Introduction of Outcomes-Based Education in Indian Management System for Sustainable Education

This paper aims at analyzing the concept of outcome-based education (OBE) in postgraduate level management education. In general, the higher education system undergoes a transformation from teacher-centric education into a student-centric outcome-based educational system. Implementing an outcome-based education curriculum poses a great challenge in the higher education system, especially in management, since management education itself is a professional education system that aims to prepare students for industry readiness with domain knowledge as well as different management skills. Along with domain knowledge of their specialized areas, students need to demonstrate other aspects like systemic or holistic thinking, the integration of different perspectives, skills such as critical thinking, communication, and finally different attitudes and values. Without holistic thinking, it is difficult to develop a sustainable future for the students as well as for society. When combined, holistic thinking and outcome-based learning create a powerful framework for developing well-rounded, effective problem solvers, and lifelong learners. An analysis of OBEs proposed in this paper considers parameters related to management students, such as the Program Outcome (PO) and Course Outcome (CO). The sample is taken from a business school in India, where the dataset comprises a total of 31 papers in four semesters of the two-year management program, where students are mostly fresher or have a maximum of two years of previous job experience. In the present paper, with the help of a case of a professional program, a framework is shown to set targets or refine POs and COs to continuously improve upon the outcome of education following a P-D-C-A cycle.