Do MBAs need Soft Skill?

Soft or Essential Skills?
By Sunder Ramachandran

Originally published in Economic Times on March 15th 2007 (Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune edition)

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=
RVRILzIwMDcvMDMvMTUjQXIwMjQwMg==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

MBA students today know they have to invest in overall personal development initiatives in order to survive and excel in organisations with a global footprint.

Most MBA students we interact with are great at theorising the text book strategies, but unfortunately are clueless in the art and science of managing people.

Development and acceleration of a management graduate does not come from technical skills and knowledge alone, but from their ability to solve problems in teams, to work in cross cultural teams, to present to different groups, and articulate ideas verbally and in written papers. This is typically not taught at most B-schools, so it is left to the employer and the individual.

B-schools are now responding to the employers' growing interest in soft skills. Soft skills include savvy communication skills (knowing how to ask the right questions and then listen), relationship skills, critical thinking skills, self-confidence (the ability to take rejection in stride), self-management skills, goal orientation and business acumen.

Students who realise the importance of these skills and acquire them are invariably offered 30-35 per cent higher starting salaries than those who don't possess these skills. I have also seen students with lower GPAs get higher salaries and job profiles of their choice because of their superior communication skills. A recent survey by MeritTrac, a skill assessment company highlights that over 77 per cent of B-school graduates are unemployable due to the lack of employability skills.

The software industry is testament to the importance of soft skills. Indian software professionals often get paid half the remuneration in comparison to professionals from the West, despite being equipped with similar skill sets. The gap is often on account of soft skills, which accounted for lower productivity, and problems of fitment in a multicultural work environment. Today, most IT companies spend almost 40 per cent of their training budgets on 'soft skills' training.

Our experience in training MBA students proves that management graduates need both style as well as substance to chart a successful global career.

The writer is Managing Partner, W.C.H Training Solutions and can be reached at sunder@wchsolutions.com