Management Education in VUCA world

Management Education was introduced at a time when the world was predictable. But now we are in a VUCA world which is full of challenges and uncertainties. Same situations are not repeated every day. There are new challenges that the leaders/ managers have to encounter. Earlier management education was all about leadership only. But now ‘Developing Dynamic Capabilities’ is the future of Management. Dynamic capability in an individual implies to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external competencies to address to rapidly changing environments. Hence, it is essential to embrace Management Education with the concept of ‘Dynamic Capabilities’.

But now the big question is how to develop dynamic capabilities? The answer is embrace core competencies as strategic assets.This can be done with different measures:

1. Management Education should not be a generic program but a specialized degree or diploma program. It should offer development of core competencies.
2. Vacational Technical Education is the fiture of India. Vacational Training Programs made Germans, Americans, who they are?South Korea transformed itself in 35 years from backward, agragarian society to modern society with a very high income per capita
3. Design Thinking should be embraced. The two ingredients to design thinking are i) Outcome Based Curriculum

ii) Rapid Prototyping

Things don’t work out one way. We need to scramble and do it again. Ironically, Business students are trained to find single plan and then execute on that.It is essential management education develop expertise in the areas of leadersip, strategy, innovation and people management.

4. 3I’s of the education are Interaction, Integration and Individualism. Management Education should inculcate these three perspectives in education to promote creativity and development in student.
5. Embracing accreditation is also beneficial for management education. Education should be incorporated with affiliations from high reputes so that quality education is maintained.
6. International Exposure is also very important for management education. Students need to understand relevance of global education and shold have better understanding of cultures all across.
7. New aids, such as artificial intelligence, robots, and 3D printing, will substantially enhance productivity and solve human needs much more effectively. Why have a receptionist when a virtual one can do much more at lower costs? 3D printing, though not taken off so far, will suddenly create new opportunities and provide solutions in a customized way and on demand

The future holds a lot of potential for Management graduates as professionals in this technology and networking dominant scenario. Career choices for individuals should vary based on personal skills and aptitudes. However, there are external factors such as economy, industry developments and job market’s weather, which determines one’s success in the professional world. Understanding the consequences of the revelations at ground zero is vital for all the parties involved, especially the aspirant. As a result, one needs to choose the B school with a lot of care and bearing in mind the adaptability of the institute towards this crisis.