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Business schools urged to provide reality check

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

A MOMENT TO CHERISH: Students at the annual convocation of the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: In the middle of an economic boom, Indian business schools must provide a reality check too, N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the convocation of the Great Lakes Institute of Management here, he urged business schools not to ignore factors such as the national deficit, the country’s poor human development indicators and the massive challenges of poverty, illiteracy and poor healthcare.

While India could be justly proud of its high growth rate, especially in the services and international trade sectors, its young population and its status as a favoured destination for foreign investment, business leaders must be aware of the challenges facing the country, he said.

Mr. Ram pointed to Amartya Sen’s definition of “freedom as development” and endorsed an approach to measuring success by how well a society provides its members with the opportunities to achieve valuable human functioning. “His [Sen’s] kind of literature must be introduced in business education.”

Satyam Computers chairman Ramalinga Raju, who delivered the valedictory address, spoke about what the industry would expect from new graduates. They needed to demonstrate leadership, not just management skills, because this was a time of rapid change.

“Your success is going to depend on how well you can manage change…And companies will expect you to demonstrate leadership from day one, not in the due course of time.” In the current context, companies would also expect their new employees to be willing to shoulder risk.

Mr. Raju urged the students to be goal-oriented. “That does not mean fixating on your goal and going on to auto-pilot,” he said. “Instead, it’s more like driving on Indian roads. If you take your eye off the road for one instant, you will end up in an accident.”

The 200-odd students who received their postgraduate diplomas and executive MBAs on Wednesday may be the last to graduate from the institute’s current premises at Saidapet.

School’s founder and honorary dean Bala V. Balachandran said the school expected to move to its new campus on East Coast Road in time for the next year’s convocation.

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