Dr Balakrishna Grandhi (Dean, GMBA & MGB) Visits USA’s Top Educational Institutions

Over the past decade, the business environment of organisations around the globe has been changing at a pace that has never been seen before. How well are the world’s top universities adapting to this change, i.e., helping the organisations cope better?

To find out the answer to this question, and more, Dr Balakrishna Grandhi (Dean – GMBA & MGB, S P Jain) embarked on a learning expedition to some of the world’s well-known business schools in the United States of America. During the visit, Dr Grandhi met distinguished thought leaders in the field of education management, starting from Harvard Business School in Boston. The visit also took Dr Grandhi to Atlanta, where he was hosted by Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.

Visit to Harvard University

During his time at Harvard Business School (HBS), Dr Grandhi was invited to meet with distinguished thought leaders from Harvard’s faculty and research staff in Accounting and Management, Entrepreneurial Management, Organisational Behaviour, and Technology and Operations Management.

At Harvard, he joined a session on ‘Leadership Challenges for Professional Service Firms’ by Professor David G. Fubini (Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, HBS), the co-leader of the Leading Professional Services Firm and Mergers & Acquisitions Programs for Harvard Business School’s Executive Education.

Apart from this, Dr Grandhi also interacted with other distinguished HBS faculty including:

• Prof Stefan H Thomke (William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration Chair)
• Prof Krishna G Palepu (Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration)
• Prof David Ager (Senior Fellow in Executive Education)
• Prof V G Narayanan (Thomas D Casserly, Jr Professor of Business Administration; Chair, MBA Elective Curriculum)
• Prof Dennis Campbell (Dwight P Robinson, Jr. Professor of Business Administration; Unit Head, Accounting and Management)
• Prof William Kerr (D’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration) &
• Prof Benjamin Esty (Roy and Elizabeth Simmons Professor of Business Administration)

Visit to Emory University

In addition to the visit to Harvard, Dr Grandhi as part of his learning expedition at Emory University in Atlanta, got an opportunity to interact with Prof Robert K Kazanjian (Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Organisation Management) and Prof Tarun Chordia (R Howard Dobbs Jr Chair and Professor of Finance at Goizueta Business School). While Prof Kazanjian holds over 30 years of teaching experience since graduating from Wharton School of Business, Prof Chordia has been an eminent Professor at Emory for almost 20 years with notable contributions to applying theoretical and empirical research methods in a diverse span of financial economics.

One of the key highlights of Dr Grandhi’s visit to Emory was his interaction with Dr Jagdish Sheth (Charles H Kellstadt Chair in Marketing). Dr Sheth is a renowned thought leader and one of the foremost contributors to the field of Marketing and Management Education. Having published hundreds of articles and several books, Dr Sheth participated in many editorial boards and served as a faculty at University of Illinois, University of Southern California, Columbia Business School and MIT before joining Emory. Even at the age of 80, he continues to be active by teaching, publishing, supervising PhD students, and mentoring multiple students.

Visit to Georgia Institute of Technology

Before concluding the expedition, Dr Grandhi visited Georgia Institute of Technology where he met Dr Naresh K. Malhotra (Senior Fellow, Georgia Tech CIBER).

One of the world’s most recognised scholars in the field of Marketing Research, Dr Malhotra has contributed to a wide portfolio of editorial boards. Among numerous publications, he has also authored three leading textbooks on Marketing Research including Basic Marketing Research: Application to Social Media, Fourth Edition and Essentials of Marketing Research: A Hands-On Orientation (lower level and online undergraduate level); and Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, Seventh Edition (MBA level).

A-one-of-a-kind opportunity

“This was an excellent opportunity to meet with several thought leaders and witness the best practices being followed in class in top-ranked business schools,” shared Dr Grandhi about his expedition. “A common aspect I noticed in all these schools and everything they do is their emphasis on disruption, innovation and entrepreneurship. This aspect must also be in the DNA of all the graduating students who wish to make an impact through value creation in a fast-changing business environment.”