Students desiring to pursue an MBA or management studies get stuck with various doubts and basic knowledge of what the course entails. This is crucial if you want to step up the admission process and not face hurdles.
Though there exists little distinction between an Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree and Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), but you should decide according to your future objectives, like the kind of work you want to do, where you want to work – within the country or abroad, etc, and choose the apt one.
The next step is to decide the specialization. This will depend on your interests, strong grasp over certain required subjects in that branch, the fie;d you want to work in, etc. Some of the options for you are – marketing, finance, retail management, human resource management, operations and logistics, rural management, systems, international trade and business, intellectual property, etc.
Management programs are available to students today as regular courses (typically two years), distance learning or correspondence (variable time period), executive programs (one for regular, three for distance learning), part time (three years ideally).
Some good institutes in India are the Indian Institute of Management, S.P. Jain, Management Development Institute, XLRI, Faculty of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Management Programs, NITIE, etc.
Most programs invite students from all kinds of educational background. A bachelor’s degree is the prime requisite, with at least a 50% marks. But you can pursue it even after post graduation and doctorate. There is no restriction on this. If you are working and want to enroll for the Executive Program, you will need a few years of quality experience, which is decided by the respective institutes.
First step to admission is the Written Test Round. Though the format may change from one school to another, the sections remain the same broadly. Thus there will be questions on English Language skills, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, Quantitative Ability. Certain colleges may also have a segment on General Awareness.
Some common management entrance examinations in India are the CAT, CET, MAT, XAT, FMS Test, JMET, and GMAT (typically for most executive programs).
Next is the Group Discussion Round, where those students are invited who qualify in the first round. This is a much smaller number of candidates. You will be given a topic, related to some event, invention, management, etc, as a team and you will need to discuss it as a group. Certain abilities that are examined in a candidate in the GD are leadership abilities, team work, analytical thinking process, ability to be cohesive and communicative, etc.
The final round is the Interview which is a face to face talk with the faculty and head of the institute. If you have been able to cross the earlier stages then this is your final chance to get selected. Thus you have to be very well prepared, be able to advertise yourself, present your skills, achievements, put forth your career objectives and ambitions, and answer the questions asked.
In some schools, work experience is also considered and given a lot of weight-age, especially the courses for working people.
