and design thinking for bottom of the pyramid markets like
India. It is Gandhian innovation that can enable win-win situations for the
corporate sector to do well in the market by doing good to the society. This is
what top MBA Colleges in Delhi NCR should ideally do to enable business
graduates solve the management challenges of the 21st century.
Gandhi and the Art of Human Engineering: Leadership in Focus
There
is a standard principle of individualization in Homeopathy stated by Dr.James
Tyler Kent. The principle asserts that each individual has a distinct and
unique biological system. Hence prescription for any ailment is based on the
individual under consideration. Based on the fact that every individual is
distinct there is both a scope and necessity to take cognizance of the
individual. Diversity is central to the social fabric of India and as we step
into the 21st century there are conclusive evidences coming forward
that constructed teams that are high on diversity of race, community and gender
are much better placed to handle different business situations. Diversity
manifests in multiple problems. Diversity when it emerges out of differences of
skills, backgrounds and opinions and held together by the glue of leadership
becomes a boon and when left tampered with to neutralize the complementary
effects arising out of differences leads to disaster. The capability to move
forward with a diverse set of stakeholders like investors, clients and
employees together is a skill that has to be learnt, emulated and repeated
constantly. This is where Gandhism becomes a great manual for the modern day
practicing manager to follow.
