The Remains of the MBA

The course is based entirely on the book ‘The Remains of the Day’ by Kazuo Ishiguro about Stevens, a butler, serving Darlington Hall in Oxford, taking a trip to Cornwall in 1956 and reminiscing about the events during pre-World War II period. Now, there is absolutely no reason for a 21st century management student to understand the world of a butler in the last days of the British Empire. Yet, Stevens catches your attention by asking what makes a great butler. He questions established notions of a great butler, gives examples of what he considers greatness and considers his own performance in Darlington Hall as triumph of professionalism. But where does the pursuit of professional excellence in serving Darlington Hall lead him to at the fag end of his career? As he sits on the pier at Weymouth, watching the lights come on, is he filled with a sense of regret at his triumph as a professional?

A young aspirational MBA graduate may want to make a mark in the professional career, join a distinguished organisation, handle challenging assignments and eventually lead it to glory. Darlington Halls are today replaced by established business firms and startups, butlers are replaced by professional managers; yet the central themes of professionalism, dignity, excellence, ethics, duty, contribution to society etc. remain as pertinent as before. Thousands of books, case studies and business press articles laud the new butlers who steer new Darlington Halls to success, fewer talk about the failures. And rare still are the books and articles and case studies which allow us to feel the pathos of the ‘successful’ leaders, reveal to us the mistakes, regrets and the emptiness in personal life. The book ‘The Remains of the Day’ allows us to cry with Stevens in the evening of his life. It is this crying which reveals to us our humanism.

It is difficult for a young achievement-oriented aspirational student, yet to start a professional career, to connect with the regrets of a butler at the end of a career, that too from another era. Perhaps the feelings of regret of wasted opportunities may be easier to comprehend if it is brought closer at hand. With only a few days or weeks left for convocation, perhaps the students can look back at the MBA journey (and the years of hard work leading up to it) and reflect on the days and possibilities gone by, mistakes made, opportunities wasted, triumphs experienced and lingering regrets. Has the student lived up to the professionalism expected from the denizens of the Darlington Hall that is the business school? Has the student behaved with the dignity that is expected from an alumnus of a great institution? Perhaps an introspection at this crucial juncture, the few rare moments of calm between the whirlwind of activity that was the MBA and the frenetic work that is about to begin, may reduce the regrets that our future Stevens would have on reaching his/her own Weymouth.

And through fostering these reflections in my students I endeavor to reflect on my little triumphs and regrets as I confront what remains of my day. The idea that the evening is the best part of the day resonates with me as I realise, I could not have offered this course earlier in my career. More than the triumphs, it is perhaps the set of lingering regrets that shape our evenings. Offering this course at IIMA, and allowing students elsewhere to access this opportunity freely through Online@IIMA, is my own attempt at deliverance, removing at least the potential regret of not offering an elective on regret.

Learning Objectives

The course aims to encourage students to reflect on the time and effort spent doing an MBA and ask what really matters in the end. The characters and events in the book ‘The Remains of the Day’ can serve as triggers for self-reflection in leaders-in-the-making raring to make their mark in the corporate world. It is hoped that this process of reflection would allow the student to make choices in his/her professional career so that there are fewer regrets when they reach the evening of their career. Coming at the juncture of the end of their MBA (and for many perhaps the end of formal education) and the beginning of career as a manager, the story of a butler striving for greatness can serve as a cautionary tale of the fate that befalls the leader striving for professional excellence at all costs.

The specific learning objectives are as follows:

(i) Reflect on professionalism, dignity, loyalty, and the meaning of professional success.

(ii) Use the novel’s characters and events as triggers for self-reflection

(iv) Accept regret as an integral part of life and career

(v) Build a reflective mindset for future leadership roles

Course Requirements

This course is entirely based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. Access to a physical or digital copy of the book is mandatory. The course involves in-depth reading and reflective engagement with the text throughout its duration. Learners are required to purchase the book prior to enrolment and provide a declaration.

Link to purchase the book:

https://www.amazon.in/Remains-Day-FF-Classics/dp/0571200737/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

Pedagogy

This course is based on individual reflection. Learners will read the course text (Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day), reflect along with the instructor, write a reflective journal at the end of this course, and return to it periodically to reflect as their career progresses. It is strongly recommended that the learner maintains external silence during the conduct of the sessions to enable the internal reflection processes to take root.

Copyright and Usage Compliance

Learners must independently purchase and use a legally acquired, authorized physical or digital copy of the book. The Institute and the instructor do not provide copies of the text and do not permit the use of pirated, reproduced, or unauthorized versions. By enrolling in the course, learners agree to comply with applicable copyright and intellectual property laws.

Course Content

This course is an MBA elective offered in Term VI at IIM Ahmedabad. It is designed as a reflective, discussion-driven course. The online version is based on the actual classroom recordings from the course as delivered on campus in March 2025.

Capstone Self Reflection

The course concludes with a self-reflection exercise. This is the same assignment used in the classroom offering of the course, adapted for the online format. It is a purely personal reflective activity intended for the learner’s own growth and introspection.

There is no evaluation or grading of this assignment from the Institute or the instructor, and no submission is required. Learners are encouraged to engage honestly with the exercise and retain it as a personal reflective artefact to revisit as their professional journey unfolds.