SHAPING FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS

Mohua Lahiri and Asha Bhandarker wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors may
have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.

Version: 2014-07-22
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It was Anna’s second day in the Micro OB (Organizational Behavior) class. The class had begun settling
down. She was glad to know that Hari was with her in the same class. They had been in school together in
Bangalore but graduated from different colleges. He was a mechanical engineer and had opted to obtain
his MBA immediately after college. She had worked for a year with an NGO (nongovernmental
organization).

Once the preliminary discussions were over, their OB professor asked them if they would like to
understand something about the expectations the industry had of them. She told them that in 2004, the All
India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had funded a project for the study of management
education in India. She distributed a copy of the desired competencies of students that the recruiters
looked for in business schools. The recruiters felt that it was important for people who would become part
of the organization’s leadership pipeline to have these competencies.

Anna looked at the data. It was a list containing 17 skills and competencies (Exhibit 1A). The professor
told them that this list had been generated from a discussion with industry experts. Subsequently, it was
sent out to 90 recruiters who then ranked the top seven competencies according to their desirability in
MBA students. This presented a daunting picture.

Anna’s first thought was how could she meet the expectations of the recruiters?

BACKGROUND

Anna John was 22 years old and a soft spoken but articulate person. She came from a single parent home,
and her mother was an English professor. Her father passed away when she was three years old. Her
mother had a tough time, bringing up her daughter on her own and struggling to complete her PhD.
Anna’s grandparents often supported her mother in the initial stages, especially when she was completing
her thesis. Anna was very proud of her mother, who was an excellent teacher and had established a first-
rate reputation in her field of specialization - postcolonial literature.
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Anna graduated with a major in psychology from a premier college in Delhi University in 2012 and
subsequently worked for a year with an NGO. She liked working with people and had a great sense of
empathy. During her quarterly performance review, the director met with Anna and said, “Anna I like
your curiosity and thirst to learn new things. I also feel that you are valuable to us because of the way you
think out of box ideas to solve problems. However, I suggest that you broaden your understanding of
organizations and people by obtaining an MBA”. Anna was taken aback. This was the first time someone
had taken time to look at her work and suggest improvements so that she could move along in her journey
as an organizational professional. Anna had worked with the NGO as an intern and they had made an
offer to her at that time. Anna did not have to go through a detailed recruitment process to get the job.
When she looked back at her choice of courses in obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she realized that her
focus had been based more on her grades than on a well thought-out career objective. The director made
her think. Was a degree just a way to get a job or should it be a process for obtaining skills and
developing competence? What kind of a career did she want? How would she finance her MBA program?
Anna decided to speak to her mother, who thought that pursuing an MBA was a great idea, and she
offered to try to arrange for financing to help Anna. Anna realized that she would need to fill in the
various application forms immediately if she wanted to do join an MBA program in the next academic
year. So she got in touch with all of her friends and asked for their help in preparing for the competitive
entrance examinations and in selecting a college.

Anna was glad when she found out that one of her old school friends, Hari, was also entering the same
college. Hari was a brilliant student and he was a whiz with numbers. They had remained friends even
after school and often met when they went home for their holidays. They lived in Bangalore and had
travelled together to Delhi. They both joined the campus two days ago. The first year of the MBA
program consisted of courses in all areas, and it was only in the second year that students would begin to
specialize. They spent the morning of the first day understanding the institute’s vision, its programs, and
the type of firms that had recruited students in previous years. In the afternoon, students dispersed into
their classrooms, met their faculty and shared their expectations with various faculty members.

DAY 2 IN CLASS

On the second day, the OB professor walked into class and said that since they had shared their mutual
expectations, it was time to discuss what competencies, top recruiters expected from MBA graduates.
That really perked up the class. Anna had not thought about recruiters’ expectations. She was not sure
whether she would go back to the NGO sector or join the corporate sector. But from the excitement in the
class, it seemed that a lot of the students were interested in knowing what corporate recruiters were
looking for in MBA students.

The professor introduced them to a report from a study that she had conducted for AICTE in 2004. One of
the issues it focused on was corporate expectations of recruited MBA students and whether those
expectations were being met. Most corporations had a separate development path for MBA students and
were looking for people who would be part of their leadership pipeline. The study consisted of in-depth
interviews of industry experts to identify what skills and competencies they looked for in MBA students.
This was followed by a survey among the top 90 recruiting firms in which they were asked to rank the
seven competencies they felt made business leaders. The feedback received from the recruiters created the
framework for what has been called “Desired Managerial Skills and Competencies of MBA Students.”

DESIRED MANAGERIAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES OF MBA STUDENTS

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The results of the survey showed that seventy percent of the recruiters were looking for five competencies
in MBA students: ability to work in a team, performance focus, leadership skills, analytical ability and
self-confidence (Exhibit IA). The ability to work in a team was ranked more desirable than all of the other
competencies. Forty to fifty percent of the recruiters felt that a desire for risk taking, an ability to work
under pressure, flexibility, interpersonal skills and an ability to prioritize were important. However, there
was very little consensus on the other six competencies: an ability to deal with ambiguous situations, a
global mindset, problem-solving skills, an ability to manage diversity and conflict, communication and
presentation skills, an ability to think on one’s feet and negotiation skills.

RESPONSE TO THE DATA

The professor decided to inquire as to whether the students found the data relevant and also asked them to
name their own top seven competencies. She shared the results when the class reconvened after a recess
(Exhibits IB and Exhibit 3). There were four competencies that were common in the list of top seven from
the recruiters and the students: ability to work in a team, leadership skills, analytical ability and self-
confidence. However, the students had communication and presentation skills in the third position, as
opposed to the lowly 10th place by the recruiters, and students they had ranked negotiation and problem-
solving skills in the top seven.

Anna was not surprised to find that the majority of her classmates found the data relevant (Exhibit 3).
More than half of the students in the class had some work experience (Exhibit 2), and their emphasis on
teamwork echoed her experience at the workplace.

Anna was a sensitive person and had been appreciated in her workplace. She was, however, not sure
whether she possessed all of these competencies. A few bothered her. She had never worked in a
multinational company (MNC). How was she expected to have a global mindset? How could she acquire
these competencies in the two-year time frame of the course? In fact, when she looked at the list more
closely, some of the items seemed related to each other. She looked at them again for a few minutes and
then slowly, she put up her hand: “Isn’t there a relation between some of these competencies? For
example, isn’t interpersonal skills linked to teamwork?”

Her question seemed to open the flood gates, and the professor was suddenly confronted with a whole lot
of hands going up.

“Ma’am, in the organization I worked in, the focus was totally on performance. They encouraged internal
competition and all our reward schemes were based on the highest sales figures. I would even say
teamwork was almost absent.” Anna looked to see who that was. It was Sanjay, a student who had
gathered a lot of friends because of his gregarious nature and his great storehouse of anecdotes.

Hari then raised his hand: “How can they expect leadership skills from people without any work
experience?” Anna knew this was something that bothered him. He had been talking about how people
who had worked had an advantage. They kept citing from their experience as if that was a final stamp of
authority. Hari had always been ranked in the top percentile in school and college, and Sanjay’s question
must have irked him.

These questions only added to Anna’s confusion. She wondered if she could ever meet the recruiters’
expectations.

POSTCLASS DISCUSSION
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Once the class was over, Hari asked Anna to have lunch so they could discuss the OB class. Hari shared
with Anna that he had a self-development plan in mind. He was thinking about exploring two different
careers: (1) management consultant or (2) financial analyst. His first plan of attack was to meet with
different management consultants and financial experts to learn more about the job positions. He was also
planning on joining the Finance Club on campus. Anna asked Hari, “I didn’t know you had an interest in
pursuing careers that require you to have such divergent skills. Management consultants have to think
very conceptually, whereas financial analysts need to do a lot of number crunching.” Hari disagreed. He
felt that both positions required an equal amount of conceptual and technical skills. What he didn’t share
with Anna was that he was not a big fan of number crunching. His training gave him the skills but he did
not have a passion for it. However, these were great starting points for a career. In addition, these jobs
paid much more than most other MBA jobs. Hari was committed to his goals. He was sure he could
easily develop his skills in finance, but mostly he would focus on improving his network to help him land
a great job as a consultant or a financial analyst.

Anna looked at Hari. “I am not sure of what kind of career I want. Should I choose a career on the basis
of my skills or try to develop the skills on the basis of my choice of career?” Anna suddenly grinned. “It
seems to be the classic chicken and egg story—which comes first?”
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EXHIBIT 1A: DESIRED SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES IN MBA RECRUITS

Competencies Frequency (N = 90) Percentage Rank

Ability to work on a team 85 94.44 1
Performance focus 80 88.89 2
Leadership skills 79 87.78 3
Analytical ability 75 83.34 4
Self-confidence 71 78.89 5
Risk taking 52 55.56 6
Capability to sustain work under pressure 48 53.33 7
Flexibility 48 53.33 7
Interpersonal skills 45 50.00 9
Ability to prioritize 40 44.44 10
Ability to deal with ambiguous situations 22 24.44 11
Global mindset 15 16.67 12
Problem-solving skills 11 12.22 13
Ability to manage diversity and conflict 10 11.11 14
Communication and presentation skills 10 11.11 14
Ability to think on one’s feet 07 07.78 16
Negotiation skills 03 03.33 17

Source: Bhandarker, 2008.1 Responses will not total 100%, since respondents had to select seven of the most important
competencies out of 17 items.

EXHIBIT 1B: TOP SEVEN COMPETENCIES (MBA CLASS 2013)

Competencies Frequency (N = 90) Percentage Rank

Team work 56 93% 1
Leadership skills 40 67% 2
Communication skills 32 53% 3
Confidence 21 35% 4
Persuasion/negotiation skills 14 23% 5
Analytical skills 7 12% 6
Problem- solving skills 7 12% 6

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1
Bhandarker, A. Shaping Business Leaders: What B-Schools Don’t Do. Sage: New Delhi, 2008, p. 71.
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EXHIBIT 2: DEMOGRAPHICS OF MBA CLASS OF 2013—GENDER, AGE, WORK EXPERIENCE AND

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

 Demographics Percentage
Male 61%
Female 39%
20–21 years 24%
22–23 years 42%
24–25 years 25%
26–27 years 8%
Work Experience: 0 years 37%
Work Experience: 1– 2 years 19%
Work Experience : 2–4 years 27%
Work Experience: 3–6 years 17%
Degree in engineering/technical courses                83%
Degree in commerce                             8%
Degree in business administration                     2%
Degree in humanities                           2%
Degree in science                                 5%

EXHIBIT 3: STUDENTS’ (MBA CLASS OF 2013) RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT RELEVANCE OF

DATA ON DESIRED LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

Mean (N = 60): Scale 1 to 5

The data presented are relevant. 4.19
The data have given me new insights. 3.95
I don’t agree with the data (R). 3.07
I feel that this provides me with a direction. 4.10
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ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1. Why did Anna want to do an MBA?

2. If you were in Anna’s place what would be your top five concerns as you review the list of
competencies?
3. As you review the competencies, please identify:
a. Those that are related or complementary
b. Those that are overlapping and
c. Those that are precursors to other competencies
4. What do you think of Hari’s career plans?
5. Identify the five competencies that you feel are ones you would like to develop in your own
career. You may add any other competencies that you think are relevant.
6. Create an action plan for how you might begin developing these competencies during your MBA
program.

ADDITIONAL READING:

Richard E. Boyatzis, Daniel Goleman, and Kenneth Rhee. "Clustering competence in emotional
intelligence: Insights from the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI)," in Bar-On, R. and Parker, J. D.
A. (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 2000, 343-362. It is also
available online at
http://www.eiconsortium.org/reprints/clustering_competencies_insights_from_the_eci360.html accessed
on May 31, 2014.