The Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has planned new courses to ensure its graduates are capable of tackling isues arising out the unprecedented global economic downturn by the time they reach their work place.

Along with new courses, visitors from corporations and its alumni would also pass on their knowledge on how to tackle the woes of a receding economy. The courses include those on cost cutting, a 4-day course in strategic cost-management, and orientation towards jobs in insurance and publishing industries. Also planned is a course on innovation and creativity.

As the global recession is being attributed to the greed and carelessness of financial managers, business schools too have been caught in the debate on what role they can play in preparing better managers for tomorrow.

''Market failure has more to do with individual greed, something a B-school curricula cannot prevent. We are analysing the situation and talking about the crisis and reasoning why it happened. We are discussing their ramifications for individuals and organisations and trying to alter the manner graduates would behave in the corporate world,'' IIM-A director Samir Baruah, said.

''We are also ensuring that more and more alumni come back to the institute to offer their experiences in the classroom,'' Mr Baruah added.

According to Barua, the new courses would train executive students (Post-Graduate Programme in Management for Executives) on how to deal with the current economic meltdown.

''One can raise revenue of an organisation at a given point of time but cost-cut is something one needs to be able to handle smartly, especially during downturn. The current scenario has led us to think along this line and design courses accordingly,'' said BH Jajoo, dean of IIM-A.

The new courses are to be a part of management development programmes and post-graduate programmes.

''The strategic cost management will be one of the first such courses. Later on, other such electives will be designed and introduced,'' said Barua.

Barua said the publishing industry in the country was in need of professinalisation.

On the course on innovation, Jajoo said, "We would be introducing an elective in the area of innovation and creativity and its marketing. Professionals in that field from across the country will be invited to teach the students on the subject."

IIM-A has earlier organised off-beat courses such as a case study on Indian railways with railway minster Lalu Prasad Yadav as a visiting faculty, and one on the Indian film industry with actor Amir Khan.