DO EVENTS LIKE AMAZE (IIPM’S ANNUAL FESTIVAL) OR CARPE-DIEM (IIM CALCUTTA’S CULTURAL FESTIVAL) REALLY HELP IN CHURNING OUT A “BETTER” MANAGER? B&E’S ANGSHUMAN PAUL MEETS INDUSTRY LEADERS FOR ANSWERS...
1940 was the year when American psychologist David Wechsler wrote a few gritty and slimly noticed papers in which he narrated his research into behavioural patterns of humans. Wechsler argued that human “intelligent behaviour” was actually dependent on factors that were not necessarily connected with how “intelligent” humans actually were. Considered quite a paradoxical finding, nobody in that era would have imagined that Wechsler’s work would go on to lay the foundations of an area of behavioural science that has gained and occupied a position of maximum importance in the way B-school graduates are chiselled. And that area is ‘emotional intelligence’. To that effect, B-schools of the modern era realised the importance of ensuring that events that were not of a purely academic nature, were introduced into the curriculum of students. And the leading exponent of this kind of an exercise over the years has been the concept of B-school festivals.
But EQ apart, do B-school festivals really add to a future manager’s managerial skills? One example is the 2009 edition of The Indian Institute of Planning and Management’s (IIPM) annual B-school festival – Amaze (The event was held in IIPM’s international campus at Satbari, New Delhi from November 4 to 7, 2009) that saw the presence of CEOs and top dignitaries not only from the corporate sector, but even from the social sector. A senior member of the organizing committee of Amaze, Alpi Jain, argues that such B-school festivals are necessary as the inseparability of managing a business and of managing people is more thoughtfully and aptly reflected in such festivals, than in classroom learning. Does that mean that we were wrong all along depending simply on classic case studies?
“Absolutely,” answers JP Singh, the former CEO of Bausch & Lomb, “I think there are many things which books can’t teach you and you learn them only when you participate in events like business school festivals.
When you participate in such events, you learn lessons like people management and even how to flow/manage a project!” JP Singh would know well; he is a pass out from IIM Calcutta whose annual festival, Carpe Diem, actually had its budget increased from Rs.10 lakhs to Rs. 15 lakhs this year. JP Singh says that the practical knowledge he gained from his B-school’s festival contributed significantly to his knowledge pool, especially while he set up his own business. Today’s business school ‘fests’ comprise a wide array of competitions including events that test problem solving skills to the hilt, both intellectual (say, debate competitions) and nonintellectual (say, fashion shows). But innovation is the key word. Shah Rukh Khan hosted this year’s most attended IIPM-4Ps B&M quiz competition at New Delhi, an event that saw participation from B-schools across continents (America, Europe, South Asia). MDI Gurgaon came out this year with an international online B-school festival – E-Blast – where students competed in the ‘E-business’ world. Harvard Business School has even become a “cultural partner” of the Starz Denver Film Festival in Colorado!
Amit Burman, Vice Chairman of Dabur India Ltd and an MBA from the Cambridge University, tells B&E, “In Cambridge, there were always some events happening; and my participation in them helped me a lot to control the initial challenges that I faced after joining our family business.” Vikram Tanwar, a top faculty at IIPM Bangalore, adds another viewpoint, “Apart from the individual learning, the fact is that a cultural festival brings together faculties, industry experts and students from other institutes under one umbrella at an informal level – such informal interactions are very much necessary for the growth of the students and their future networking.” Agrees Govind Shrikhande – Customer Care Associate, President & CEO, Shopper’s Stop Limited, “It’s true that B-school festivals bring together students and industry experts in a sharing of knowledge mode and are extremely important to the students’ overall growth.”
1940 was the year when American psychologist David Wechsler wrote a few gritty and slimly noticed papers in which he narrated his research into behavioural patterns of humans. Wechsler argued that human “intelligent behaviour” was actually dependent on factors that were not necessarily connected with how “intelligent” humans actually were. Considered quite a paradoxical finding, nobody in that era would have imagined that Wechsler’s work would go on to lay the foundations of an area of behavioural science that has gained and occupied a position of maximum importance in the way B-school graduates are chiselled. And that area is ‘emotional intelligence’. To that effect, B-schools of the modern era realised the importance of ensuring that events that were not of a purely academic nature, were introduced into the curriculum of students. And the leading exponent of this kind of an exercise over the years has been the concept of B-school festivals.
But EQ apart, do B-school festivals really add to a future manager’s managerial skills? One example is the 2009 edition of The Indian Institute of Planning and Management’s (IIPM) annual B-school festival – Amaze (The event was held in IIPM’s international campus at Satbari, New Delhi from November 4 to 7, 2009) that saw the presence of CEOs and top dignitaries not only from the corporate sector, but even from the social sector. A senior member of the organizing committee of Amaze, Alpi Jain, argues that such B-school festivals are necessary as the inseparability of managing a business and of managing people is more thoughtfully and aptly reflected in such festivals, than in classroom learning. Does that mean that we were wrong all along depending simply on classic case studies?
“Absolutely,” answers JP Singh, the former CEO of Bausch & Lomb, “I think there are many things which books can’t teach you and you learn them only when you participate in events like business school festivals.
When you participate in such events, you learn lessons like people management and even how to flow/manage a project!” JP Singh would know well; he is a pass out from IIM Calcutta whose annual festival, Carpe Diem, actually had its budget increased from Rs.10 lakhs to Rs. 15 lakhs this year. JP Singh says that the practical knowledge he gained from his B-school’s festival contributed significantly to his knowledge pool, especially while he set up his own business. Today’s business school ‘fests’ comprise a wide array of competitions including events that test problem solving skills to the hilt, both intellectual (say, debate competitions) and nonintellectual (say, fashion shows). But innovation is the key word. Shah Rukh Khan hosted this year’s most attended IIPM-4Ps B&M quiz competition at New Delhi, an event that saw participation from B-schools across continents (America, Europe, South Asia). MDI Gurgaon came out this year with an international online B-school festival – E-Blast – where students competed in the ‘E-business’ world. Harvard Business School has even become a “cultural partner” of the Starz Denver Film Festival in Colorado!
Amit Burman, Vice Chairman of Dabur India Ltd and an MBA from the Cambridge University, tells B&E, “In Cambridge, there were always some events happening; and my participation in them helped me a lot to control the initial challenges that I faced after joining our family business.” Vikram Tanwar, a top faculty at IIPM Bangalore, adds another viewpoint, “Apart from the individual learning, the fact is that a cultural festival brings together faculties, industry experts and students from other institutes under one umbrella at an informal level – such informal interactions are very much necessary for the growth of the students and their future networking.” Agrees Govind Shrikhande – Customer Care Associate, President & CEO, Shopper’s Stop Limited, “It’s true that B-school festivals bring together students and industry experts in a sharing of knowledge mode and are extremely important to the students’ overall growth.”
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