Why Diversity in an MBA Class is Critical

By Jacob Parackal

The nature of companies has changed along with the change in the global economic scenario – most companies are now multinationals – they are conducting business in different countries around the world.

This change in the business world has also changed how companies choose their employees. Since employees have to work in an environment comprising of people from different cultures, each with a different way of doing work, MNCs are increasingly opting for MBAs who are capable of delivering the best possible performance in such an environment.

Having ‘managers without borders’ is now an important aim for most companies in the world.

More business schools are both increasing diversity in terms of candidates they accept as well as introducing diversity in their course curriculum to make students capable of adapting to workplaces with diverse work cultures at play. 

In this context, Hult International Business School bears the distinction of  having been ranked among the top B-schools for having the most international class. 

Nurturing diversity is important: diversity helps inculcate an appreciation of multiple perspectives and an appreciation of what is ‘different’ from us. Over a long term, encouraging diversity can strengthen the workplace and the larger community – it prepares the student to be a good citizen in a pluralistic society. 

Understanding the culture and a society and a country is also important to do business in a particular country and has significant impact on the success of the business in that society. 

The study of Human Resource Management and Fortune Magazine has revealed an interesting statistics through a survey they conducted. In the survey fifty two percent of the employees said that a good diversity in the work place improves the relationship with the clients whereas seventy nine percent of the employees said that diversity is the most vital element to improve their corporate cultures. Seventy seven percent of employees said that diversity helps to reduce conflict between the employees thereby increasing the quality of the decision making process which ultimately is reflected in increased creativity and productivity within the organisation.

In a recent survey, seventy seven percent of employees said that diversity helps to reduce conflict between employees thereby increasing the quality of the decision making process which ultimately is reflected in increased creativity and productivity within the organisation.

What are institutes doing to encourage diversity in class?

First to increase diversity, top MBA institutes are trying to accommodate students from various countries and from various cultures. Gender diversity is also being focused on. The diversity factor is also being accelerated by introducing students from different backgrounds such as media, military, not-for profit entrepreneurship as well as others fields such as fine arts.

The most basic level of diversity that MBA officers are looking for is students from a wide range of places and backgrounds. According to Gaurav Agarwal, Associate Director (Admission) at Hult International Business School, when HULT is looking for students it looks for diversity of thoughts, unique backgrounds such as athletes, diversity in terms of ethnicity, citizenship, age and country of origin.

He admits being an admission officer is an intense job – managing the mix is not an easy task. 

After my graduation from Hult, I can say I have a home in nearly 64 countries – Select My Tutor, my start-up requires me to. With our company slowly expanding into various countries, I require the help of my classmates from diverse backgrounds and countries to understand and localize the product based on the country we expand into. 

As Stephen R Covey says, “Strength lies in the differences, not in the similarities”

Contributing Blogger Jacob Parackal is a 2011 alumnus of Hult International Business School. He has more than 4+ years in strategic consulting for top MNC companies. He is currently the co-founder of  ‘Select My Tutor’ and is running its operations.