Edu-leaders

Workforce improvement is a key objective for every industry. Since personnel costs account for around 20-30% of the total per-unit cost of a product, any strategic action that helps reduce this outlay is going to be welcome.

One method of reducing this cost is by improving the efficiency and efficacy of personnel. So, can staff productivity be improved by working with academic institutes?

If so, in what areas could such a partnership work? Are there institutes, corporate and academics, where such partnerships have worked? If yes, then with what results? For answers, we have to:
• Look at the need for such partnerships from the industry’s point of view and from the academic community’s point of view;
• Identify areas where academic institutions and industry participation could take place;
• Assess the benefit accrued from the se partnerships; and
• Suggest and recommend a definitive action plan.

Before the 1960s, business education was not offered as an area of specialisation in India. Employees were graduates or postgraduates from the commerce stream. In the 1960s, business education formally gained importance with the establishment of two Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). After that, there was a slow but steady growth in offerings until an upsurge was observed after 1991 when multinational companies entered India and created an increased demand for professionals.

The advent of business schools was primarily in response to a demand from industry for managerial skills. However, in India, the two entities have traditionally been operating in two domains and more or less as isolated islands. The partnership, if any, is only accidental and without any strategic intent.

Partnerships Defined
Academia-industry partnership may be defined as an interactive and collaborative arrangement between academic institutes and business corporations to achieve mutually inclusive goals and objectives. Traditionally, B-schools look for placements and internships for students. The industry, meanwhile, seeks fresh recruits who are well trained and equipped with the right KSA (knowledge, skills and attitude) to contribute to an organisation’s growth.

B-schools are keen to ensure students are absorbed; industry looks for people who can be put on the job from day one. However, students often have to undergo additional training within an organisation to attune them to specific needs, increasing personnel costs by about 5-10%. B-schools and industry have now woken up to the need for strategic intent measured in terms of a partnership, so that industry can reduce personnel costs. B-schools can also meet their objective of providing placements. The industry-academia partnership involves three major players: faculty, students and industry.

Match Point
The B-school Perspective: Schools have realised the importance of working closely with employers for the following reasons:
• Increasing complexity in the academic and business worlds and the changing needs of industry;
• Increasing criticality of human competence in creating and sustaining the competitiveness of organisations;
• Shift in the management paradigm of business schools from the earlier academic models to revenue-based models (i.e. from singly being providers of knowledge to working like a corporate with revenue and profitability being key);
• Growing competition for student placements and industry mind-share, with rapid increases in the number of B-schools and therefore management graduates;

• Growing pressure from industry to make fresh inductees productive from day one to reduce sub­sequent training costs; and
• Increasing interdependence between academia and industry to satisfy the need for sustenance and innovation in their respective areas.

Industry Benefits
Industry has also slowly realised the need to join with B-schools. It sees that partnerships can help to:
1. Revisit the fundamentals of management and understand their consequences;
2. Motivate employees and keep attrition rates down;
3. Access “ready” students, resulting in productivity improvement and reduced training costs; and
4. Work in tandem with B-schools, in areas such as training, consultancy and market research, and carry out applied or fundamental research at a lower cost. (Lower cost is a factor that often forces industry to outsource processes.)

Industry, rather than solely being a consumer of B-schools’ output (students), has thus become a stakeholder in its “production”. It has also discovered the advantages of collaborative learning opportunities. Corporations seek to play an increasingly important role in activities of academic institutions to incubate the talent they need. The shift towards short-term performance metrics and shareholders’ interests has led to a number of changes in the conduct of business and its studies.

Discussions with industry personnel indicated that the first step to improve performance in the workplace was to classify personnel.

The grid helped identify “star” performers, “loyal” employees, “skilled”employees and “question mark” employees. Different types of training could then be imparted to employees to help retain them. Training sessions involving negotiation skills, strategic management techniques and strategies for use during a downturn are then best delivered by B-schools.

Student Benefits
A student benefits from such partnerships through direct interaction with industry, gaining an understanding of the cultures and practices it follows, skill set improvement and an improvement in placement prospects.

Modes of Interface
There are a number of avenues through which business schools can collaborate with industry for mutual benefit.
Some commonly used avenues are:
• Guest lectures by industry representatives;
• Suggesting changes to the curriculum;
• Executive education and management development programmes;
• Joint seminars by academia and industry, both for executives and students;
• Consulting on management and related issues by academia;
• Academia generating ideas and acting as incubators for new business;
• Inclusion of industry experts in governing councils and other boards of study;
• Industry providing financial and infrastructure support to business schools for their development; and
• Funding academic and applied research.

Guest lectures are the most popular mode of industry interface. At some B-schools, it is compulsory to have a minimum number of guest lectures. Sessions are taken by industry executives as well as professional teachers. The objective is to give students an overview of industry practices and help them relate the theory to real-life applications.

They help students understand the workings of an organisation, thereby improving their performance at the workplace. They also help industry personnel hone their skills. In some cases, such sessions have helped employees arrive at “out-of-the-box” solutions.

With the self-feeding method, industry gets a first-hand feel of students in a B-school, increasing their placement opportunities and strengthening the long-term relationship between the two. Involving industry in student training and internships has become mandatory at Indian B-schools. All students have to spend two months with a corporate, working on a specific project to gain meaningful hands-on experience. In some corporate structures, executives assign these students out-market research or similar activities.

This process is a win-win situation for both students and corporate personnel.

The inclusion of executives on governing councils and boards of study of B-schools is another preferred mode of collaboration. The objective of having industry representation is to include the latter’s view on governance and other such activities of the schools. Embellishing councils with industry names is perceived to enhance the image and “recall value” of an institute which, in turn, attracts prospective students, donors and stakeholders, and works in favour of the school during ratings and rankings. This point is valid mainly when it comes to autonomous institutes, deemed-to-be universities and similar organisations, which have flexibility to design curricula.

The syllabi of some MBA programmes, such as those specialising in outsourcing, biotechnology or retail, have been designed by industry experts. One B-school allowed a group of industry personnel to be appointed as members of its board of studies, responsible for approving the revised curriculum every three years.

B-schools can help industry enhance its productivity by conducting part-time MBA, online MBA or executive MBA programmes. These programmes help revisit the business’ fundamentals.

A management development programme (MDP), though quite similar to an executive education programme, is a capsule of shorter duration and focuses on a particular area or topic.

Discussions have revealed these programmes help the workforce hone skills, while simultaneously honing the skill sets of the concerned faculty. Faculty also gets to better understand the nuances of business and its problems. Cases discussed in executive programmes are also discussed in regular MBA classes, creating a win-win situation for all. B-school faculty can also provide consultancy services in areas such as market research and organisational behavioural studies.

Joint seminars are considered to be effective not just for cross-branding, but also for strengthening academic relationship between business schools and industry. They are an opportunity for students to gain an understanding of the latest industry trends. Industry gets a chance to gauge the institute and students for prospective placements.

Meanwhile, case-writing, one of the most important aspects of B-school research, adds to industry knowledge pools and enhances students’ learning experiences. Studies serve as the benchmark for business corporations, who are either in the same stage of a business cycle, or in a similar business.

Innovations in management teaching can only be brought about by an in-depth understanding of business processes by academicians and thought leaders. Though this is perceived as one of the best ways to collaborate, not enough steps have yet been taken by business schools in this direction. A problem area is the industry’s lack of willingness to share data with educational institutes. Many respondents indicated that this was the most difficult part of the academia-industry interface.

Constitution of chairs through financial support is another area in which industry can participate in the functioning of a B-school - by investing in the schools “fixed assets”. The impact of such a partnership, from the industry’s point-of-view, translates into cost savings and improvements in personnel productivity.

From the B-school’s perspective, the impact is qualitative in nature - it could result in an improvement in the quality of students seeking admission. From a student’s perspective, the selection of a B-school is based on factors such as infrastructure, placement, recognition and faculty quality, all of which are bound to improve if the school has industry backing.