Emerging contours of Business Education

In this short 11 minute interview with McKinsey Quarterly, Blair Sheppard, dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business explains how the Business Education is shaping globally. Highlights: 

• Changing attitudes/interests of students - broadening horizons
• Need for a shift from the inter-disciplinary structure to an inter-scholastic structure
• Industry's need for humble leaders and how to create them
• Emergence of B Schools as truly global, more industry specific and a clear demarcation between the top notch schools and mediocre schools

NITIE - my alma-mater partially at least qualifies as futuristic in terms of having a deeply ingrained structure to develop humble leaders - students run the school in most dimensions and have an amazing exposure to team-work/ leadership while on campus!!

HBR's best performing CEOs

I recently read the HBR article rating the World's best performing CEOs. Apart from the fact that Mukesh Ambani featured at the 5th spot, a couple of points struck me. 

• Steve Jobs topped the list. Once again proves how closely the share holder's value is dependent on customer-centric innovations - Staying Hungry & Staying Foolish helps!
• The top 3 ranked CEOs are non MBAs. However it also reveals that MBAs on an average tend to do better than their counterparts with an MBA beating them by about 40 odd places in the ranking.   
• CEOs promoted from inside the company tended to have stronger performance than those brought from outside. This perhaps in a way confirms my intuitive conviction that to lead an organization one must assimilate thoroughly its DNA and that the surest way of achieving this understanding is by spending time there. 
• 3 of the top 5 CEOs run companies based in Emerging markets.All of the Top 5 CEOs run  Energy / Technology companies.

The study primarily ranked CEOs on the net change in the Market Cap (corrected for Geography and Industry adjustments) of companies during a CEO's tenure. Only CEO's who assumed their roles between 1995 and 2007 were rated. 

P.S.: I am not very certain if the quantum of jump in Market Cap can correctly determine a  CEO's success. For example:

1. A CEO who takes over a overvalued company arguable enjoys greater investor confidence. This in turn could be a key-enabler to his success. A CEO who takes over in difficult times starts with a dis-advantage. 
2. The interesting thing is that the contrary could also be true. A CEO who takes over an undervalued company could be in a better position to show the same quantum jump in the Market Cap compared to one who takes over an overvalued company. 

Cultivating CONSUMERISM

There comes a point of saturation in every rich man's life that he owns everything he needs and he buys no more. Ditto with rich countries. At this point of saturation there are 3 kinds of demand that drive growth namely, 

• Replacement demand - to replace old products that are not satisfactorily functional
  
• New Product demand - a product that satisfies previously unsatiated needs. Too far and too few innovations
  
• FMCG demand - regular consumption, as the name suggests

These demands cannot fuel double digit growth of economies. On this intersting premise,  Arindham Chaudhuri builds the case why the current recession is good for India and other emerging economies. 

Drawing an example, he suggests that it is essentially because of this phenomenon coupled with the non-materialistic culture of the country and its declining population that the Japanese economy has been reeling under recessionary pressure for over the last decade.

He extends the logic to Americas and Europe where he says despite the above mentioned saturation, people have been drawn to buying more than they actually need owing to their materialistic culture and easily available credit. Now a time has come when on an avearge every American's income for the next 15 years has been pledged to fuel this consumerism. This has in effect built up a dangerous bubble. Credit cannot no more drive safely drive consumerism here. The bubble has burst and banks can no more offer have loans that are not sub-prime. 

Why is it good for India?

Like the Sonys and the Toyotas moved outside the boundaries of the Japanese market in search of growth over the last few decades, the only option ahead of the America Inc is to explore large virgin markets viz. India, China, Eastern Europe, Latin America SE Asia and Africa. In essence these companies will also work to give the Indian population the purchasing power  that can so much be a short-cut for all their investor's woes. The next couple of decades look promising !!! 

To read more: Page 62, B&E, 30th April 2009