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| Lokvani Talks To Dr. Raghu Tadepalli |
Anil Saigal
02/17/2010
Dr. Raghu Tadepalli is the Murata
Dean of the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. He
comes to Babson after most recently serving as Dean of the Graduate
School of Business and Associate Dean of the Williams College of
Business at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Tadepalli received a Doctor of Philosophy from Virginia
Tech (Major: Marketing), Master of Business Administration from Arizona
State University, Master of Commerce from Andhra University, India
(Major: Accounting), and Bachelor of Commerce from Andhra University,
India.
His
research interests are in the areas of buyer and seller role
perceptions, the control and evaluation of salesperson/purchasing agent
performance, and group influences on buying center decisions. His
teaching interests include Marketing Strategy, Sales Management,
Professional Selling, International Marketing, Business-to-Business
Marketing, and Product Development and Strategy. He is author or co-author of numerous articles, in such
journals as “Journal of Managerial Issues,†“Industrial Marketing
Management,†“Psychology and Marketing,†“Managerial and Decision
Economics,†and many others. His awards at
Xavier include Delta Sigma Pi Professor of the Year (voted on by
students), Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence, and Dean's Award for
Research Excellence.
Prior
to joining Xavier University in 1997, he was on the faculties at North
Dakota State University and University of Illinois at Chicago.
Congratulations on your new position. What motivated you take up this position at Babson?
I accepted this position because of Babson's outstanding reputation and the vision of our president Len Schlesinger to enhance our efforts in entrepreneurship education on a global scale. The scale of what we do is broad. We offer programs in Wellesley (MA), Portland (OR), and soon in San Francisco (CA). We partner with other institutions and offer programs in Lyon (France) and Hangzhou (China).
What is your vision for the Babson program?
As dean of the F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, my goal is to build on the reputation of our MBA and MS programs. The Olin School has been ranked #1 in Entrepreneurship for the past 18 years by US News. Last week, Financial Times ranked us #1 worldwide. Our 1 year full time MBA program was ranked #2 in the USA by Wall Street Journal and our full-time 2 year MBA program is routinely ranked in the top 30 in the USA. Our Fast Track MBA currently offered in Wellesley and Portland, OR will soon expand to San Francisco. So, my vision is to continue to excel and grow our programs at the same time.
Given the economic and ethical realities of the past few years, do
MBA programs need to rethink their program?
Absolutely. Our students need to be more socially aware and also demonstrate a higher level of awareness of ethical issues. It is no longer enough to be technically competent. MBA graduates need to be capable of competing in a knowledge based economy where the power of ideas, the ability to communicate them, the ability to convince, and the ability to lead by example are very important.
Who do you think will benefit the most from a Babson MBA?
The Babson MBA is one who seeks to make a difference. Given our focus on entrepreneurship, our graduates are taught to be change agents. They are opportunity seekers who have a very strong general manager orientation.
Is MBA for everyone? What kinds of individuals are most suited to
pursue a MBA?
The MBA is not for everyone (though it sure looks like it!). It is the curriculum that really defines what an MBA graduate can start off doing. The MBA is useful for someone who wants to be a general manager. While we tend to think of a company as having many silos (Marketing Finance, Operations etc), it is in a company's best interest to have managers who can think across these silos. Can a marketer understand operational issues? Individuals who seek in-depth knowledge in a very focused area, but who do not want to work outside that narrow focus are better off with specialized MS degrees and there are many of them (Market Research, Accountancy, Finance, etc.)
How does one prepare oneself for admission to this competitive program?
The key is to show preparation to succeed in the program. While GPA and GMAT scores are important, we get hundreds more applications than we can admit. Our admissions officers spend a lot of time reading essays, reviewing recommendation letters, and the interview is very important. The other day I met a young man who flew in from Japan the night before for his interview. I told him to relax and be able to give a 3 minute pitch on why he should be admitted to our program. I have a particular dislike when I hear people say, "I have a GPA of 3.8 and a GMAT of 760 so I am going to apply to Harvard." Every top program is looking for a certain kind of person who can succeed and while the GPA and GMAT are important, they are only the starting point. Applicants who do not spend the time to learn about the program before applying are wasting everyone's time.
What is your research focus? could you point out the highlights?
My research has focused on purchasing managers and sales managers. The focus of my research has been on showing that in the workplace the primary determinants of behavior are the criteria on which an individual's performance is measured and how it is rewarded. To put this in context, many companies talk about service but if their employees are not measured for their service and rewarded for it, then it is not going to happen.
Any special message for our readers?
The MBA is a very good degree for the right kind of person. Don't join an MBA because it is fashionable. Do it only if you have very good reasons for doing so.
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