My cousin MBA!

“My son has already done his MBA” said my aunt with a sense of pride that was evident from the glow on her face. My aunt felt that she had ample reasons to be vocal about her son’s achievement. The son in question has always been an average student (just about), was never known for any academic achievement, and yet has successfully completed his MBA at a very young age of 23 years from a ‘Top 20 B-School’. As a MBA from a similar background, the statement resonated with me for all the wrong reasons. My aunt did not seek my imprimatur but I felt her statement reflected parochial biases. I wanted to forewarn my aunt about the possible upcoming challenges for her son, but at that point it was not prudent to burst her bubble and risk her opprobrium.

So why was I reticent? No, it was not because I doubted my cousin’s ability! Neither did I wish to be irreverent towards my aunt’s family. However, one must be aware of my background to be privy to my thought process.

My professional qualification is a MBA (PGDBA) from a top notch business school of India. As far as my academics is concerned, I was always an average student (unlike my cousin, I always bordered on above average). However, a striking similarity was that just like me; my cousin is also an MBA from a family of Doctors and Engineers. Even with the best of intentions, his family will not be able to guide their son towards the right professional path. In my opinion, it is sacrosanct for a professional to be aware of and well prepared for the challenges of his/her profession. Perhaps it would have been prudent for my cousin to match his area of interest and skill sets with the subjects that he chose for post graduation. (Believe you me; he would have been an excellent fashion designer)

In the Indian system, every parent would want their son (in some cases even daughters) to join the professional ranks at the earliest possible. The obvious choice for my cousin would have been to become a doctor or an engineer. However, as he was never an erudite, MBA was the next best option. It was perhaps the safest bet as an aspiring MBA would have a plethora of options. (Just like it was for me, the IIM B-Schools were never an option) The rule of economics that perfect competition will inevitably churn out quality products and services at a price dictated by the buyer should probably augur well for his ambitions. Unfortunately, the surfeit of Business Schools does not guarantee quality professional training! In fact quality does not even figure in the priority list of most of these colleges.

The most galling aspect of these Business Schools is the number of unemployable professionals that they churn out. If UGC and AICTE were to recognize these institutes on the basis of the quality of output, more than 3/4th of them should have been de-recognized. However, similar to the manner in which questionable credit ratings of some of the financial instruments contributed to a crisis across the global markets, the questionable recognitions has adversely affected the most important resource of India; its manpower. My cousin joined a B-School that figured amongst the questionable 3/4th majority after vacillating for a long time. It was also with my acquiescence!

As my cousin continued to balk at the prospect of making a career choice that his parents wished for him, I had more reasons to be concerned. At this point, I will elaborate my concerns with an excerpt from the interview of Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan (Cofounder and CEO, Infosys Technologies) published in Harvard Business Review (South Asia – March 2008). In his interview he highlighted the vagaries of the Indian system that almost ruined his career. The term ‘Indian System’ refers to the Indian middle class that is full of parochial biases and the Indian education system that is characterized by its inflexibility. Mr. Gopalakrishnan’s parents were the paradigmatic Indian parents who could envision their son either as a doctor or as an engineer. They discouraged him from joining a subject of his choice and the result was that he landed up in a professional field that was not linear to his aspirations. His parents were keen to see him join the professional ranks (as a doctor) at the earliest possible and his love of science (not biology) was not linear to their aspirations. Just like other children belonging to the India middle class, he too sacrificed his aspirations and pursued his parent’s dreams. The result could have been catastrophic as not only he failed to secure a seat to fulfill his parent’s dream, but also in the process lost two valuable years. Also, what added to his woes was the Indian education system that makes it very difficult to change subjects midstream. He finally started an undergrad course in Physics and if it were not for an inspirational Physics professor, his career would have drifted away to obscurity.

In my opinion, today Mr. Gopalakrishnan is the much admired leader because the universe conspired to script his success story. (In a lay man’s term, “He got lucky!”) He did not have the conviction to follow his dreams and maybe even believed that his parents knew what was best for him. Maybe he lacked the maturity and the experience to decide his career path. After all a man/woman becomes an eligible bachelor at the age of 21/18, but has to make a career choice at the age of 18. Both decisions have a long lasting impact on our life and I often wonder why a man/woman needs to take a call on his/her career path at such an early age, especially when the average age at which both the sexes prefer to get married is increasing steadily. Do we not encounter n number of personalities in our social life? Yes we do, and it helps us to make better choices in life! In the same vein, should it not be sacrosanct that professionals gather some work experience before they make a long lasting career choice? At this point I would like to pose a few more questions to the readers:

Q-1: How many B-Schools in India insist on work experience?
A-1: Very few

Q-2: What is the motive of the above?
A-2: To increase the universe of choice! (There is tough competition for the aspiring MBA’s money amongst the surfeit of Business Schools)

Q-3: Are the fresh graduates capable of understanding the nuances of MBA curriculum?
A-3: For the majority; NO!

Q-4: Will the MBA course provide a positive ROI?
A-4: Yes & No. Yes in the long run as far as the monetary aspect is concerned. No in the long run as far as self-actualization is concerned.

Note: There are many exceptions to the above. If the reader is one of them, maybe he/she should stop and think if they are an exception or the rule.

My concerns for my cousin are all of the above. Maybe he will find inspiration in the same way as Mr. Gopalakrishnan did. Maybe he will be an exception. Maybe this article will be food for thought for him and others in a similar situation.

Till that time, the gregarious me will dither but still say, “My Cousin is an MBA”