Administration Versus Leadership

I have deliberately not used the word Management, because I am not talking of MBAs alone, but more generally, about spheres that affect more people than the corporates.

Administration can be the routine activities, and more to do with implementation of rules that were framed by someone else. For instance, the Municipal administration mainly has to do with implementing rules and duties already assigned to the department. Few new things, maybe once in a while, like building a new flyover.

Leaders may be distinguished (if they are at all) by some creative ideas that they are able to come up with for the non-routine, which may benefit a lot of people. Many leaders give us hope, but few live up to it. In our political landscape, maybe three or four have solved problems of masses creatively, though many may have contributed in bits and pieces. TN Seshan, E Sreedharan (Metro Man), Verghese Kurien, and a few other bureaucrats from within the system were leaders who did this by probably going beyond their brief. The Metro has the potential to solve public transport problems if designed well- I have now travelled by Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore metros and can vouch for this.

I had the fortune to live in Andhra Pradesh when Chandrababu Naidu came up with a computerised service for citizens to pay their bills in one place. It was called eSeva, and was later (much later) copied by other states. Before this, people spent huge amounts of time in lines to pay their own utility bills.

The latest example of good leadership is the way the Orissa Cyclone called Fani has been handled, with able leadership directing the various administrative wings in saving at least a few thousand lives. It involved coordination among different administrative bodies/wings, making it all the more remarkable.

I am pretty sure that we can keep up a flurry of such innovations to ease the life of a common man, if we give enough thought to it. That would make for smart cities and villages, and much more. Maybe a citizen scrutiny and rating system may work, and get people to participate more in governance too.

Running a Business School-Faculty

Faculty Management

I found faculty the easiest to manage, for some reason, in my few years as head of various institutions. According to me, the key is to treat the faculty as an equal unless you have some reason to exert your authority. I am not suggesting that this is the same as abdicating your responsibility or not thinking problems through. For example, assertiveness is required in some situations. For instance, I have had to sack faculty in exceptional circumstances too, but they were exceptional. I was also forced to take a call on performance evaluations at times, in unpleasant ways, but did not shy away from it.

But in the normal course of events, faculty are your biggest assets, and should be respected as such. They will actually go beyond the call of duty, and do, if their basic need- respect- is given to them by the bosses and the management (owner/promoter). This can happen in any level of school, not just in the top ten or fifteen. Sometimes, even the reverse- better in lesser known B schools.

How do you gain the confidence and respect of a faculty member of your team and help them perform better? First, you need to convince them that their development is aligned with the name and fame of the institute. Philip Kotler is an asset to Kellogg’s and not vice-versa. Srikant Datar has brought fame to Harvard with his book on Rethinking the MBA in recent times. Parasuraman of SERVQUAL fame is better known than his university, in fact. So, a faculty member can actually play a major role even in branding his institute. But above all, he/she must contribute more than just good teaching. He could develop his training skills by teaching in Management Development Programs, or publish scholarly work in journals of repute, or write a text book (where would Kotler be without his famous text?).

Value-added Activities

I call these value-added activities, and these are as important as teaching. Of course, your students will remember you if you teach well, but the whole world will salute you if you do more in different forms suggested above. You could also lead a Ph.D. program or at least be a guide to some doctoral students, or start a journal for your institution, or do some more innovative things- for example, consulting. Faculty need to excel in at least two of these besides teaching. And then you will automatically become a much sought-after person in your field of expertise.

Setting Expectations

At PESIT, Bangalore, I first set out my expectations that every non-PhD faculty would get a PhD. To their credit, every single faculty who did not have one, enrolled for one, and we had 100% faculty who either had one or were registered for one- including a 58 year-old! It helps to set out expectations in terms of teaching, research, Ph.D., training, and academic administration.

Let me tackle some of these. Academic administration is the toughest. Most faculty members ask, why should we do this (unpaid labour)? My answer is, I expect you to be a Dean or a Director of a B school in a few years. These are valuable experiences along that path. I was once a placement chair in an institute. Not a very good one, because my selling skills were weak. But I learnt about how to handle students and placement chairs after that stint, which was to prove useful to me later on.  I was also an MDP chairperson at another school, and a research chair at IIMK, in addition to coordinating admissions and the Post Graduate Program at various stages in my career. All of these were useful stints, and helped me grow. I think one of my major successes-appointing the right people for the right job, in some of my later stints as head of an institution-came out of these admin roles I performed.

Teaching

Load for teaching needs to be defined, and not exceeded beyond a maximum. It is an exhausting process when you include preparation and evaluation (in an autonomous school the faculty does this himself), particularly when class sizes are large. Therefore, to find time to do other things that are important, teaching hours need some control. Unlimited teaching may produce a good teacher incapable of adding value to himself or the B school over a period.

Publication

Either empirical research or case study writing/publication is a must to prove that you are pursuing current knowledge. Contribution to the profession is also measured through publications. Accreditation agencies and ranking agencies evaluate a B school on the basis of their faculty’s publications. Therefore, for various reasons, publishing your work is crucial. Training and hand-holding of new faculty may be needed to help them achieve this goal. Journal lists of potential journals to publish in must be generated and updated. You could start an institutional journal. Research seminars by internal faculty can be organised regularly for sharing of work in progress.

Conferences

Conference papers are more easily accepted than journal papers, but do need effort. They can be co-authored with faculty from other B schools or your own. The presentation of papers is a break from routine, and can expose you to new ideas as well as new peers. I have found a co-author at one conference and it led to a decent international publication.

Industry Interaction

This can take several forms. If the budget allows it, faculty must get industry speakers to come in to their class for a couple of sessions in a course. This builds a network with industry, and exposes the faculty to some industry jargon and events. Also, consulting or training opportunities may come as a result of these interactions.

Industry seminars on a theme that is current or trending, can be organised as a day-long event, with the help of student interest groups. This may create leads for placement or live projects.

Evaluation of faculty

Usually a mix of criteria, that include teaching quantity and quality (measured through student feedback and other criteria such as novelty, etc.), publications, and service to the institution through academic administration are used in evaluating faculty contribution. You can devise a method that suits the goals of the organisation. But this needs to be clarified many times orally and in writing. Goal-setting for the institution also needs repeated discussions with individual faculty and in groups.

International Exposure and Development

You need to handle faculty with care, as an important resource. Their developmental needs can be met through exposure to training, foreign teaching, and networking opportunities. Future leaders can be groomed through such exposure.

Arun Joshi's 'The Apprentice'

This is an unusual book by an author that is relatively unknown. I came to know of him through a friend Vinod Ekbote's blog. Part of the reason is that his books are not easily available. I found this book while browsing at Higginbotham's Bangalore. It does not disappoint.

In one fell swoop, this novel takes in the decay of the Indian 'system' of bribery and insensitive administration, and much more than that. The destruction of our 'souls' as it were- there are references to the Bhagavad Gita but also a confession by the protagonist that he understands only a little from it.

I found it riveting, and unusual. The story is that of a freedom-fighter's son, who grows up directionless, and finds a job only to turn into a corrupt spoke in a bigger wheel. He buys sub-standard equipment for the Indian Army, and that becomes the cause of his best friend's death- he is serving in the Army in the Chinese War. There is penitence and an attempt to seek revenge, both non-formulaic.

The style of writing is one of the best I have come across. Must-read for a serious reader.

PJs and OJs

An old classic Ajit joke.

Ajit:         Raabert, Test Match mein kyaa ho raha hai ?
Raabert:   Boss, Vivian Richards chhakke pe chhakka maar raha hai.
Ajeet:       Saale ko sabak sikhana padega. Lunch break mein usse phone milana.
Raabert:   Yes Boss.
Ajeet:       (on phone, to Richards)   Veeveeyun Reechards, soch lo. Tumhari maa hamare kabze mein                  hai ...

Some OJs (Originals)

Why are toes missing from most photo(e)s?

Is it named face 'book' to remind you of something you should be doing-reading?

If a mad man produces agarbattis, what will the product be called?

Insane sticks.

Administration rarely gets any admiration. Is it because it does not minister to the needs of the administered?