Interview with DEBARUN CHAKRABORTY, Assistant Professor and Author in Management (UGC NET Qualified in Management)

•       Tell us something about yourself

I am Professor Debarun Chakraborty, B.E in Chemical and MBA in Marketing too. I have had rich cross functional exposure across various industries and Management colleges in India for more than 5 years & 7 months. I have worked as a Process Engineer for a year in a process industry and after completing my MBA joined as a Marketing Executive in a cement industry.

After few months I left the job of Marketing Executive and joined NIPS School of Management (NIPS Group, Kolkata) as an Assistant Professor. Since then I am working as an Assistant Professor in Management and teaching students for more than 4 years. I have qualified in UGC NET in Management in December 2012 and planning to start my PhD from September 2013.

I have written two books on Management Information System for the Management students of WBUT. I have also written six research articles on consumer behavior in various International & National Journals and writing many more. I have also presented a paper named “Changes & Challenges in Indian Rural Market” in National Seminar on Changes & Challenges in Global Business Scenario (May 3^rd & 4^th, 2013) organized by Institute of Business Management, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

•       Tell us something about your college/institute

The name of my college is NIPS School of Management which is under NIPS Group.  Our journey has started in 1993 with a Hotel Management college and in 2007 we have started the Management & IT courses (both graduate & post-graduate) under UGC approved university. The institute has won numerous awards like Best Management College from South Asian Academy, Best Hotel Management College of Kolkata from Brands Academy, Education Excellence Award 2011 & 2012 & has also received the Roll of Honor from National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) in 2008 and 2009.

In a recent achievement, NIPS Group has made its way to the Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records by creating a unique record of 188 different varieties of Omelets in ten minutes by 154 students and teachers.

NIPS is approved by AICTE and affiliated to WBUT, WBSCTE & AIMA. NIPS is an ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 1400:2004 Institution, besides being an Institutional Member of ISTE, CII, BNCCI, PRSI, AIMA, FHRAI, HRAEI, EURHODIP, NABI, HITA and AIWF.

•       When did you join the teaching profession? What inspired you to choose this line?

I have joined teaching profession on August 2009, soon after completing my Masters in Business Administration.

I liked this teaching profession from very beginning, may be from my childhood days and at the time of my post graduation I have decided that I’ll choose this line as and when I get the opportunity. I always believe that teaching is more than just a job. It’s a responsibility to groom the new generation of any country. It’s a mixture of hard work and success, both big and small. At the time of my post-graduation I was inspired by Prof. Susanta Kumar Bhowmik who encouraged me a lot and above all my parents who are always there to support me.

I also feel that there is a need for compassionate, strong, and dedicated individuals who are excited about working with students. In our competitive society it is important for students to not only receive a solid education, but to work with someone who is aware of and sensitive to their individual needs. I am such a person and will always strive to be the best educator that I can be.

So when the opportunity has come after completing my post-graduation, I have grabbed it with both of my hands. More than 4 years are over, and believe me I am enjoying each and every day of my profession.

•       Which subjects do you teach? What do you love most?

I am mainly teaching the specialization papers of Marketing like Consumer Behavior,    Advertising & Sales Management, Service Marketing, Rural Marketing and few papers from General Management like Marketing Management, Organizational Behavior etc.

I love to teach the papers like Consumer Behavior, Advertising & Sales Management, Rural Marketing & Organizational Behavior.

Few tips & tricks to deal with the subjects-

• Make a proper schedule of study & select a proper atmosphere too.
• Try to understand the basics first.
• Make notes while studying & also try to learn with proper examples.
• Don’t give up easily.
• Always be confident & believe in you.
• At last, whatever you do, do with lots of love, honesty, dedication & proper planning.

• What is your teaching philosophy?

By their very nature, people are inquisitive. The goal of education should be to encourage seeking answers, as it is in this way that we advance. I seek to facilitate this advancement of knowledge, and the main theme of my teaching philosophy is reasoned thought.

Whether in the classroom or in meeting groups of the general public, my goal is to encourage thinking in rational ways, so that this can be applied in other, unfamiliar situations. I particularly emphasize learning to think about trends and directions, rather than rote memorization of theories, principles and facts.

In order to further encourage seeking answers to the questions around me, I try to encourage the questions themselves. But it is difficult to “allow the time” for this to take place, especially in a classroom setting. One way in which I have done this is to segregate the syllabus based on answering questions. The class is based on first asking the basic questions of Management (chapter wise), and then developing the principles to explain the concepts as needed with proper examples. This is just the reverse of most Management classes where principles are presented and then a few examples are added at the end.

There are few more things which I try to accomplish for my students:

• Students are called upon to discuss questions, but mistakes are treated as opportunities to explore misconceptions, not as a reflection of a student’s abilities.
• I go to some lengths to ensure that students know that there is no easy way out.
• I believe that anyone can do well in studies if they are willing to spend the time at it. Some pick it up quickly, some need to spend more time. If I provide any value added, it is in encouraging all my students to be interested enough in the subject to invest more time. Then, I try to make sure they spend their time productively.
• Students work hard, earn their grades and are entitled to their opinions. I am always trying to take feedback from my students. My task is to facilitate their learning process.

• Do you believe in teaching should be full of ideas rather than stuffed with facts?

I think both. Teaching should be full of ideas and stuffed with facts & figures. Merely giving the ideas to the students might not give the proper results but if we include facts with ideas then it will become interesting & attention-grabbing procedure.

• As a faculty, what kind of projects do you expect management students to work upon?

In my opinion the Management projects have to be as par the current industry standards. The projects have to be new & innovative, flexible but structured, human focused and properly communicated to the society with an appropriate solution. Another most important thing I would like to convey to all my students that try to work on those kinds of projects which will always help the society rather than a particular group or entity.

• What should management education mean to a student?

Management education means a total development of all the skills inherited by a human being. Management combines well with accounting, finance, marketing, information systems, operations and supply chain management. As a student of Management you will learn about the importance of human and labor factors in organizations including the structure, design and culture of organizations; management theory; policies and practices; marketing of products or services; maintaining the balance sheet of organizations; employment relations issues both within India and internationally and many more.

Studying Management as a discipline is not only for those who want to be a manager. Management may interest you because you want to understand how an organization works. You will also learn about leadership roles and how people function in organizations.

Management is necessary in all spheres of life where we are employed or not. We all born with some qualities and we need to enhance that qualities by such trainings, every person has some management qualities and management education develop that qualities. In the present day world of business, where every aspect of our life is ruled by management, it is very essential for an individual to understand the essence of management and not only for the sake of industries but to manage their own households too. So in my opinion the Management as a subject should be added to the education curriculum in schools.

• Today, we often come across students committing suicide out of failure, depression or tension of exams. What do you have to say about this?

It is really a menace to our society. In any case we need to remove this threat from the society as soon as possible. The examinations are a means of testing one’s knowledge but unfortunately in the present system students are just preparing for examinations, to get good marks or ranks which is really alarming. I think the students need to focus on their choices or the subjects which they love most and the parents should support them properly. Students please remember that your life is precious for us and don’t waste it like that. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed” – Theodore Roosevelt

• Who in your life has most influenced you?  

Above all my parents Mr. K.R.Chakraborty & Mrs. Anima Chakraborty and my teacher Prof. Susanta Kumar Bhowmik .                 

•       What are your professional/career goals?

Intend to build a career with leading Management College of hi-tech environment with committed & dedicated people, which will help me to explore myself fully and realize my potential and also willing to work as a key player in challenging & creative environment.

• A famous quote says “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others”. What would you like to say on this?

It’s true. The ‘job’ of a candle is to consume itself, in other words to work for others. My job as a teacher is to keep ”the light of the candle lit” as much as possible, as long as possible. And the best way to develop my knowledge, my vocabulary and my language skills is to teach others. Since by teaching others I also teach myself. For me, teaching provides an opportunity for continuous learning and growth. One of my wishes as a teacher is to implant a love of learning in my students, as I share my own passion for learning with them.

•       Who would you call as the best student so far in your memory?

I don’t believe in the word ‘best’. I think every individual is best in their own way, may be some succeeds some may not. I also believe that each student is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically and socially. It is my desire as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a sharing of ideas.

•       What message would you like to give to the management students?

Always care about the process, not just the outcome; work with others and share easily; try to keep your commitments; acknowledge your own power and behave accordingly.

“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts

ALL THE BEST!