MBA (Master of Business Administration) is a post graduate
degree recognized internationally and widely accepted as
a passport to a successful career. An MBA offers a range
of benefits, including:
Business
Knowledge :
- The
MBA program and business schools give you valuable knowledge
about business and all its related
aspects.
Leadership
Abilities :
- An
MBA helps to set you apart from those who do not have
such expertise and can
make you a leader
in your chosen field.
Networking :
- The
alliances that you form with your classmates and the
network that you create
is deemed
as one of the most
important and valuable things that an MBA program
can give you.
Traditionally the tenure of full-time
MBA programmes has been two years. However, of late
in Europe, full-time
study can take anything from 10 months to two years to complete.
The majority of European MBA's tend to follow the
twelve
month model.
The MBA opens up newer avenues and provides the modern manager
with tools and skills needed to identify new opportunities
for organisational success. The fruits of this qualification
are reaped by fresh graduates as well as practicing managers
in both public and private sectors. The key limiter being
obtaining the qualification from a reputable institute.
The broad based understanding of business dynamics gained
from the MBA helps in making the transition from roles hitherto
limited by knowledge gained from the primary degree (engineering,
arts, life sciences etc) to a management role. It is also
useful to those who seek a change of career.The fact that
it leads to well-paid jobs and a more secure future has made
it one of the most popular postgraduate programs.
In response to the current global economic scenario, reach
and scale of operations are key factors to organisational
viability and success. In response to this need, companies
are increasingly becoming diversified and multifaceted, thereby
augmenting the scope and need for an MBA.
The best time to do an MBA depends upon why you want to
do an MBA.
You can do an MBA immediately after graduation if you want
to kick start your career with a managerial profile with
the best MNC's in India or abroad.
You can also do an MBA after gaining industry experience,
as a MBA is about training you in business management, thus
industry experience would prove beneficial to further sharpen
your skills and propel your career faster. Students with
work experience have an added advantage in pursuing MBA abroad
as international B-schools consider work experience as major
criterion for selecting candidates.
There are three parameters that determine the career of management
graduates.
Selecting the RIGHT Institute : With 1100+ B schools in our
country, it is important to choose the right school so that
it enhances job prospects in the short term and a career
in the long term. One way to choose the institute is to check
the campus placements during recession. In boom time it is
easy to get students placed even for a not-so-well known
institute. However, during recession when employers are more
discerning, if a business school can get its students placed
then it is 'The School' that one should aim for. The IIMs,
XLRI, SP Jain, FMS, NITIE, IITs (Schools Of Management) are
some of the institutes in this category.
Choosing
Appropriate Specialization : Most B-schools
have an introduction to all streams for the first year.
It is
in the second year of the course one has to decide on the
stream of specialization. Hence it is recommended that one
should keep an open mind to begin with and try to understand
all the streams. However, if one already has industry experience,
he can take a particular stream to enhance his skills.
Understanding various specialization : This is the key variable
and a lot depends on one's interests and capabilities, as
well as the institutes' resources. Let us consider each specialization
in some detail. This should also throw some light on the
functional areas.Whilst the list of specializations offered
by management institutes is expanding each year, the broad
areas that students can specialize in are:
Marketing : Sales & Distribution, Product/Brand
Management, Advertising, Market Research
Operations : Quality Control, Material Management,
Productivity Improvement, Inventory Control, Production Planning,
Supply
Chain Management, Logistics,
Finance : Consumer Banking, Investment
Banking, Institutional Banking, Merchant Banking Development
Banking, Non-Banking
Finance, Corporate Finance, International Finance
Human Resources : Human Resources Development (HRD), Personnel
Management, Industrial Relations
Systems Management : Systems Consultancy,
Account Management / Project Management Systems Depts of
Organizations, Business
Development / Sales & Marketing
Agri- Business Management
The Organization : The third and the most important parameter
that determines the career of an MBA is the organisation
he works for. Better organizations, with higher scope of
operations, tend to offer a higher and more challenging learning
curve.
Organizations can be classified by the nature of their business.
The three broad areas are: Consumer Products, Industrial
Products, Services
A brief description :
Consumer Products : The focus of these companies
is to sell products to individu-al consumers. Products are
classified
as fast moving (soaps, toothpastes); durable (washing machines,
TVs) and non-durable, etc.
IndustrialProducts : The focus of these organizations is
selling products to other organizations. There is a wide
range of
products in this category, such as chemicals, computers,
EPABX sets, forgings, plastics, power plants, etc.
Services : Many organizations do not produce
a tangible product, but perform a valuable function. Common
examples of such
service organizations are banks, agents, and accountants.
This sector also in-cludes industries like exports, advertising,
software, consultan-cy, and even the Planning Commission.
Placements : Undoubtedly, the IIMs offer best placements
every year. The placements across all the IIMs are similar
except
for a few
global companies preferring a particular institute. The average
starting salary offered by the Indian companies to a fresh
graduate is usually in the range of Rs. 6-7 lakhs per annum.
The highest Indian salary offered at the IIMs is in the range
of Rs. 11-13 lakhs p.a. Some of the institutes publish the
average salaries on their websites, which could be misleading.
The average salaries may contain the figures of foreign salaries
converted into rupees, and hence show a distorted figure.
The median salary provides a clearer picture than the average
salaries. You can also check the Institute Tracker at the
IMS Website for institute specific information on Placements,
Salaries / Remuneration etc.,
MAJOR MBA ENTRANCE EXAM'S STRUCTURE (FOR THE YEAR 2007-08 Test
Name : CAT
Duration : 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Total Questions : 75
Sections : 3
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Quantitative Aptitude:25
Data Interpretation:25
Verbal Ability:25
Negative Marking : ¼
Test
Name : JMET
Duration : 2 Hours
Total Questions : 150
Sections : 4
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Verbal Communication: 40
Logical Reasoning: 40
Quantitative Ability: 40
Data Interpretation: 30
Negative Marking : ¼
Test Name : MH-CET
Duration : 2 Hours 30 Min.
Total Questions : 200
Sections : NA
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Quantittative Ability: 97
Verbal Ability: 73
Visual Ability: 30
Negative Marking : NA
Test Name : SNAP
Duration : 2 Hours
Total Questions : 165
Sections : 4
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
General english: 40
Quantitative, data interpretation & data sufficiency:
50
Analytical & logical reasoning: 35
General awareness: 40
Negative Marking : ¼
Test Name : MAT
Duration : 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Total Questions : 200
Sections : 5
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Language comprehension: 40
Mathematical skills: 40
Data analysis & sufficiency: 40
Intelligence & critical reasoning: 40
Indian & global environment: 40
Negative Marking : Differential
Test Name : IIFT
Duration : 2 Hours
Total Questions : 106
Sections : 4
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Data interpretation 7 logical reasoning: 27
Reading comprehension & verbal ability: 23
Problem solving: 30
General knowledge : 26
Negative Marking : Differential
Test Name : XAT
Duration : 2 Hours 20 Min.
Total Questions : 130 + 1 Essay
Sections : 3 + 1 Essay
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Quantitative aptitude:49
Reasoning ability & decision making:40
Verbal ability:41
Negative Marking : Differential & Progressive
Test Name : FMS
Duration : 2 Hours
Total Questions : 175
Sections : NA
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
Problem solving+logical resaoning: 100
Verbal ability: 75
Negative Marking : 1
Test Name : IRMA
Duration : 2 Hours
Total Questions : 200
Sections : 4
Number Of Questions As Per Areas Tested In The Exam :
English comprehension: 40
Quantitative ability: 50
Analytical reasoning:50
Issues of social concern: 60
Negative Marking : ¼
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