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Melting Boundaries and Management Education

Raj Kapoor sang “Mera Joota almost unimaginable there before, like Columbia for
hai Jaapani….” On screen for example, and even the minions dared to venture
his film Shri 420, when actually overseas and even had their niches carved
the “foreign” products were internationally. On the other hand, India became a
slowly disappearing from the preferred manufacturing destination to many
Indian market. Little did he international brands. All in all,by 2009 the globalization
know that he was approaching a has truly “arrived” in India.
period when the lyrics would While there has been a consistent demand for creation,
Prof. Dilip Ranadive
actually come true. For many reinforcement and realignment of every form of
years after that song first came on screen, it sounded like resource to meet the global challenges, there are reasons
a fantasy for an average middle-class Indian. But within to question if enough has been done or even said about
last two decades, a rapid change in business the modifications needed in Management education to
environment has brought most international brands, equip our MBAs to face the globalized form of business
even in his daily needs, not only at his door steps but world.
within his pocket’s reach. It is one thing to send an export manager on an

The real advent of Globalization was experienced by occasional overseas tour to sell your goods but it is
the world in general and India in particular in the later entirely a different challenge to establish and run a
part of the decade of 80s. The softening of cross- manufacturing set up in any overseas country. Dealing
country boundaries led to easy migration of not only with this can be a complex and multilevel challenge.
products and people but also of technologies and ideas. Other than the legal, regulatory and financial aspects the
Many Indian businesses started thinking of going main task is to handle the cross-cultural issues.
global in the true sense of the word. Also, the sheer size There are numerous such aspects which can pose
of the Indian middle class offered opportunities which daunting challenges to the field of management
attracted many international players in a variety of education.
products and service areas to India to establish their
Management education world over is mostly dominated
presence here. Lower costs, a vast pool of skilled and
by the American model, as is being practiced in
qualified talent, reliable banking facilities, corruption
universities like Harvard or Yale or any other. The
free judiciary at apex level and which operated in
methodology practiced in management teachings is
English were other enticements for many MNCs to
ergo necessarily uni-cultured.
choose India as a business destination.
How then this, unless modified to include the
The process of introducing India to globalization was
necessities created by the changes in business world,
accelerated by the IT boom. While the Infosys, TCSs
would enable the student to handle the multicultural
and WIPROSs experienced exponential growth in
dimensions and issues stemming from there?
geographical terms, many smaller players too carried
Many who have a global working experience would
their flag to many countries, mainly to the US and
vouch for the importance of this issue.
Europe. In the process, the Indian middle class received
their real introduction to what can be termed as Global Countries differ strongly from each other, not just
linguistically but also socially and culturally.
culture.
Therefore, individuals also speak, act, behave, and
The manufacturing sector did not lag behind much.
respond differently. The manners in which regulations,
Ranbaxy had an expansion drive almost across the
authorities and even laws are carried out or
globe and went on an acquisition spree from Vietnam to
implemented in different lands differ. The managers
US. Many others in pharma sector followed this lead
who are to manage things in such multicultural
and had their presence established in every continent.
environments need to have this dimension to their
Other sectors like steel (led by the legendary Mittals)
knowledge which equips them with skills and expertise
and Automobiles (mainly TATAs) dominated the news
to understand it, deal with it and produce results.
across the world through their alliances and
The American or Western practices in Management
acquisitions. Many Indian leading players like Bajaj
went on exploring international markets which were have their roots in the typical American individualism.
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