COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT EDUCATION-NEED FOR RADICAL CHANGES

The employment potential in corporate sector has not only shrunk but has also become less attractive because students seek after IT jobs which offer attractive pay packages, urban locations, and white collared and protected environments. Irrespective of their aptitudes, most of them would like to pursue IT careers and higher studies abroad and the main objective gradually converges to landing a financially lucrative job. The relevance of Commerce and management disciplines in an IT dominated job market confronts the faculty at large. Uncertainties in understanding this socio-technological phenomenon and doubts about the sustenance of the IT industry itself over a longer period of time also compound the indecisiveness in giving a proper direction to the curriculum. It is in this context, it is pertinent to describe that the Commerce and business education in India needs the same freedom to innovate, if it is to be relevant and attractive. New curriculum changes are in place this fall and include four key cross experiences:

Immediate exposure to business education via a freshman contemporary management course. An interest core of four key business courses to be taken in associates during the year. An extraordinary international experience requirement for all undergraduate students with programs offered across the globe.

 

The situation of having strongly business and accounting  based programmes in a large number of disciplines with students overwhelmingly opting (rightly or wrongly) for IT careers cannot be resolved in the near future.

The uncertainty surrounding the sustenance of the IT industry also does not provide compelling reasons to proceed decisively towards framing an IT oriented Business curriculum

 

PRESENT TRENDS

The curriculum is not in pace with the current trends.

It lacks continuous and active interaction between industries and institutions.

It does not reflect the changed realities in Indian market and business and also the changes in global trade, commerce and services.

nIn many of our institutions latest management concepts are academically treated. For instance, many powerful management concepts such as Core Competence, Bench marking, Restructuring, Disinvestment etc; are not applied in research.

 

INNOVATIVE AREAS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION

In the area of Marketing, marketing of services including that of business education service, tourism service and NGO services are to be incorporated fully into the business curriculum to make it contemporary and relevant in market and philosophy.

In the same way, finance specialization studies are yet to give sufficient focus for the subjects like financial modeling, restructuring, options and futures, mergers & Acquisitions. in their syllabus. Studies on Risk Management   insurance   have    to    be incorporated   into   the   finance   area specialization.

 HRD is considered more or less the same as that of Personnel Management which should be corrected. Sector specific studies like hospital-administration, agri-business management, family business management, self-enterprise management, rural development, hotels and hospitality management should be included in Indian business education curriculum.

If our Business education is to be competitive at international level with a cutting edge to attract students from all the developing countries, particularly from SAARC, Asia, and ASEAN regions, curriculum restructuring must be the starting point of this competitive exercise.

 

KEY CROSS EXPERIENCES

    Immediate exposure to business education via a freshman contemporary management course.    

 An engagement core of four key business courses to be taken in associates during the year.

  An extraordinary international experience requirement for all undergraduate students with programs offered across the globe.

Further more,  an attempt has been made  to illustrate the imperatives of expansion, inclusion, and excellence for universities and colleges during the Eleventh Plan require fresh and innovative approaches in Commerce and management education:

   The situation of having strongly business and accounting  based programmes in a large number of disciplines with students overwhelmingly opting (rightly or wrongly) for IT careers cannot be resolved in the near future.    

The uncertainty surrounding the sustenance of the IT industry also does not provide compelling reasons to proceed decisively towards framing an IT oriented Business  curriculum

   The Management curriculum cannot afford to ignore the need for the hardcore commerce background for this serves the long term corporate needs, which are real and not virtual. There need not be any further reduction in academic load as the students are not utilizing the time thus provided for the purpose it is meant i.e., for extra-curricular activities.