Monday, June 4, 2001		Article

Include IT in MBA curriculum
Sumesh Raizada

BESIDES the electronic and computer industry, field of education, too, has also undergone a sea change during the past few years.

Till mid 80s, the best career options that the parents had in mind about their children were medicine, engineering, chartered accountancy or law. These degrees were considered safe in terms of a secure job and immediate earnings. Those who could not get into these careers pursued other course combinations and used to try their luck in private or government jobs, where mostly junior executives rose in the hierarchy to the senior or top management positions. Rarely senior managers used to possess a degree in management. Business management courses were limited to just a few reputed institutes like IIMs, Bajaj and XLRI. Those who passed out from these institutions were either absorbed in multinationals or went abroad on lucrative assignments.

However, as domestic industries grew in size and multinationals expanded their operations, need arose for trained professionals in different businesses. As a result corporate sector started recruiting those possessing an MBA degree. All major universities opened up business management faculty to cater to this growing demand. As a result within a short period of time, a number of private management institutes mushroomed all over the country, offering degrees like MBA, BBA or DBA. The fee charged for these courses was obviously high.

The recent years however, have witnessed a shift in the preference of students who are away from management courses. Though, one may blame external factors like job market scenario, education industry is itself quite responsible for the present state. Firstly, many institutes compromised on the aptitude and intelligence of the candidates at the time of screening. These colleges even lacked proper infrastructure and qualified faculty, which resulted in deterioration of the standard of education. Because of this, candidates coming out of these colleges found it extremely difficult to get a decent job, leave aside the issue of bargaining their price.

The career prospects for management students have deteriorated further with the current Information Technology wave, which has swept away the job market completely. The education scenario is changing fast and the charm for management degree seems to be getting lost among youngsters, now. They are instead queuing up for IT related careers, considering the perks and opportunities associated with them. Computer education existed in our country earlier also, but was just exposed to basic computer hardware and programming aspects. Earlier, there were very few universities and institutes that offered formal degree or certificate in computer courses.

Moreover, since a majority of businesses and services were not computerised, job potential was limited and restricted to just a handful of companies. Computer jobs were limited and therefore very few students pursued a computer course. However, with the advancement in communication and information technology, several new career opportunities have been created in this field.

The meteoric rise of the Internet coupled with improved telecommunication facilities has led to a phenomenal growth of various computer-related applications that were till now unheard off in India. The demand for professionals proficient in Web programming and designing, network administration, database administration and Web hosting has increased.

During the last 2 or 3 years, there has been a drastic shift in the policy of government that seems to be supporting the IT industry due to its future potential. India is among the biggest exporter of software product and professionals to the USA and European markets, thereby earning precious foreign exchange. Presently all major industries are facing recession except the IT, which is still showing exponential rise in India.

What happened in the field of management education in the ’80s is being repeated in the IT field now. Today, a large number of computer teaching institutes are opening up in every street corner. Even working executives and engineers in manufacturing or marketing industry are leaving their jobs in search of greener pastures in the field of IT. Universities are now coming with more IT courses, keeping in mind their demand among students, housewives or working personnel.

It is therefore time for our education planners to rethink the strategy planning for education in 21st century. Management institutes should now redefine their curriculum that should be more IT-specific. The MBA or BBA courses should not be limited to just introduction of computer hardware or programming, but must include Web programming, networking and e-com related packages. This will help our future managers and they will not feel outdated in front of their less-qualified computer-proficient subordinates. If minimum required computer curriculum is included in the management courses that will save extra money being spent by management students on getting additional computer and Web-related degrees.

Already a management institute in Pune has come up with a course in business management with simultaneous diploma in Information Technology sponsored by the NIIT. Similarly, at least two private institutes in Noida and Faridabad have come with a curriculum consisting of both management and computer education. Panjab University, Chandigarh, is also offering a similar course called Bachelor of Computer-Aided Management. In coming years more colleges with combined management and IT degrees are expected to come up all over the country.