Should work experience be made mandatory for management institutes

Stand: Yes, work experience should be made mandatory for management institutes. Defense: An education in management has two aims. Firstly, to increase the understanding of the factors which influence the conduct of organizations and secondly to provide students with some tools and techniques which they may use to influence organizational life.  Most subjects that one studies in a management programme are composed of theory and practice. Management education emphasizes on the application of concepts in the industry. For example, Information Systems (IS) is the application of information and system technologies to organizational and managerial needs. Almost every industry and field relies upon information systems and technologies to compete in the marketplace, to streamline current operations, and to create effective work environments. Information systems professionals analyze, design, develop, implement, and manage a wide range of computer-based information systems.  Operations and Systems Management (OSM) specialization students learn how to set standards, goals, and objectives and measure their achievement. Continuous improvement, benchmarking, six sigma methodology, quality management, operations research, decision sciences, project management, technology management, operations management, supply chain, and business process analysis are some of the tools that OSM specialization students use for performance achievement. After having looked at IS and OSM as subjects in a management programme, we can safely conclude that most management subjects are application oriented subjects which cannot be best understood by reading a text book alone.  On the contrary, an individual having adequate work experience in the respective field can better understand the concepts and is in a far more better position to grasp the essence of what is being ‘taught’ in the class.  The student can directly relate his/her work experience to the theory compared to mucking up books.   A classic book on Organizational Behaviour by Stephen Robbins defines ‘learning’ as any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience.  We have ample research evidence to support that a ‘hands on’ or a ‘live’ experience teaches us more than what the best books can teach.  The adage – “Lessons of experience are far more trustworthy than those given by doctors and universities” is not a waste…If all students come into management institutes with prior work experience, this will immensely add to the quality of inputs and discussions in class. One important attraction of a reputed management institute is its Placement Services.  Today, there are about 857 business schools in the country providing education to at least 60,000 students.  It may not be feasible for every institute to provide placements to each n every student.  If work experience is mandated in a management programme, students can leverage their contacts with the industry for their summer projects as well for their final placements.  Management education also harnesses live projects or concurrent projects during the MBA programme.  Students can make positive use of their contacts with the industry for their academic assignments.  They can seek references from their previous employers and thus gain an easy access into the corporate world, which otherwise might seem to be a mammoth task. In business you have to DO things, take decisions, take action, and monitor results. You cannot operate any business by just planning what to do on paper. Planning is, of course, an important step in the process, but there are many examples of businesses, which have had excellent plans but failed because no one implemented the ideas.  So, isn’t the best way to learn about how to do business, to work in a business and learn from others? NO.  In the heat of battle, and business today becomes a battle, you cannot learn to fight, there are too many day-to-day pressures, and few people have the time (or the capability) to explain what is happening and, more importantly for someone trying to learn, the reason for decisions. The alternative is to mandate relevant ‘work experience’ as an eligibility in a management programme.  At the entry level itself, if only those candidates with work experience are admitted into the institute, one can be assured of the quality of management education when there will be sixty individuals with sixty diverse work experience backgrounds in the class.   In the management education programme, it is not only the faculty who teaches but more so the discussions that students initiate and questions and answers ….There will be a tremendous value addition to the classroom teaching with 60 + work experiences !