Reflecting on the subject for several days, I believe that the topic can be comprehensively examined using six ‘lenses’ or domains. The figure below describes these lenses. Using these lenses, I attempt to review the status of marketing education in India and offer some suggestions for future.

Lense 1: The Marketing Education Package for Business Schools (Basic Education)
For several decades, marketing has remained a very popular discipline in business schools. Nearly 60-70 percent of graduates specialise in the area of marketing in India. This interest in marketing and the incentives created by the job market are not likely to disappear in the long term as well.

The structure, content and number of electives are the three key issues to develop the marketing education package for business schools. The structure followed since inception has been two required courses in the first year followed by the electives in the second year. Over the years, the number of electives has increased. In addition, the content has become more relevant to the Indian context.
Development and selection of electives would remain a major challenge, as this needs to be linked to the market demand and faculty capabilities. A feel of the challenge is possible through a comparison between the electives of some well-known U.S. business schools. In contrast to well-known Indian business schools that offer 10-12 electives, some famous American business schools offer anywhere from six to 30 electives. Ref. Annexure: (Stanford: six, Harvard: seven, University of Chicago: 13, Columbia: 19-20, North-western: 30). This diversity in numbers and topics of electives at the U.S. business schools can provide directions to shape the future of the marketing education package in India.

Two questions may be helpful: First, how to keep track of the changes in the market place (both Indian and global) which may demand new knowledge and skill inputs? Second, what kind of innovations in pedagogy could be introduced to make learning more meaningful and effective?

It is my view, that the ‘marketing package’ has remained useful to MBA students in India so far. However, to maintain the relevance and retain student interest, a close monitoring and frequent revision of curricula and contents would be needed. This is especially true, given the rapidly changing Indian business environment. Currently, business schools in India appear to be slow in keeping up to pace with the world around them.

The management of electives would remain a major challenge in business schools.

A debate has existed for long, challenging the validity and efficacy of the electives. A recent episode reflects this debate. A few months back I had a chance to meet a class fellow from IIM Ahemdabad (1972). He is currently managing his family’s publication business in Delhi. His son recently finished his MBA (April 2004) from one of the recently established IIMs. Gautam (names disguised), my friend, was amused and shocked to learn from his son that he and his class-fellows found the electives to be a mere repetition of the basic first year courses. What amused and shocked him was that Rohan’s experience was similar to Gautam’s own experience thirty years ago. As he recalled, he had then expressed a great resentment with the faculty members. To him electives were not adding any value and they were a waste of resources. Further, Gautam could not believe that nothing seems to have changed in the last 32 years.

Gautam and Rohan may appear to reflect an extreme view. However, it does hint at examining the structure, content and kind of electives being offered in the MBA programmes including the marketing area. Keeping aside this debate, from the view of the future, there would be a need to offer more specialised courses especially covering the ‘New Economy’ i.e. IT and Telecommunications, ‘Global Brand Management’, ‘Marketing for Poor or Masses’ and ‘Social and Cause Oriented Marketing

Lense 2: Executive Education (Continuous and Re-Education)
Both continuous and re-education are the aims of executive education. Similar to the package of electives for the MBA programmes, the number of short-durational programmes offered varies amongst the business schools. Whereas Kellogg (Northwestern) is offering around ten executive education programmes in marketing in a year and Harvard Business School offered four in 2004, Stanford offers only one. In contrast, XLRI has been offering around 10 to 12 programmes in a year since the last six to eight years and IIM (Ahmedabad) offers only four to five.

The difference in numbers must be debated. As is widely known, most of the ‘open programmes’ in India are undersubscribed. Business schools would benefit a lot by increasing their interface with companies to offer ‘need-based’ programmes.
A trend that seems to be emerging is that of customised programmes. This may continue in the future as well. Some newer areas for executive education in India could be:

1. Retailing and Retail Management;
2. Merchandising and Sale Promotion;
3. Integrated Communications and Media Management;
4. Global Brand Management;
5. Brand Management for ‘Business Markets’;
6. Marketing of IT and Telecommunication products; and
7. Entrepreneurial Marketing for Small and Mid-Size companies. Also, there would always be a need for sectoral programmes like marketing for pharmaceutical products, health care marketing, insurance marketing, marketing for handicrafts, rural marketing and the likes.

I also visualise the need for career oriented (3 to 12 months duration) programmes. Some of these could be: Media Management, Brand Management, Advertisement and Mass Communications, Data based Direct Marketing, Marketing for Organised Retailing, Marketing for IT and the New Economy Products, Marketing Management for Small and Medium enterprises, Internet Marketing, Relationship marketing and Customer Relationship Management.

Lense 3: Corporate Governance: Marketing Ethics & Practices
Thanks to the opening of the Indian economy, a lot has changed in India since the last 12 years. The growing presence of MNCs, coupled with increasing competitive intensity, has helped a great deal in getting fair and better deals for the Indian customers. But in spite of the end-customers getting better value for money, the marketing practices of a vast number of Indian marketers need to change and improve. One still comes across shocking stories of evasion of taxes, neglect of pollution control measures by bribing the officials, under-invoicing to escape sales tax and excise payments, under-weighting and poor / substandard packaging norms , aggrandisement of the persons involved in buying/purchasing decisions and so on. As of now, the marketing education packages do not cover such issues. So far, the majority of business schools and even the officials have adopted an ‘ostrich posture.’ They have brushed aside these disturbing and difficult issues. It is my view that mere presence and pronouncements of regulations are not enough. Debate is a must to surface and eradicate these maladies. Though fully aware, the ‘Corporate India’ would always be hesitant to initiate such debates. Business schools can and should provide platforms to enable the business organisations to share their dilemmas and means to resolve them in an uninhibited manner, without the fear of reprimand by the administration and government officials. The exposure to these debates would also help in familiarising and sensitising the students about the issues linked to the ethical and unethical business cum marketing practices. In today’s globalised world, the poor credibility of corrupt India can hurt all the Indians.

Cont