Managing and Transforming Professional Service Firms – India

Successful companies recognize the importance of capitalizing on emerging opportunities as they prepare to expand domestically or globally, or enter the Indian market for the first time. Whether your firm offers expertise in information technology (IT) or other professional services, this timely program will help you deliver greater value to your clients, differentiate your products and services in today's competitive marketplace, and create lasting connections with an international group of peers.

Harvard Business School in India

As part of Harvard's mission to build a truly global university, HBS has been cultivating stronger and deeper connections with India's business environment for more than a decade. Our engagement in this region, initiated with case studies focused on companies operating in India, has gradually expanded to include development initiatives for faculty in India, specialized education programs, analysis of local business challenges through the India Research Center, and a new state-of-the-art classroom at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai. Now, more than ever, HBS is committed to fostering a worldwide exchange of knowledge that will drive economic growth for years to come—in India and around the world.

What You Can Expect

By exploring management challenges from multiple viewpoints, this leadership development program provides proven approaches to aligning your service capabilities with strategy, strengthening client relationships, and improving organizational performance. You and a distinguished group of peers will share diverse opinions and experiences, providing value that lasts long after the program ends. Whether you produce or manage services, you will leave the program prepared to capture emerging opportunities in India and across the globe.

Your Course of Study

Through relevant case studies, the best practices of successful service firms, and the insights and experiences of an elite group of your peers, you will explore the latest strategies for building and managing a highly profitable organization. By examining issues common to the service-driven business model, you will acquire the skills to define and execute the best service-delivery strategy for your firm.

Who Is Right for the Program

This program is designed specifically for senior executives and practice leaders around the world who are responsible for defining and executing corporate or service-line strategy. Participants typically manage operations for established firms within or outside India, the Middle East, and South Asia, and represent a range of industries, including information technology, financial, legal, and marketing services.

Harvard Business School in India

The rapid emergence of India as a global economic power has increased the demand for business education that focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities in the Indian marketplace. At Harvard Business School (HBS), we offer specialized programs and initiatives that enable us to deliver unparalleled thought leadership, executive education, and best practices to managers of both local and global companies looking to compete in this region. Each Executive Education offering features accomplished faculty and premier facilities that accelerate learning, encourage engagement, and generate dynamic exchange among people from India and around the world.

A History of Broad Engagement

HBS has been researching and developing cases on companies operating in India for more than a decade. In 2006, we established the India Research Center (HBS IRC) in Mumbai to develop intellectual capital on the critical challenges facing the country's business organizations and leaders in key industries. Two years later, Harvard Business Publishing established a wholly owned subsidiary in India, and HBS began offering Executive Education courses in Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Drawing on their experience and expertise, HBS faculty members have written more than 90 new cases specifically related to companies in India and South Asia—cases that are taught in our educational programs, distributed worldwide, and used extensively by Indian business schools. And in recent years, approximately 100 Indian faculty have participated in our Global Colloquium for Participant Centered Learning, where they learn from HBS faculty how to teach effectively using the case method.

A Mission of Global Proportions

Our longstanding commitment to India is an essential element of Harvard's broader mission: to build a truly global university. Beyond targeted course offerings and local facilities, our involvement in the region includes the Harvard South Asia Initiative, which engages faculty and students across the University with the aim of advancing and deepening teaching and research on relevant global issues. In pursuit of the University's broad-based mission, HBS will continue to build an infrastructure that provides leading-edge programs and resources to established and emerging managers across industries and borders—and explores India's major long-term role in the global economy.

An Ongoing Commitment to Teaching and Learning

As India's business environment continues to evolve, HBS continues to expand its ability to explore groundbreaking best practices, share its time-honored teaching methods with new audiences, and bring its global research to bear on the challenges facing executives doing business in the region. These efforts are fostering a worldwide exchange of knowledge that will drive economic growth for years to come—in India and around the world.

A New Facility in India

We are now able to deliver the full HBS experience in India in our new state-of-the-art classroom at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai. The Taj Lands End is an ideal location for the classroom with its proximity to the airport and the downtown area. Incorporated by the Tata Group, the Taj Lands End is currently headed by Mr. Ratan Tata, a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. This amphitheater-style space—virtually indistinguishable from the classrooms in Boston—features advanced multimedia capabilities that enable faculty and participants to fully replicate the HBS case method environment. With a seating capacity of more than 80 participants, the facility hosts courses for leaders in business, government, and academia on a wide range of subjects that include corporate social responsibility, building a global enterprise, case writing, and course development. It also is used throughout the year for the Harvard South Asia Initiative's programs and symposia.

For more information, please contact:

Harvard Business School IRC
Telephone: ++91-22-24934510
Fax: 0091-22-24900724
Email: harvardindia@hbs.edu

What You Can Expect

Exploring the Drivers for Exceptional Business Success in India

Professional service firms operating in India—including those with IT, financial services, legal, accounting, and marketing expertise—are well positioned to capture opportunities for building scale and creating franchise value. This program will present proven approaches for managing client expectations, exploring alternative cost/billing structures, and formulating a sound business strategy—all key drivers of profitability.

Based on the proven HBS case method, you will acquire the best management practices of the world's most successful companies—and guidance on adapting those strategies to the unique needs of the Indian market. You will leave the program with a deeper and broader understanding of how to position your organization for long-term growth in India and abroad.

Along with peers from India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and around the globe, you will explore relevant case studies on professional service firms that have successfully pursued scale within India, as well as those that have overcome obstacles while managing both domestic and global growth. In addition to examining companies based in India, you and your fellow participants will discuss how firms in developed and emerging markets have successfully built scale or maintained a competitive edge by defining and executing effective company or service-line strategies.

Enhancing Your Role as a Corporate Leader

The program explores timely questions that confront every senior executive who seeks to make an impact on the organization: How does an organization that achieved success by executing one type of service-line model respond to market shifts? What models do successful companies use to innovate into higher-margin businesses that sustain competitive advantage? How does a firm with a distinct corporate culture motivate and manage talent while sustaining a high client satisfaction rate? In addition to developing the tools and frameworks to address your company's specific challenges, you will gain valuable insights into these common issues from the opinions and experiences expressed by a distinguished group of international peers.

"After 20 years in the government sector, I am starting a new career in the business sector. It is absolutely necessary for me to be able to make my own decisions in regard to finance. Through the program, I have gained a better understanding of financing and, more important, I realize my shortcomings. There's no question that I now have the knowledge and confidence to be an effective business leader."
Ragna Arnadottir [Executive Vice President Corporate Office], Landsvirkjun, Iceland

Your Course of Study

Created exclusively for senior executives and entrepreneurs, this leadership development program addresses the challenges facing leaders of professional service companies seeking to build scale and create franchise value. Key topics include:

"The program has helped me gain a greater understanding of corporate finance and thus more confidence in making critical business decisions in my current role. Through the many case studies, I was able to see numerous examples of how strategic financial decisions can play a significant role in the success or failure of various businesses."
Greg Roy [President], Lane Furniture Industries, U.S.

Who Is Right for the Program

Through daily interaction with a group of accomplished peers from India, the Middle East, South Asia, and beyond, you will build a professional and personal network that will provide value long after the program ends. Participants typically have line responsibility for developing and implementing company or service strategy for established organizations in a range of industries, including consulting, legal, accounting, architecture and engineering, marketing and advertising, venture capital, investment banking, computer software development, and technology systems integration. Typical participant titles include, but are not limited to:

Past Participants Represented:

Industries Nationalities
1% Communications 3% Africa
1% Consumer Products 89% Asia/Pacific
7% Financial 2% Europe
9% High Technology 1% Latin America
3% Manufacturing 2% Middle East
4% Nonprofit Services 4% North America
13% Other Services
56% Professional Services
3% Real Estate/Construction
1% Retail Services
2% Utilities/Telecom

"Engaging with people from all types and sizes of professional service firms provided a well-rounded perspective and exposure to a wider range of ideas. Another strength of Managing and Transforming Professional Service Firms was the highly energetic facilitators—that kind of enthusiasm engages you and brings out your best."
Subrata Bagchi [Director], Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India PVT LTD, India

Meet the Program Faculty

Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Managing and Transforming Professional Service Firms—India is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors, along with other faculty members from the Harvard community. Our faculty members are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.

Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.

Core Faculty

Thomas J. DeLong, Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice. Member of the Organizational Behavior Unit and the Entrepreneurial Management Unit; course head for the required MBA course on Leadership and Organizational Behavior; and faculty chair of "Managing and Transforming Professional Service Firms—India."

Rajiv Lal, Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing. Member of the Marketing Unit; faculty chair of the "General Management Program" and faculty cochair of "Leading Growth Through Customer Centricity—India."

Ashish Nanda, Robert Braucher Professor of Law from Practice. Faculty chair of Executive Education and Research Director at the Center for Law and Professions at Harvard Law School.

"Having been out of school for more than a dozen years, I wasn't sure what to expect. The faculty team put together a powerful program—it's amazing that I could absorb so much in such a short time. Although I am still mastering all the tools, techniques, and calculations I learned about the modern finance world, my desire to grow my business all the way to the top and the confidence to go conquer the world were immediately boosted."
Shunee Yee [President and Chief Executive Officer], CSOFT International Ltd., China

Admissions

Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.

Fees, Payments, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.

No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check or bank wire transfer. We do not accept payment by credit card. Details are included on the program invoice.

If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

Requirements

Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.

HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.

Language Proficiency

We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.

Application Process

Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.

To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.

If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.

If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.

Complete Your Application

Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.

Meet the Deadlines

We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.

Notification of Acceptance

We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.

The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.

Need help?

For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).