Can we as faculty members of management sense the future?

Nitin Joshi
V N BRIMS, Thane.

We are in the VUCA world which is surrounded by disruption and ambiguity. When we talked about disruption it is difficult to appreciate the fact that not many management teachers are willing to adapt the changes which are happening due to technology and the new approach to business.

In many management institutes teaching is like more of imparting information rather than giving relevant knowledge. A lot of faculty members in the ecosystem have a habit of shifting the problem of the student, rather than solving the problem. The question is are the faculty members continuously working hard to be relevant, are they competent enough to help somebody learn what is required in the future. Do they have enough of student engaging capability and aspiration to ensure that there is Assurance of learning? Management faculty members are focusing more on creating future workers rather than creating future leaders. There is a dearth of independent thinking capability and ability to respond to the ever changing environment.

Today it is expected that a faculty members should have most of the abilities which include

Innovative approach
Highly engaging,
Reliable knowledge delivery
Ability to manage ambiguity
Adaptable
Continues learner
Ability to think
Rate of learning should be faster than change
Understanding student
Disruptive approach
Research mind-set.

Gaps at the faculty members end in a management Institutes:

Lack Relevance

Lack of industry experience
Lack of research initiative
Lack of interest in up-gradation
Lack of problem solving abilities

Skill set required for the new world:

Data Analytics
Data management and integration
Emotional intelligence
Know how of what needs to be done

What can be done to improve the learning effectiveness?

Creating simulated environment
Game based learning.
Collaborative learning
Experiential learning
High level of student engagement

There is a need to bring in the change at the teacher level so that assurance of learning can be demonstrated. It is expected that most of the teachers would already be working on the self development with changing times and teachers will become role models for many aspiring students.