Chapter 6 Recommendations: A Model of Curriculum for in Management Institutions in Mumbai The importance of the subject has been always recognised, globally and nationally. Through the course of research this is re-established and discussed in the earlier chapters. skills are recognised as a critical success factor for managers at all levels, and in all fields and functions. All the skill sets related to communication are crucial. After completion of their course, management students of Mumbai are expected to compete with students from the IIMs and other premier Indian and international business schools. The institutions have a great responsibility towards their stakeholders the students, the corporate sector and society at large. The present curriculum for the subject does not match up to the expectations. There is an urgent need to update the management curriculum and teaching methods with a view to catering to requirements of Indian students as well as global organizations. A course in has to offer oral and written communication, interpersonal communication, cross cultural communication, corporate communication and leadership communication. The curriculum revamp should be worked out with an understanding of the relevance at a macro level and at micro level. Figure 6.1 brings out the correlation between technical knowledge and communication skills. Nanduri Aparna Rao 125
Figure 6.1: Correlation between technical Knowledge & Skills H Skills LH HH LL HL L L Low, H High Technical Knowledge H The most desirable ratio is the top quadrant, where students stand the best chances of selection and career growth. Most of the students lie in the other three quadrants. Organizations then have the additional job and expenses of training and development. Ideally, students should be trained in effective communication at graduation and post graduation levels of management. News reports often quote industrials and business heads describing graduates and post graduates as unemployable. The desirable quality for employability is that the candidates are high on both parameters. The percentage of students in this category is lower compared to students in the other three categories. Students enroll for management education with the aim of scoring high on the employability scale. An empirical model curriculum is recommended to enable management institutions in Mumbai to bridge this gap in the area of communication skills. 6.1 Objectives of the Curriculum for A holistic course in should enable students to: 6.1.1 Develop listening and speaking skills 6.1.2 Differentiate between oral and written language 6.1.3 Develop writing skills required for formal documents Nanduri Aparna Rao 126
6.1.4 Develop sensitivity to the nuances of cultural differences in communication 6.1.5 Understand the role of ethics in communication 6.1.6 Understand the importance of leadership communication 6.2 Concepts of : A Theoretical Framework for the Curriculum 6.2.1 Basic Skills Effective communication needs to be built around this simple foundation and realization: communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. In fact, communication is more concerned with a dual listening process. Dr Heinz Goldmann, Chair, Heinz Goldmann International Foundation for Effective s, Geneva. The term includes the basic skills of observation, listening, speaking, reading, comprehension and writing. This subject aims to help students gain an understanding of processing and sharing information to facilitate decision making. 6.2.2 Managerial Understanding how language works in the construction of social and organizational realities is fundamental to management practice Stuart, Sarow & Stuart, (2007) Integrated Business in a Global Marketplace. plays a key role in the effective performance of a manager. A manager is expected to facilitate strategy and decision making at senior levels and execute these decision at junior levels. Managerial aims to enhance teamwork in tandem towards organizational goals. A course in Managerial should bring out the issues of communication in the context of an organization, with special reference to the functions of a manager. Nanduri Aparna Rao 127
6.2.3 Business processes initiated with an aim to achieve organizational goals and implement decisions It s about understanding how crucial effective communication is in business. Integrated Business refers to the process of planning, executing and evaluating unified messages that create stakeholder relationships and build brand recognition. A course in Business in the management classroom should be aimed at helping students appreciate the emerging challenges in this area of communication. 6.2.4 Cross-Cultural Globalization and international trade have brought together people from across cultures to the workplace. It is important to understand how culture influences the way people communicate for business. classes in business schools must bring in this dimension. The topic should enable students to understand cultural differences across geographies and communicate with people from various backgrounds. 6.2.5 Leadership Effective leadership is still largely a matter of communication. - Alan Axelrod, Elizabeth I, CEO: Strategic Lessons from the Leader who built an Empire Business students are expected to assume roles of leadership in their organizations. The success of a leader depends on the ability to communicate the goals of the organization to the internal and external stakeholders. The modern expectation is that leadership communication is transparent, clear and open. By communicating more effectively, Nanduri Aparna Rao 128
managers improve their ability to get things done with and through people. - Barrett J.Deborah Leadership should be an important component in a communication course in business schools. 6.2.6 Corporate Corporate is being recognized as a critical area in organizations. The Corporate s managers carry the huge responsibility of the internal and external communication of the organization for business success and reputation management. This topic should be included in a communication course in a business school. Guidelines for ethical leadership and corporate communication are recommended. 6.2.7 Role of Technology in Organizational An information bomb is exploding in our midst showering us with a shrapnel of images and drastically changing the way each of us perceives and acts upon our private world. In shifting from a Second Wave (Industrial) to the Third Wave (Information) we are transforming our own psyches. -Alvin Toffler, Third Wave Technology has drastically changed the way people report to work, interact at work, and documentation of processes and products. Technology - Biometric attendance systems, intranet, Skype, Video Conferencing, Internet, IT security systems, mobile phones, smart phones etc has a great influence the verbal and non-verbal messages and the patterns of formal and informal communication patterns in the organization. This dimension must be incorporated into the communication classes in management institutions. The subject of communication is no longer limited to basic oral and written communication skills. It becomes the responsibility of educators to factor in the changes and offer a holistic course in this domain. A framework of the curriculum is proposed in Section 6.3. Nanduri Aparna Rao 129
6.3 A Proposed Model Curriculum for for Business Schools in Mumbai Table 6.3 (i) Proposed Model Curricula for Semester 1 Semester 2 Semester 3 Skills Managerial I Managerial II 1 Credit 30 Hours 1 Credit 30 Hours 1 Credit 30 Hours 1. Basics of Language & Grammar 2. Oral Public Speaking, Presentation Skills 3. Basic Writing E- mails, inter-office memos, internal reports 4. Technology and 1. Oral & Written for Managers & Leaders 2. Organizational 3. Meetings 4. Documentation, Business Reports, Business Proposals 5. Interpersonal Skills 6. Ethical 1. Leadership 2. Organizational 3. Corporate 4. Strategy 5. across Cultures 6.4 Recommended Pedagogical Approaches 6.4.1 Lecture Method One of the most traditional methods, the lecture method continues to hold sway in classrooms in India and globally. This method helps Nanduri Aparna Rao 130
string together the objectives, concepts and relevance of the subject. The lecture method can be used for theoretical concepts. The main advantage is that this can be combined with other methods. The method is teacher centric and students are expected to listen, grasp and relate. The success of the method depends solely on the teacher s ability to continue for at least two and a half hours. The duration of a management class is typically 3 hours. The lecture method is not a sustainable approach for a 3 hour class. The attention span of the students is a major point to be considered. An ideal plan would be to divide the session into components of 1 hour or so. There could be a practical activity based component, a discussion followed or preceded by a lecture. The method can be effectively used to consolidate the overall concepts of a given topic. This would encourage students to relate concepts to practical issues and gain various perspectives. 6.4.2 Case Study Method The paper What is the Future of the Case Method in Management Education in India coordinated by Shiva Kumar Srinivasan, with contributions from other IIM faculty members discusses the merits of this method. The Case Study method, an innovation of Harvard Business School, has proved effective in bringing real life situations to business classrooms. The dynamics of the changing business scenario present an opportunity for teachers to innovate and relate to business concepts. The challenge however, is to update the cases and stay in touch with reality. The authors recommend that teachers involve students in writing cases so that the learning is more effective. In ideal situations, the teachers should be interacting with decision makers and documenting the Nanduri Aparna Rao 131
progress of a situation in an organization. This would help enrich the case and the teaching contents. The paper also discusses the demerits of using outdated cases borrowed from secondary sources. These cases would tend to give a limited picture of reality. The cases at IIM Ahmedabad are reviewed yearly for relevance and updated information. 6.4.3 Field Work Field Work is emerging as a popular method to tap potential cases in the local businesses. Students should be encouraged to go out into the field and interview business people and corporate professionals on a specific topic. A template for the questions and report may be provided. There should be scope for primary and secondary data collection. This method would enable students to understand the challenges of oral and written communication. The output could be evaluated through reports submitted by students as assignment. This practice would discourage copy paste reports. Students would be able to relate to the learning experience. The teacher must facilitate these interactions by initial dialogue with organizations. The reports could also be used as primary material to identify potential case studies, which could be developed and written. This would lead to the desirable cycle of theory, practice, field and case study development. 6.4.4 Live Projects Live Projects can be designed to enable students to learn interpersonal skills and oral communication through selling. Interaction with different kinds of individuals in the marketplace would help students understand the communication challenge. The process of approaching total strangers, selling a concept or product would enhance students Nanduri Aparna Rao 132
confidence and help them gain hands on experience of classroom discussions of concepts. A selling project should ideally be culminated in the form of experience sharing through blogs and class presentations. Just like the field assignment, this would help consolidate classroom learning and discourage blind copy paste. Experiments discussed earlier in this research work (4.3.2, 4.3.3 & 4.3.5) have shown that students take ownership and responsibility and ensure success of the project. Leaders emerge in the process. Team players, key performers and achievers and slackers are identified. Evaluation would be fairer and more transparent. Such identification is easier through live projects. In classroom based projects, this may or may not come out accurately. One of the challenges for this method is the time budgeting. The teacher has to ensure that students work on a given deadline, keeping in view the assignments for the other subjects. An interesting idea was recommended by the teachers to meet this challenge. The field assignment or selling project could be clubbed with one or two other subjects for related concepts. For e.g. the selling project could be combined with Selling & Negogiation. The assignment then gets more meaningful and worthwhile. The benefits of marks for two subjects would increase the seriousness and commitment of the students. This can be executed effectively with proper planning and coordination between the teachers of both the subjects. 6.4.5 Purposive Story Telling In her article A Novel Approach to the Moral Dimension of Leadership, Tandon Soma discusses how a book may be used effectively to enable a better understanding of ethical dilemmas and Nanduri Aparna Rao 133
organizational decision making vis-a-vis individual values versus organizational demand. Paulo Coelho s book The Devil & Miss Prym is used to demonstrate how this can be done in a management classroom. Story telling has been an age old technique in India, followed in the ancient Gurukuls. Stories are well received by students. The story narration is followed by a discussion and talk on the main message and learning outcome. The challenge in this case is that the teacher needs to be a good story teller. The choice of story and accurate connection with the concepts is also necessary. This would help students relate with the subject, understand the relevance and improve listening and comprehension skills. A blend of theory and practical assignments is recommended. Ideally, the practical assignments and experience from field work and live projects should be shared in the classroom. These could be used as base to consolidate conceptual learning. 6.5 Evaluation Pattern for The subject of should be evaluated on the practical assignments on a continuous basis. Ideally, each practical assignment should carry 10% weightage in the subject. In case of integrated approach, students are evaluated for two or more subjects. The weightage could be proportionately increased. When students see that their assignments could score them marks in more than one subject, efforts are more concentrated and learning is improved. The existing pattern of 40% for internal evaluation and 60% for end term exam may be followed. The question papers for the end term paper should be designed such that they give the teacher an Nanduri Aparna Rao 134
insight into the understanding of the subject. Memory based question papers would defeat this purpose. 6.6 Value Addition through Value Addition in the area is recommended. This should be an ongoing process from Semester I through Semester III. A specific time slot for this is required. The value addition should be a qualifying non-credit course on oral and written communication. Modules should focus on reading and analysis of current affairs, Group Discussions, and Interview Techniques. The above recommendations are made with a sincere effort to make the subject relevant, updated and increase the scope for enriching the content for Skills in Management Institutions in Mumbai. 6.7 Broad Recommendations for Enriching the Subject Content & Delivery at a Macro Level and Micro Level: 6.7.1 Macro level The subject of communication has emerged as a strong area recognised for effective strategy in management institutions globally. Business schools globally, go beyond basic communication skills to prepare students for areas like corporate communication, leadership communication, managerial communication, communication strategy etc. The syllabus for subjects as presented by various universities discusses details of the Instructor, Course Description and Course Pre requisites, Course Objectives, Methods of Instruction, Attendance Procedure, Methods of Evaluation, Assignments, Plagiarism Policy and Grading Patterns. This information is available online, and ensures transparency Nanduri Aparna Rao 135
and objectivity. This enables a professional approach towards the course. A similar approach is recommended for University of Mumbai. The present syllabus discusses the topics, marking pattern, time frame and references. It is recommended that the complete details are incorporated and uploaded on the website. The subject of needs to be taken from being skill based to concepts. A curriculum model for the subject, incorporating experiential learning is being pilot tested, and will be presented. The paper should be synchronised with the other subjects. For e.g. When Research Methodology is taught, the topic of Report Writing for Research and Business purposes should be covered. With Business Plans, the topics of writing business plans and proposals should be covered. 6.7.2 Micro level The dynamics of student- teacher communication in management classes need to be understood. While the prescribed syllabus takes priority, it is recommended that modules suited to students of the institution are introduced as value addition. Bringing the world into the classroom has become highly necessary. A checklist based on a scientific plan of action for content delivery may be designed. A session plan can consider the reading material pre and post- class (freedom of learning), classroom activities to make the subject relevant (why), theory and practical aspects (experiential). Initial warm up activities to set the stage for the topics are helpful. A 5 minute quiz, a recapitulation of topics and concepts discussed earlier, an anecdote work effectively. So also, getting the students ready for the next class by discussing what to read, plan and expect would also help. These simple procedures help Nanduri Aparna Rao 136
in getting the students ready to learn, and take a positive approach to the subject and the teacher. Effective use of technology for additional reading, assignments and pre-reading is highly recommended. You cannot teach anybody anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves. - Galileo Nanduri Aparna Rao 137