Many opportunities to explore

Insightful interaction

The students were benefitted by his insightful lecture on the challenges in the management sector. Professor B P Pethiya, the director of IFIM, welcomed the speaker and invited him to address the budding managers.

While addressing the students, Dr Datar felt that Indian B-schools can make a global impact if they focus on the problems of India and the opportunities available here.

“Indian business schools have many opportunities ahead of them. They should not ape the West but focus on the unique problems and opportunities that Indian society is facing. They should research and explore the competency required by an MBA student. There is a need to think creatively and innovatively in Indian management education context,” he said.

He shared his strong views on how leadership, adaptability, learning attitude and ethical behaviour skills matter to people at different levels. He said that Indian B-schools should focus on them and contribute to the solutions for these problems. “If we do this well, Indian management education can create a global impact. Our research on these problems and solutions can be published in global journals and that knowledge can be used by other countries facing similar challenges,” he added.

Stressing on the need for focus on ‘being’ and ‘doing’ skills, Dr Datar said, “The ‘being’ skills are important to managers as they work with and through others to achieve their organisations’ goals. To inspire and influence others over sustained periods requires careful reflection and introspection of one’s strengths and weaknesses, values and attitudes, and the impact of one’s actions on others. Without ‘doing’ skills, knowledge is of little value. Without ‘being’ skills, it is often hard to act ethically or professionally.”

Many students felt that the guest lecture was insightful and thought-provoking. There was a question and answer session wherein students cleared their doubts. “As he spoke about knowledge, innovation and learning, it made us realise where we stand and how we can create novelty in the global world. We came to know how important people are when it comes to managing and taking decisions in an organisation,” said Sravanti, a
student.