B-schools can't be blamed for "2008" crisis: Soumitra Dutta
OneIndia
brings
to
you
an
exclusive
interview
with
Soumitra
Dutta,
who
was
recently
elevated
to
the
enviable
position
as
Dean
of
Cornell
Johnson
Graduate
School
of
Management
as
the
First
Major
U.S.
Business
School
Dean
appointed
from
an
International
Academic
Institution.
The
interviewer
is
a
notable
personality
in
his
own
right
and
is
Rajeev
Gowda,
an
Indian
Institute
of
Management
professor
who
is
passionate
about
subjects
like
policy
making,
education
and
governance.
This
Bengalurean
himself
is
an
alumni
of
Wharton
and
Berkeley.
How
has
growing
up
in
India
and
being
Indian
helped
you
as
you
have
progressed
along
your
career—experiences,
mindset,
etc?
My
father
is
a
medical
doctor
who
spent
his
career
in
the
Indian
Air
Force
and
my
mother
is
a
housewife
who
dedicated
her
life
to
her
family.
Growing
up
within
the
Air
Force
community,
I
spent
time
in
many
parts
of
the
country
–
including
Delhi,
Jorhat
and
Bangalore
–
and
also
benefited
from
friends
from
across
the
country.
Thus
multi-cultarism
and
diversity
are
in
my
DNA
and
this
has
helped
me
to
progress
in
my
career
as
an
international
academic
while
living
and
working
in
multiple
countries
and
cultures.
My
mother's
influence
has
helped
me
to
value
human
relationships
and
instill
in
me
many
of
the
core
values
that
I
cherish
today
and
which
are
essential
for
a
leadership
position.
You have been far away from India for a few decades. How would you now build bridges to India?
I return to India every two to three months. My parents and sister live in Delhi and I have many friends in the country. I work regularly with many Indian institutions such as CII and Indian companies such as Infosys. I love India and I am Indian. I have never left India.
In
comparison
with
Europe,
America
has
traditionally
been
more
welcoming
of
non-native
talent
(as
Harvard,
Kellogg,
Chicago,
and
now
Cornell
business
schools
are
demonstrating).
What
was
your
experience
breaking
into
the
top
ranks
of
Europe’s
business
circles
and
how
would
you
leverage
that
in
the
US?
INSEAD
is
a
very
international
school,
much
more
so
than
many
other
global
institutions.
I
do
not
feel
that
INSEAD
or
other
European
schools
have
been
less
welcoming
of
non-native
talent.
However,
what
is
true
is
that
European
schools
have
often
been
less
competitive
in
attracting
global
faculty
as
many
of
them
(unlike
INSEAD)
are
still
state
schools
and
have
limitations
on
financial
packages
which
they
are
able
to
offer
to
global
talent.
This
picture
is
changing
fast
as
many
European
schools
now
recognize
the
need
to
compete
effectively
for
global
talent
–
both
faculty
and
students.
Cornell’s President hailed your appointment as indicative of the university’s increasingly global outlook. Can you elaborate on that? Are we going to see Cornell elsewhere, outside of New York state, like INSEAD’s multiple locations?
Cornell
is
a
very
global
university
and
has
long
and
deep
links
with
many
countries
in
the
world,
including
India.
Nevertheless,
the
decision
of
Cornell
University
to
look
outside
the
national
boundaries
of
the
USA
for
the
position
of
Dean
of
the
Johnson
school
is
symbolic
as
it
shows
that
top
universities
are
making
globalization
a
higher
priority
for
the
future.
My
goal
will
be
to
take
Johnson
to
the
world
and
to
bring
the
world
to
Johnson
–
how
to
effectively
do
this
will
be
a
matter
of
discussion
that
I
intend
to
lead
with
the
faculty,
staff
and
students
of
Johnson
in
the
coming
months.
With
your
years
of
experience
running
Executive
Education
for
INSEAD,
is
Cornell
looking
to
break
into
corporate
Europe?
Given
the
Eurozone
crisis,
is
this
the
wrong
time
for
such
an
initiative?
Cornell will certainly focus on Europe and other emerging markets. The business stage today is global and no serious company can look at business from a purely national or regional basis. Crises such as the Eurozone financial crisis are temporary events which do not detract from the longer term need for a global perspective in business education and management development.
Talking
of
crises,
in
2008,
the
best
and
brightest
graduates
of
business
schools
plunged
the
world
into
deep
financial
turmoil.
How
can
we
fix
MBA
programs
to
prevent
repeats
of
2008?
It
is
incorrect
to
put
the
“blame”
for
the
2008
crisis
on
business
schools.
Only
a
small
fraction
of
the
people
involved
in
creating
the
crisis
had
MBA
degrees.
However,
it
is
correct
to
ask
the
question
about
how
the
crisis
impacts
the
education
that
we
impart
in
our
MBA
programs.
While
there
are
no
panaceas,
one
can
certainly
think
of
a
few
important
action
items
–
a)
take
a
more
holistic
view
of
business
systems
involving
governments
and
society
at
large
as
opposed
to
a
more
narrow
firm
level
perspective;
b)
focus
not
just
on
models
and
solutions
but
also
on
risks
and
boundary
conditions
–
learn
more
about
when
models
and
assumption
can
fail;
and
c)
help
strengthen
core
values
of
ethical
leadership
such
that
business
is
seen
as
a
force
for
good
for
everyone.
You
have
done
some
fascinating
work
on
how
the
online
world
is
transforming
work
and
life.
Is
Cornell
betting
on
you
to
implement
those
insights
to
transform
different
aspects
of
education?
Technology
is
changing
the
world
around
us
and
is
having
an
important
impact
on
both
the
delivery
of
learning
and
the
creation
of
new
business
models
in
education.
Cornell
has
a
very
strong
department
of
Computer
and
Information
Sciences
and
I
will
collaborate
with
them
to
identify
ways
in
which
technology
can
be
better
leveraged
within
the
research
and
program
activities
of
the
Johnson
school.
What are the next big business ideas you expect to make an impact on management thought and practice?
Business
today
has
to
become
a
force
for
good
–
serving
the
needs
of
not
just
capitalistic
owners,
but
of
all
key
stakeholders.
Businesses
have
also
to
enlarge
their
vision
from
serving
narrow
needs
(of
immediate
customers
and
local
stakeholders)
to
becoming
effective
global
citizens.
The
next
big
business
theories
will
have
to
find
ways
to
integrate
these
thoughts
into
an
effective
management
agenda
that
is
able
to
combine
business
performance
with
sustainable
growth.
"You've
authored
a
book
on
Innovating
at
the
Top.
Now
that
you're
at
the
top,
what
innovations
do
you
have
in
store
for
us?"
Leadership
is
a
service
position
and
so
I
really
do
not
see
myself
as
at
the
“top”.
Yes,
I
have
been
nominated
for
the
role
of
Dean
of
the
school
but
my
primary
goal
in
that
role
is
to
listen
to
all
key
stakeholders
including
faculty,
staff
and
alumni,
to
synthesize
their
thoughts
into
a
common
action
agenda
and
to
help
guide
the
implementation
of
their
ideas.
I
am
sure
Cornell
and
the
Johnson
school
will
innovate
in
many
ways,
but
I
would
like
to
actively
push
innovation
agendas
in
the
direction
of
emerging
markets,
technology
entrepreneurship
and
sustainable
enterprises.