The MBA may be about gaining the knowledge and skillsets necessary for success in the world of business. What sort of qualities do top business leaders seek in their employees?

AACSB International (AACSB), the global business education network and accreditation body, sought the views of four professionals on the advice they would give the current students and MBA aspirants on career preparations. The business leaders, in turn, shared their experiences while pursuing the program.

What Do employers Seek in MBA Recruits?

Be Ambitious but Not Self Interested

Ken Languedoc, workforce planning lead at NextEra Energy, said he was looking for smart, creative people, willing to collaborate on projects. “We are looking at people who are easily intellectually stimulated by the work we do. It’s important to be ambitious but not necessarily self-interested. Ambition works in our company, but not self-interest,” he added.

Ken’s LinkedIn profile describes him as experienced finance, talent, workforce strategy, and university relations professional with an extensive history working in the renewable energy sector. He is also into mentoring & career development, workforce planning, college and MBA recruitment.

Be Global in Your Thinking

Kodjo Adovor’s advice is to be global in your thinking. “So, you have to learn about everything else as much as you can. In Business school, it gets hectic, especially during the first year. But you need to get out, as much as you can, to the other parts of the school. One of my favorite courses was the Future of Global Finance. Issues like the impact of China and the rise of India in global finance and it’s important for you as a business leader to know how it can affect you.”

He also says he would encourage b-school students to step out and visit the students of other programs like law, religion and other such disciplines since Businesspeople have to deal with all sections of society.

Kodjo is a graduate of the Yale School of Management’s MBA for Executives program 2018 batch. He is the founder and CEO of Kevi Capital that he started creating even while he was studying at Yale. Incidentally, he was selected as one of AACSB’s 2019 Influential Leaders for his investment firm that funds healthcare and education infrastructure development in Africa.

Keep Asking Questions and be Prepared for Lifelong Learning

Russ Kliman, global leader at SEI Ventures, stressed the need for lifelong learning and never shy away from being inquisitive. “I think it’s important being inquisitive. You always have to be asking questions…that’s important for anybody coming into the business.

Russ, according to his LinkedIn profile, is a Corporate venture capitalist, innovator and design leader. He is also a global speaker on fintech, innovation, and design thinking.

About design thinking, he says it involves understanding the situation you are in and the people involved. It also involves elements of empathy, a human-centred approach.

Networking With People Outside Your Social Circle

Irvin Ashford, senior vice president of external affairs and the national director of financial education for Comerica Bank, gave his views on networking with people from different backgrounds, schools, and professions, and why learning about these other perspectives matters.

He also stressed the role of religion as it provided insights into the non-logical emotional part of human nature. “It helps in understanding the way people behave in certain situations that could have a bearing on business decisions,” he added.

With the belief that “with knowledge comes power,” he uses his role at Comerica Bank to implement programs that teach financial literacy to low- and moderate-income individuals.

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The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has directed all universities and management institutes offering the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) programs along with the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree programs to offer only one of the two under the same roof.

AICTE also stated that if at all an institute wanted to offer both courses, it should provide separate facilities including the building and the faculty. The reasoning behind the order is to prevent the exploitation of or scope for confusion among the students regarding the degree and diploma program.

While there may not be much of a difference between the MBA degree program and the Diploma in the Indian job market, a full-time residential MBA that typically would have a cohort with three or more years of work experience carries more weight among international employers.

The diploma would more likely be treated at par with Masters in Management (MiM) programs that attract fresh graduates with practically no job experience.

MBA or PGDM? AICTE Asks Schools to Provide Separate Facilities

AICTE Letter to Vice Chancellors

Prof Rajive Kumar, Member-Secretary, AICTE wrote a letter to the Vice-Chancellors of Central/State/Private Universities and Deemed to be Universities. In the letter dated February 10, 2020, he said AICTE had allowed PGDM courses to be run by standalone Universities which were neither Central/State/Private Universities nor affiliated to any university on the lines similar to IIMs.

However, over a period of time, Central/State/Private Universities and Deemed to be universities added the PGDM course under the banner of “Management Program” in contravention of APH (Approval Process Handbook) norms.

“In this context, it is brought to your notice that as per in AICTE Regulations, 2020 and para 2.18 of APH 2020-21 conducting PGDM and MBA Courses in the same and Institution is “Not permissible,” the letter said.

“Central/State/Private Universities and Institutions Deemed to be Universities which are running PGDM programs concurrently with MBA under the banner of Management program are requested to convert PGDM courses as MBA completely and comply with the AICTE norms forthwith.

“Institutions affiliated to Universities too have the option of either converting all PGDM courses into corresponding MBA courses with respective university affiliation or vice-versa and run under a separate standalone Institute. But an Institute cannot run both programs simultaneously,” the letter said.

MBA Vs. PGDM

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) were set up as autonomous bodies under the Societies Act. Even though the Institutes developed global standards in management education, they were not empowered to grant degree certificates like the Universities on account of being registered under the Societies Act.

Accordingly, they named their flagship two-year full-time as Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM). The IIMs success with the diploma led to several of the private and public management institutes starting similar diploma programs in management.

However, the popularity of the MBA degree in the past few decades made several Universities and management institutes, both in the private and public sector, introduce MBA programs while continuing with the diploma courses.

In most cases, the facilities and the faculty remained the same for both MBA and PGDM with some differences in course content and the fees, a situation that the AICTE seeks to change with its latest directive.

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