Management and Textbooks

In the following article Kapil Edke has discussed whether management can be taught through textbooks and whether the learning methods used in the schools are useful in management.

Can management be taught through textbooks? To answer this question, we should first answer the question which is more basic one. Can management be taught? In my opinion, the answer is no. Management is something which is to be experienced. However, certainly one can be introduced to the management and related concepts in management schools, which would better equip him to experience the managerial role in the future and handle the associated responsibilities. Management education can broaden one's view towards the world by introducing him to a variety of fields like economy, operations, quantitative skills, marketing, accounts, people management, communications, social sciences, as most of these subjects are studied for the first time by the aspiring managers. No doubt, one can achieve great success in the business world without getting a formal management education. However, studying management in formal way can enlarge one's perspective of looking at the business as he would be better able to related theory with practical experience.

The usefulness of textbooks in management education varies as per the field. Sadly, many of the textbooks that are widely used in India are written by foreign authors, keeping in mind the business scenario in those countries,  and sometimes may even have low relevance in the Indian context. However, certain basic features of the field remain the same regardless of the geography and can definitely be absorbed through textbook learning. For example, no matter where one works, if one is into human resources, he would need to handle processes like recruitment, performance evaluation, retirement and pension benefits and so on. Similarly, production techniques in developed and developing countries may differ, but inventory management, demand-supply matching, transport planning are some of the common issues in operations. Similarly the field of finance involves risk analysis and due diligence, calculating returns and profitability etc.

The point is, that every field has certain basic concepts which are common across the geographies and even across the time periods and these concepts are interrelated across the fields. For example, operations manager will have to keep labor issues in mind (HR management) as well as costs involved in production processes (financial management). Such inter-related aspects can be better appreciated if one has acquired formal management education.

Of course, this does not mean that only textbook learning is sufficient for a quality management education. Therefore, most of the management programmes include case studies, study tours, internships etc.

One last point before concluding this article: Today's managers must also look at the practical aspects of management with open eyes and mind, so that they can effectively apply the concepts they learn at management schools. For example, art of selling may not be taught by any textbook, but can be easily learnt from a chaiwala or a hawker. In that sense, I would say that the management is both science and art; and it can best be understood as science through formal education and as art through practical observation and actual experience!

Kapil Edke is a human resource professional with about twelve years of experience and writes on variety of topics.