Experiential learning creates environments in which the learner can apply existing knowledge while developing new knowledge and skills in a practical context. Experiential learning must start in the primary school. Even today after five decades of my life I remember a trip our school had organized to a sugar factory in Theur near Pune. We were in standard three then. Sugarcane was pounded to extract the juice and then boiling down the juice in form of syrup for several hours to get jaggery.  

We were taught civic sense by making us control traffic at different junctions, we were made to plant trees inside and outside Pune Aakasjwani and meteorology department at Shivaji Nagar Pune. We would visit those offices twice a week to water the plants, to take care of the plants. We had very good teachers for language, maths and drawing. We had bakery class from 6^th standard, we hand stitching class which was compulsory. I studied in cohead Marathi Medium school named Bharat English School, Shivaji Nagar, Pune. 7^th standard onwards we were taught to collect data from green grocers, farmers, police, doctors, lawyers about intricacies about their professions. We celebrated different festivals for knowing our culture. 

Great poets such as Vinda Karanadikar, Shanta Shelke, author Va Pu Kale, mathematician D.R.Koperkar  visited our school and we have heard poetries and prose straight from the horse’s mouth.   Students from lower financial strata came to my school, it was not a famous school, but our principal used his contacts and brough great Marathi scholars to our school. My school developed a good educational system that delivered higher-order goals, such as the encouragement to grow in life, good attitudes and a sense of morality, justice, and optimism, which is quite challenging endeavour.

It is a mix of traditional and experiential education which can prepare students for real life in today’s VUCA world. Today, because of noncognitive skills which are called “soft skills” such as motivation, integrity, negotiation skills, team building, and interpersonal interaction the students get ready to face the complex world. Soft skills are associated with an individual’s personality, temperament, and attitudes. People have forgotten using pleasantries, manners etiquette etc. Non-cognitive skills, significantly complement and enhance the confidence of students which are often neglected. The most prominent non-cognitive skills include openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, amiability, and emotional intelligence. These skills have a strong ability to withstand adversities and to predict long-term outcomes from life.

At the primary education level, experiential learning can involve interactive activities, educational games, field trips, and experiments that allow young learners to explore concepts through hands-on experiences. These experiences spark curiosity, promote engagement, and lay the foundation for future learning.

In India, the focus on exam-oriented education has restrained students’ innate curiosity and suppress their ability to explore, innovate, and discover. The pressure to conform to a predetermined path can leave students feeling trapped, unable to pursue their passions or talents beyond the prescribed curriculum. People must flourish in their career, enjoy what they are doing. This rarely happens. 

In the age of information, the dynamic nature of workforces has undergone constant and consistent transformations to adjust to the advances in technology, a global pandemic, and an ever-evolving workplace. The pandemic drove a new chapter in learning, as students from across the world took to digital platforms to finish coursework and learn new skills. Meanwhile, a key concern that found credibility on a global scale was the gaps left by traditional education in the employability of a graduate. Post-secondary education, aimed at training masses to become employable, has long needed an upgrade to serve the true requirements of evolving industries. Every industry currently experiences rapid transitions internally to cope with the advancements in technology, and methods of doing business are more transient than they ever were.

Most universities have curriculums that don’t match what today’s industries need. Students are often taught old or irrelevant syllabi.  When these students graduate, they find that their knowledge doesn’t fit the requirements of modern jobs. This mismatch creates high amount of unemployment in India.

In beginning in the 1970s, David A. Kolb helped develop the modern theory of experiential learning, drawing heavily on the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget. In France, the educators are constantly concerned about the danger of being labelled as irrelevant in today’s educational climate that focuses attention on the importance of science, technology, and professional career preparation. French universities have been successful at promoting a synergy between the traditional and the professional education. The goal is not to do battle between competing ideas, but rather to increase the value of both through interdisciplinary partnerships.

The challenges that we often face in India is while building meaningful collaborations with industry, university and government. We must overcome it.  Interdisciplinary learning encourages students to reflect critically on every new idea or issue they encounter, considering it from multiple perspectives.

Experiential learning is learning through reflection on doing. It focuses on the learning process for the individual. An internship in company where a student goes through sales training in which he learns how to handle customers and preparing bills. By sitting in classroom and reading sales management and accounting from books and lectures he can only imagine, but during internship he gets hand on experience.  Apprenticeships, externships, fellowships, field work, internships, workshops, seminars etc are part of experiential learning.

Experiential learning encourages students to learn from their mistakes and fosters a sense of self-confidence and continuous learning. Finally, experiential learning promotes innovation, creativity, and problem-solving skills, as students are actively engaged in project-based learning and problem-solving activities. In contrast, traditional learning typically relies on lectures and textbooks to convey information and may not provide the same level of engagement, practical application, and skill development.

In Japan a model of teacher-led research in which a group of teachers collaborate to target a particular area for development in their students’ learning. Based on their prior teaching, the group of teachers work together to research, plan, teach and observe a series of lessons, using ongoing discussion, reflection and expert input to monitor and improve their teaching.

There is vast difference in teachers with industry experience and teachers with degrees teaching in higher education. Teachers with industry experience bring practicality in teaching. Today Universities need experts in board of studies to upgrade syllabi every two-three year as the world is changing too fast. Knowing the academic side is only half the battle: understanding how those skills get used in the real world gives vital context and often makes things make more sense, it provides the reality that supplements the textbook versions of the same fields.

The real world is all about learning by making mistakes. While more traditional learning methods might end with a test or a graded paper, experiential learners do find themselves encountering holdups, yet they grow from them in many ways.

Black Swan Events

The black swan events theory is an analogy that describes an event that comes as a surprise, the event is unimaginable with major effects and it disrupts the economy of nation/world also it harms the lives of people. Black Swan events create a chaos.  In the business world the term was propagated by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a finance professor, writer, and former Wall Street trader. Talab described the 2007-08 subprime mortgage crisis – the collapse of housing market in US when the housing bubble burst because many borrowers were unable to pay back their loans. The dramatic increase in foreclosures caused many financial institutions to collapse. Many required a bailout from the government.

Another black swan event took place In March 2013 in Cyprus. The banks and its customers experienced an acute crisis because of the terms of an agreement to receive financial assistance from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The original proposal, which included a bank deposit levy on Cypriot bank account holders, was rejected by the country’s parliament because of chaotic situations raised.

Few more black swan effects were 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan in which according to the Japan Reconstruction Agency, nearly 400,000 buildings were destroyed or irreparably damaged and another 750,000 were partially destroyed across the country in March 2011. Nearly 16,000 people were killed and 2,500 are still listed as missing.

More recently the dire effects of Covid-19 when economies of most nations in world suddenly stopped. the pandemic continues to present daunting challenges for governments and international organizations. The economic impacts threaten to undo decades of recent progress in poverty reduction, child nutrition and gender equality. But Covid 19 has worsened efforts to support refugees, migrants, and other vulnerable communities. 

Black swan events cannot be rationalized; their occurrence devastates nations and economic rebuilding takes time and efforts. By definition, governments, organizations and society cannot fully prepare for Black Swan events. Since they are random and unexpected, they are almost impossible to anticipate, and thus to prepare for.

Green Swan Events

A green swan refers to an unforeseen environmental catastrophe attributed to climate change. It is a large-scale event connected with global warming and the impacts of pollution that could trigger a systematic financial crisis worldwide with negative implications. Green swans are risks created by human behaviour that includes pumping pollutants into the environment, destroying natural ecosystems such as forests and water catchment areas, and destabilizing climates. John Elkington, the man who originated the Triple Bottom Line, and has authored 20 books, and founder of sustainability consultancy named Volans, introduced the term Green Swan in his book “Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism”.  

According to his book, Elkington adds, Green Swans are “solutions that take us exponentially toward breakthrough” or “systemic solutions to global challenges, solutions that tap into positive exponentials.” They deliver “exponential progress in the form of economic, social, and environmental wealth creation.” Elkington also adds, “Too often, Black Swans take you exponentially where you don’t want to go, whereas Green Swans take you exponentially where you do want to go.”

The melting of the glaciers, a phenomenon that has intensified in the 20th century, is leaving our planet iceless.  The fast melting of glaciers is affecting Antarctica and Greenland which are affecting the ocean currents, as massive amounts of very cold glacial-melt water entering warmer ocean waters is slowing ocean currents. And as ice on land melts, sea levels will continue to rise. Top geologists say that many countries near the sea will vanish in another 20-30 years.

Carbon dioxide concentrations are rising regularly because of the fossil fuels that people are burning for energy. Fossil fuels like coal and oil contain carbon that plants pulled out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis over many millions of years; we are returning that carbon to the atmosphere in just a few hundred years.

A good example of a Green Swan, according to Elkington, is the adoption of electric vehicles. It started out very slow, out of sight for most people. But gradually, and largely propelled by Elon Musk, it has accelerated step by step. It has now reached the exponential part of the curve, the point of no return, where it is rapidly embraced at increasing speed, disrupting the entire car industry on the path toward creating environmental, social, and economic wealth.

Dependence on solar energy is another example of Green Swan effect. Solar energy can help to reduce the cost of electricity, contribute to a resilient electrical grid, create jobs and spur economic growth, generate back-up power for night-time and outages when paired with storage, and operate at similar efficiency on both small and large scales.

Similarly, rain water harvesting reduces soil erosion, stormwater runoff, flooding, and pollution of surface water with fertilizers, pesticides, metals and other sediments. It is an excellent source of water for landscape irrigation with no chemicals, dissolved salts and free from all minerals.

White Swan Event

A white swan event is highly anticipated depending on available information and accurate forecasting. It is sure to occur. Its impact is easy to quantify. Human errors are usually considered the cause of such events.

Nasim Taleb uses the White Swan theory to explain events of dramatic proportions that had been predicted. A classic example he gives is of COVID-19. The pandemic had been predicted by many people before, including by Bill Gates in TED talk in 2015. The Governments of different nations in the world chose to ignore the warnings until too late.

Stocks markets are an excellent example of white swan event. They are also volatile and unpredictable because of the continuous flow of news, announcements, international data points, etc.

The crypto currency market is another example of a white swan event. Since its creation over a decade ago, it has experienced tremendous growth. While there are always periods of bear market conditions, the crypto market behaves like a pendulum that swings upwards and downwards. In the crypto market there are scalability difficulties, which means they may not be able to process enormous quantities of transactions at once. Due to the extraordinary volatility of most cryptocurrencies, investors don’t trust even in the most popular ones like Bitcoin. The volatility of the value of a particular cryptocurrency makes it difficult for investors to forecast their continued profitability in the future.

Conclusion

Black, Green and White events are radical in nature, they are a part of our life. In true sense the world has become VUCA. The acronym of VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. The world is experiencing a crazy spin of events because too many uncertainties have plagued it. These days you don’t see linear organisations, they hardly exist. Most organizations exist by adapting complexities and by behaving resilient.  We see new trends and practices in society which are seemingly evolving very fast. The world of business demands flexibility and adaptiveness. Traditional and outdated approaches do not work. Black, Green and White Swan events will occur constantly and we will have to face them powerfully. 

Dominant: A firm is in a dominant position, has control over other competitors. Dominance in the market gives a firm chance to enjoy more freedom to select suitable strategic options.

Strong: A strong firm doesn’t control behaviour of other competitors, but can take independent actions without jeopardizing its long-term position. But, other competitors’ actions do not have a notable impact on its position.

Favorable: These firms are in position to exploit opportunities to improve their positions. They need to constantly adjust their strategies to continue enjoying the better-than-average opportunities for which they have to remain alert and struggle constantly.

Tenable (Average): These firms have satisfactory performance, but they suffer due to dominant and strong competitors. These firms have less-than-average opportunities to improve their positions.

Weak: Weak firms have unsatisfactory performance. However, they need to keep a watch on opportunities to improve their positions. Weak firms must change or adjust constantly to exist.

Nonviable (non-survivable): Such firms have unsatisfactory performance and have no opportunity to improve their performance and position.

Depending on the position of firms in market, there are four types of market dominance strategies. These are market leader, market challenger, market follower, and market nicher.

Market leader: Market leader has the largest market share in the relevant product in the industry. It has a dominant position in the market. Obviously, it leads in new product development, price change, distribution coverage, promotional activities, and novel experiments. The leader may or may not be respected by other firms, but other firms have to acknowledge its dominance. Other firms can challenge, follow or avoid the market leader. In India, well-known market leaders are Maruti Suzuki in cars, Hero Honda in two-wheelers, TCS in Information Technology, HDFC in Banking, Hindustan Unilever in consumer goods, Coca-Cola in soft-drink, McDonald’s in fast food, Life Insurance Corporation in life-insurance etc.

A few market leaders enjoy monopoly in the market. They need to remain alert all the time for maintaining their leadership position. Other firms constantly challenge leadership position. A little mistake here and there can force the leader into second or third position. It has to adopt innovative practices in all the marketing areas. Sometimes, it has to incur excessive costs to maintain the number-one position.

A leader position firm which desires to maintain market- leader position has to adopt one or more strategies such as Expanding Total Market, Defending Current Market Share and Expanding Certain Segment Market Share. To remain a leader the firm needs to remain alert in market.

Market challenger: Market challengers are known as runner-up firms. They occupy second, third or lower ranks in an industry. Bajaj Auto in two-wheelers, Tata Motors and Hyundai in cars, Reliance Petro and Essar Oils in refineries challenging ONGC, Pepsi-Cola in soft-drink, Procter and Gamble in consumer goods, Vodafone in cellular service providers, Sony and Samsung in cell-phone instruments, etc., are some of the market challengers in India.

Market challengers are capable to attack the leader and other competitors. Sometimes, capable challengers can overtake the leader. Market challengers also target smaller, more vulnerable competitors. The fundamental principles involved are: to assess the strength of the target competitor, keep searching opportunities to attack the target, to keep a watch on the amount of support that the target might muster from allies. Challengers usually choose only one target at a time. Challengers prefer to attack the target at a vulnerable moment. Challengers usually launch the attack on narrow front.

Usually challengers adapt these strategies: price discounts or price cutting, line extensions, introduce new products, reduce product quality to cut on costs, increase product quality, improve services, change distribution strategies and intensify promotional activity.

Market follower: These firms prefer to follow leader rather than to use new strategies and waste energy and resources. They do not face the leader directly. Some followers are capable to challenge but they prefer to follow. However, market followers always react strongly in case of any loss. In some capital goods industries like steel, cement, chemical, fertilizer, etc., product differentiation is low, service qualities are similar, and price sensitivity is high. They decide to provide similar offers by copying the market leader. But, one glaring fact is that followership is not always satisfying path to pursue.

Market followers prefer to follow the leader doesn’t mean that they don’t require specific market strategies. They cannot be simply passive or simply carbon copy strategies adopted by leaders. They need to hold current customers and win a fair share of new customers. Followers usually keep manufacturing cost low and offer better quality products with satisfactory services. At the same time, they do enter new markets as and when there are opportunities. Market followers are bound to exist in a mature market. The market followers are wider in case of online marketing because online marketing has lower entry barriers and higher returns. Thus, in online commerce itself, you will see that companies like Snapdeal, Flipkart, Jabongg have all started one after the other. Off course, the market leaders were Ebay and Amazon. And, today e-Bay and Amazon are facing tough competition.

It is a simple way to follow the leader. The follower who wants to be imitator duplicates the leader’s product as well as package and sells it in the market through disrepute distributors. Products are marketed secretly to avoid legal complications. The product seems exactly similar to original product except basic quality and features. This is common strategy in auto-parts and electronics products. People, knowingly or unknowingly, buy such duplicate products as they are made available at low price.

They can also me Emulators. The emulator clones (emulates) the leader’s products, distribution, advertising and other aspects. Here, product and packaging may be identical that of leader, but brand name is slightly different. Market is full of cloned products especially in interiors of the country. You will find bottled water with labels of Bisleri, Aquafina; toothpaste tubes with Colgate, Cibaca labels but then the packaging is of inferior quality. This strategy is widely practiced in computer business also. The cloned products are openly sold in the market because of fake practices. The fake brands are pushed in the distribution of firms.

Market specialist or nicher: A niche is a more narrowly defined small market (limited number of buyers) whose needs are not being well-served by existing sellers. It is a small segment that has distinctive needs and is, mostly, ready to pay high price. Marketers can identify niches by dividing a segment into sub-segments or by dividing a group with a distinctive set of traits.

They may seek a special combination of benefits. Niches (small groups of buyers) are fairly small and normally attract a few competing firms. A nicher is the small firm serving only small specific groups of customers. The firm’s marketing efforts to serve the niches successfully is called nichemanship.

Nichers understand their niches’ needs so well and minutely that their customers are willing to pay a premium price. They design special products with distinctive features, qualities, uses, and value for special group which are tailor-made to suit the buyer’s needs. Nichers have special skills to serve their market in luxury goods segment and fashion industry. They gain certain economies through specialization. Nichemanship strategy is also called focus strategy. The objective is focusing marketing efforts on one or few narrow market segments and tailoring the marketing mix to give those chosen customers tailored offer. The firm typically looks to gain a competitive advantage through effectiveness. The most successful nichers tend to have the following characteristics:

• They tend to be in high value (luxury goods) industries and are able to obtain high margins.
• They tend to be highly focused on a specific market segment.
• They usually market high end products and are able to use a premium pricing strategy.

Conclusion: Today, the market scenario is so susceptible to the environmental vulnerability that many companies live a very short lifecycle.  The acronym VUCA has shaken the world. Political, economical, social, technological, legal and environmental parameters in the world have become Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous than ever before. Therefore, no company can take its position in market for granted. Though for many people the term VUCA is linked to negativity, but, a new wave of thinking shows that embracing vulnerability is actually crucial for sustainability of businesses.