Dipak Jain, dean of the Kellogg School of Management, spoke to an undergraduate audience for the first time Wednesday night in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum room. AIESEC, a student group that works to set up cross-cultural exchanges in several business-oriented fields, organized the event. About 200 students attended to hear Jain speak about globalization and the future of business.
Jain has been dean of Kellogg since 2001 and a member of the Kellogg faculty since 1987. His first appearance in front of a largely undergraduate audience came at a time when the school is expanding its opportunities for undergraduates and partnerships with other schools within the university.
Jain said students need to remember the world is getting smaller, and their actions could impact many people. Kellogg is a key part of the push toward positive business influence in the world, he said.
“We don’t want to be the best business school in the world. We want to be the best business school for the world,” Jain said.
Four major challenges are shaping globalization, Jain said. The first is what Jain calls a “nano-second culture” and the idea that the world can change in an instant. Companies should not try to make predictions about the future, because they will always be wrong, Jain said.
“Prediction is not what we should focus on,” he said. “What we need to focus on is anticipation. We need to anticipate what the future trends … are going to be, and how we can prepare ourselves for those trends.”
The second movement was the idea of “hyper competition,” that globalization is leading to increased competition from all corners of the globe. Third, demographics across the world are changing as certain populations grow older and some get younger. Finally, the world is always searching for talent, something Jain said Kellogg specializes in.
“We are in the business of directing and shaping talent,” he said.
Jain also anticipated growth in several major business industries, mainly healthcare and welfare; media and entertainment; and tourism, travel, hotels and restaurants.
The vice president of AIESEC, Manu Jain, said the dean’s world-wide experience fit perfectly with the group’s global perspective.
“He could emphasize what he’s done globally as well as what students should do for the future,” said the Weinberg senior, who is not related to the dean.
Sophomore Amanda Murphy, an AIESEC member, called Jain “the expert” on globalization and said she enjoyed getting the chance to see him speak.
“I think it was a good opportunity for undergraduates to come and listen,” she said.
As a closing thought, Jain said there is no adversity that students cannot overcome.
“The challenge ahead of you is never bigger than the force behind you,” he said.
