The Indian economy is doing relatively well with a predicted growth rate of six to seven per cent in 2009, despite the global economic crisis that has gripped the world’s economy since the middle of 2008.
Ajit Rangnekar, Dean of the Indian School of Business, signs a partnership agreement with Richard Ivey School of Business Dean Carol Stephenson, which will set up a Centre for Case Development.
The “Engaging Emerging Markets” Cross-Enterprise Leadership Research Centre at Ivey has been carefully studying the amazing resilience of India during this global downturn.
Part of Ivey’s mission is to “develop business leaders who think globally,” therefore, it is critical that Ivey be at the forefront of understanding and working with emerging markets. I think one essential ingredient of a future manager is his/her ability to work in a global economy.
We recently embarked on a trip to India to expand our ties with this region and the trip was planned as a two-way street – we were there to share our experience as one of the top business schools in the world, while at the same time learning from India’s unique position as an emerging market, and as one of the world’s growing economic powers.
Ivey’s business faculty have always been keen to engage the business community and to look outward to learn from different regions. Western’s MBA program has always had strong connections with the business world. The first MBA program in Canada, it was launched in 1948 at the prompting of Canada’s top business leaders.
Since 1998, Ivey has had a strong presence in Hong Kong, giving the school a toehold on another emerging global power – as the first North American business school to set up a permanent campus in the region.
A focus of our India trip was to sign a partnership with the Indian School of Business (ISB) to set up a Centre for Case Development. This new partnership, which follows on our long success in China, is simply another step along that road.
Emerging markets have a voracious appetite and strong need for business knowledge. Their workforces are keen, nimble and bright. They need young managers and many organizations could benefit from more business knowledge to take their companies to the next level. As a well-established university, Western has a lot of experience and knowledge it can share. Ivey’s dedication to and expertise in the case-method of teaching is something we’re especially excited to share abroad.
As the second largest producer of cases in the world, Ivey is the top producer of China-based cases, including several hundred available in Chinese. Through workshops on case-teaching and case-writing, conducted in partnership with several Chinese universities, Ivey has contributed significantly to advancing case-based business education in China.
Our partnership with ISB will foster similar initiatives in India. Ivey faculty members have already led three case-writing and case-teaching workshops in India. We hope our partnership with ISB will have a profound effect on teaching business in India and on our learning about the country.
I agree with our Adjunct Professor Charles Dhanaraj who says, there is a great need for more cases that focus on emerging markets both so students in India learn from business scenarios that are unfolding around them and so Ivey students gain a stronger appreciation for the business challenges in emerging markets.
There are also business challenges in India – integrating with the global economy while growing within the country; the rapid need for more infrastructure; the difficulty of finding and retaining a talented workforce when jobs are so plentiful. Ivey is in a position to help with some of those critical business challenges. We are keen to share our deep expertise in talent development and retention. Ivey’s Executive Development programs are taught at many firms, including leading companies in China. Their experiences are ones we can share in India.
While in India, we met with the CEOs at Birla Sunlife and Naukri.com, as well as senior executives at Indian giants such as Airtel and Infosys, and multinationals including Microsoft, GE, HSBC, and Citigroup. One conclusion clearly emerged: among other things, India needs high quality managers to maintain the growth rate of nine per cent and become one of the major economies in the world. These are modern companies with very aggressive growth plans. Talent development is key to their success.
There are many successful companies in India, such as these, and by analyzing their strategies via cases, we can learn from their example.
Canada’s trade with India is growing quickly, but at $4.6 billion in 2008, it’s still just one-tenth of the size of our trade with China. Given India’s rapid ascendancy on the world stage, we need to prepare to embrace this region. While Canada and India are bolstering their relationship, Ivey is contributing to the bond by helping build bridges between schools, companies and academics.
The writer is dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business
Factbox Stats of Interest: Population: more than 1 billion, the second most populous nation in the world
By 2040, India is expected to be the world’s most populous nation
India’s middle class – about 300 million
By 2030, the middle class will grow to about 40 per cent of the population from 5 per cent currently
India will become the 5th largest consumer economy
Statistics compiled by Satyajeet Subramanian, Research Assistant, Ivey
