Entrepreneurial managers

Updated on: Monday, January 30, 2012

Traditional MBA education like finance, marketing, etc, which is being taught for many years now, focuses on operating and running a business.

However, it does not teach much about starting a business from scratch or how to develop a new business from within an existing organisation. This is exactly where the role of entrepreneurship within MBA education comes into play.

The world, today, faces challenges of a rapidly changing environment and fierce competition , so much so, that a business today may not exist next year. Therefore, there is a need for a new breed of managers who can adapt to these changes quickly, know how to spot opportunities, develop e-business models and manage organisations, which have very few resources and can respond to changing environmental threats by being entrepreneurial managers.

For such managers, a unique set of entrepreneurial skills is required to be taught to help an organisation survive. Our research shows that a stream of entrepreneurship in an MBA programme can help companies to a great extent.

The Epsom College in the US and EM Lyon in France are two well known examples, which have programmes tailored specifically for entrepreneurs, which have been successful. Our research also focuses on how organisations can build their capacity for entrepreneurship and strategic renewal through their choices for managing people and structuring their enterprise.

As far as India is concerned, our aim is to establish the key desirable processes needed within companies to drive India's entrepreneurial growth and nurture an environment to create successful entrepreneurial ventures.

The new MBA with a stream of entrepreneurship in our school will have four more major components: entrepreneurial management, three elective modules, an entrepreneurial finance course on how to find new venture financing and a business development course.

The entrepreneurial MBA will be beneficial for students with an interest in playing an entrepreneurial role within an established organisation and for those who at some point of time, want to start their own business. These students will have an edge when it comes to not only running a business but also helping it survive.

Times of India

Entrepreneurial managers

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