Focus On Internship In MBA

Internship in MBA programOne of those questions to which an MBA student wants a convincing answer after ‘Which college?’ is ‘Where to do an internship?’. The rationale behind an internship in the MBA curriculum is to make students have a feel of the industry, profile, company which they want to pursue after MBA. I personally feel that the hard work which a student puts in during internship weighs more than all the efforts put together that one makes during exams, assignments when it comes down to the growth rate as a professional after MBA.

Most of the ‘janta’ joins MBA program for primarily three reasons: (1) Switch the industry (2) Move up the corporate ladder and lastly (3) A higher salary. However, none of these can be achieved without having the proper backing of a relevant internship. In the case of a one year program, the chances of green ticking the first point is comparable to an iota. Some institutes like ‘Great Lakes, Chennai’ which offer 1 year program have an equivalent to an internship, which they call as ‘Empirical’. In empirical studies the students decide on a topic and do research on that topic for the whole year in a stepwise manner, either in a group or individually.

As perceived, an institute teaches you all the concepts and theories but a candidate seldom gets a chance to work in an environment which is similar or even close to industry. Most of the activities are faculty driven and your performance is judged on the basis of the grade which you get. But in internship, you know that every deliverable of your will affect firm’s business which was not the same when you were handling case studies in college. Just wonder if you happened to contribute in a fashion which catches the eye of the top management!! Well, half the battle is won. So, morale of the story is train yourself for becoming ‘a vital cog’ in firm’s wheel of fortune. You will get the visibility and appraisal accordingly and you are en route a great career.

It is of utmost importance to master the art of trade before actually going into battlefield. An internship presents before you the opportunity to internalize the way business works without the fear of being judged much because you will be mentored by some senior person in the organization (who can be your future boss). I have observed the trend that when a firm goes for recruitment in a college, the preference is given to the students who have done internship in their firm. On top of that, they don’t hesitate in offering a higher package to those interns just for the simple reason that they can be straight away deployed on to the field without much handholding, in turn increasing their productivity.

Why focus is important in an internship because only then you will be able to invest in yourself. Try and get hold of as many things as possible which are important from the perspective of business model of the firm. This will increase your competency because then you will be able to connect the dots between various functions of the business. Recruiters are looking for the candidates who have this edge of being a generalist. And this is the only skill which ‘makes or breaks’ the career of a professional when it comes to career growth.

MBA InternshipAn internship is as important as spending your time in college activities, for strong networking. As has been rightly said, ‘Your network is your net worth’, you will grow at a rate proportional to the growth rate of your network. Even if you don’t join the company in which you did internship, chances are very high that you will end up in the same industry. Having good contacts in other leader firm of the industry is strategically very important for business development purposes. You might get hold of a potential opportunity because of a contact which you won’t be able to pursue otherwise. If you are able to create value for the firm during your internship, it won’t go unnoticed and this will take your networking to the next level strategically.

Now, how to go about searching for internships? So, it boils down to prioritization and channelized efforts. Start from prioritizing the firms in the industry of your interest. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket i.e. keep trying in other industries of relevance. Regular follow-ups or keeping a track record must be in your skin. Since, it is ‘buyer’s market’, try to show them the value that you will bring to the table by relating it to your skill-set and most importantly show the ‘Energy’. You can take the help of various job sites. There might be an opening for you if the company is continuously posting requirements on the portal, which you can leverage through your contacts (if any). Since, competition is tough, it is advisable to back your-self every time and have a go-getter attitude.

All said and done, a candidate is not the same person once he comes out of an internship as he/she was before joining internship. In a two year MBA set-up, candidate gets a chance to relate the concepts learned in classroom to what he was doing in the internship. This whole process of internalizing and re-internalizing proves to be very value additive when a candidate faces interview for final campus selections.  If the candidate is able to articulate his takeaways during internship by relating it to the business model of the interviewing firm in a lucid manner, the job is done. But real ‘job’ starts from there to implement the learning of internship effectively to create value for your employer, which in turn will stamp your capability, credibility and adaptability as a resource and a successful professional.


Contributed by Sthita Sahu

A day in a Tv Channel

screen people and the life beyondTelevision.. We love to watch it and also we all are so curious to know about the on screen people and the life beyond. This is the industry which never stops operating and the content is shown 24*7. So it is very tedious to be working with the tv channel. Beyond the glamour aspect of this industry, you would like to know how does these tv channels make monies? Before that let us start from scratch to what does it sells? The tv channel sells the value to the clients and this value is sold the basis the veiwership it gets on content that it airs.

What is the content and how it is made?

Content is the tv shows that we see. A production house(like balaji, sagar prod., endemol) makes the content and then it sells the content to the channel and channel airs the content and earn through the advertising space it sells between it. There is a science behind making the content. To understand the science let us first understand the TV viewing audience, we have two types of audience group- HSM and ESM, hindi speaking market and english speaking market respectively. India being more HSM, the hindi GEC(general entertainment channel like star plus, life ok, zee tv) delivers more numbers when compared ro any English channel or any niche channel. The content on English channel is mostly bought from the foreign production houses and is just aired on the domestic english channel. Example zee cafe bought friends season 5 from the production house to air it for two years repeat in say Rs. XXX, and hence the channel will air it for two years and make profit by selling the advertising space. On the contrary, the content on Hindi channel is made either by the channel or it is bought from the production houses like balaji etc and the content is made by the coordination of the production department of the channel and the creative time of production house.

Types of Content?

Now that we have understood about the types of indian tv audience, there is two types of content : Regular shows and Impact shows. Regular shows are those which are aired on regular basis and have no defined pre decided end. They are made basis the creative department of the channel and production house. The story varies basis the ratings it deliver every week. These are mostly the fiction shows like sasural simar ka on zee tv and diya aur bhati hum on star plus. On the contrary, impact shows are shows which have a defined episodes like big boss, indias singing superstar which have a defined end.

What is ratings and how is it calculated?

TVR(television veiwership in ratings) is the percentage of the people watching a particular show at a particular time period from the total tv viewing audience. TVR is calculated from TVT(television veiwership in thousands), tvt is basically a number given by TAM(total addressable market).

mediaWhat is TAM?

TAM is a software that gives the ratings. The TAM basically operates on the sampling method. The TAM people have installed the receptors across india in the various houses with varied type of the audience watching the TV. For an example, a house has a peoplemeter installed and a kid of 15 years switches on the TV and watches cartoon network. The People meter will deliver this to the receptor and hence will result in the overall ratings of the cartoon network in its T.G. The people meter are so densely installed that the samples are approximately accurate.

A day in a TV channel in sales profile:-

Well as a sales executive in a TV channel, there is so much of the stress and yes you need to be friends with stress if you got to survive, as the revenue generating department you need to be very sound. From the weekly ratings of your channel to the ratings of the competitors you need to be totally aware. Your day just starts by reading afaqs, what is the indian media upto, who is joining where , which show is performing good, any latest innovation etc. because when you go for meetings, the media agency people and your clients just discuss whats happening around and your knowledge about the industry and beyond can only hold the conversation for long, as this industry only works on your relations. You need to be sound about the target audience of your various clients, there spending pattern, months when they are active etc. this all information comes when you meet the clients and agency people on the regular basis. Yes you need to manage your meetings because a campign missed by you will get you in trouble. This is the harsh industry which listens to no one and hence needs even the impossible of work in place. I will not be politically correct, there is lot of internal politics, a hell lot compared to any other industry and you just need to survive the way out. People management is the most difficult and highly important thing which one needs to grow in this industry. There is a lot of politics and stress yet its addictive. The world of media and entertainment is hard place to be and also a hard place to leave.

Media- The most Growing and lustrous industry to be in:-

As a fresher when you go out looking for the job and I am sure most of you tend to fit in the space anywhere basis the package you are offered and not the exposure that you would get. Media is the place where the learning and monies both walk hand in hand. Being the mode of entertainment, Television channels make good revenues and they do not mind paying well too for the quality resource. Above all the media agencies handle the multiple clients so they need to walk in the clients shoes to deliver the media plans. Hence it’s a great learning as a brand consultant as one has a great role in the marketing decisions. Plus as a fresher when you get to do lot of the analysis, ground work, brain storming sessions, get to meet some senior people at corporates. It definitely gives you a higher exposure for a leap in your career.


Contributed by Rahul Wadhwa, (Class of 2013, IBS GURGAON)

MBA in HR Conceptual vs Reality

MBA HR ProfessionalsHuman resource is a reason for existence and vital for survival. People make and build organization to their highest level of productivity. It is therefore essential to strengthen these pillars to achieve the vision and mission of the organization. The concepts in the study of human resources are large and wide. Theories based on the organizational and behavioral study are integral part of human resource management. The various psychological and behavioral patterns of the human resource need to be understood to craft their career path.

Human resource management is designed in a way that it would help in maximizing the effectiveness of the employee’s performance in relation to the objectives set by the employers. The human resource study encompasses many activities under it. It includes employee recruitment and training, development, performance appraisal, trade unions, appraisals, retention and retirement. Each activity is framed with logical patterns based on how an employee characterizes his behavior and performance.

MBA is a career that one chooses to boost the skills and talent one possesses with strategic and logical thinking. With various options available under its belt, streams of opportunities galore within. MBA in HR has the potential to understand the importance of an essential resource that needs to be nurtured right from its inception to retirement. Human resource planning is an area that specifies techniques to match the demand and supply of the workforce required in an organization.

MBA in human resource is taken by most people with a pinch of salt. There is a thought process in most minds that there is little scope of choosing this option under the MBA umbrella. There are myths created by people for those who take up MBA in HR. Le t us look at some of them:

HR is no rocket science, anyone can become one:

Many people believe that HR is just anybody’s cup of tea, where one has to just read the theory and get going along. They also think that a HR in a company just makes the life of the employees miserable. On the contrary, HR in a company has to plan the activities based on the psychology, behavioral patterns, skills and competencies that are possessed by the employees. They need to transform the theory and research into practical and applicable to real situations in the company.

HR Professional Graduates

HR relates only to managing people skills:

Human resource primarily relates to dealing with people and their management. However it is not limited to people alone. There are various other activities that needs to undertaken under this title. Induction management, managing performance, compensation, appraisals, benefits, retention and retirement of the employees are other key factors that need to be undertaken.

HR means no fun on the job:

 A dilemma and misconception regarding the theories of HR, have led people to think that this specialization will lead to a dull and boring future on the job. However in reality the job of a HR is challenging and fun to work. They contribute to the success of the employees and the organization by building a strong foundation. The HR managers organize various events for different occasions; strategies are built on creating equilibrium on the requirement of workforce, acquisition strategies and coaching teams to meet challenges are done by them

HR is an inactive department:

On the face of it, this department is related to be an inactive one. However HR plays a proactive role in building blocks of the organization. Setting the targets, engaging the workforce to work together, retention policies, benefits and compensation provision, training from experts in the field are some of the proactive leads that are taken by a HR to develop and take an organization to a higher level.

HR is purely theoretical:

HR is based on theories through which its studies have emerged. This does not lead to become only theoretical in manner. For example HR planning and HR yield are some of its sub sects that involve various calculations on understanding the demand and supply of the workforce.

MBA is categorized under various specializations based on the interests and diverse fields that one can choose. As finance, marketing, I.T etc, HR is also an important function in an organization. Considering finance and marketing as specializations that create a buzz in the industry and lead to higher pay checks is just a myth. MBA in human resource is equally eligible in the industry.

HR still seems like an abstract with module that does not relate with everyone pursuing a MBA degree. It is taken as a subject which just needs to be learnt as a part of curriculum as compulsion. Creative ideas need to be inserted to make this elective as happening as others. In order to achieve this it should be presented to the students likewise.

First, students should be taught that people are the main resource of a company and dealing and managing them is neither very easy nor very tough. A balance is created by understanding minds of people. For this, the class should conduct mind games and engage in people skills activities so that they carry this forward when they take up a job

Second, building one’s own skills, traits and competencies should be focused upon and they should be encouraged to help others to build them too. In this way, they will understand people management and also learn task building. Making a chart with categories like skills, competencies, traits etc for respective jobs will help in a better vision.

Third, making HR a fun discipline will help evade those myths that have created and centered on being dull and elusive. Group discussions, role plays, effective case studies and situational tasks help in understanding the concepts that have been built since 20th century for managing the critical resource i.e. people.

Logical understanding of the concepts and applying them in practical scenario with right strategies is the foremost motive of a MBA graduate.  MBA in HR is an extensive study and relating it to real life situations will make it stand in line with other electives and hold dignity with its teachings and thoughts.

Constructing pillars with a strong base, a true leader is one who deals effectively with human resource.  


Contributed by Anju Bafna, (Class of 2010, IBS BANGLORE)

Career in Academics: Teaching MBA

freelance corporate trainer.Shruti is a 35 years old freelance corporate trainer. In her 10 years of corporate career, she has trained service line managers to top level executives, on various aspects of doing better in the B-world. From teaching soft skills to business communication, Shruti has fared quite well professionally. After finishing her MBA in HR, she gradually moved from recruitment to make her mark in training. With her passion for teaching, she now feels, it is time for her to go back and return the favor and use her experience of corporate training for teaching MBA-HR students.

Being a teacher in India is mostly perceived as a “fallback” career by most of us. This post, however, is intended to clear some of the misconceptions about taking up teaching as a profession. With no constant pressure and strain of achieving targets, I’d say, this is one of the most stress free professions. With increasing competition to excel in the corporate world and mad race for earning the highest incentives, work place stress is a very common problem among those who have just moved into the professional work zone, especially in IT, sales, marketing and finance. Therefore, many decide to take up a career in academics, in search of a better life, after working in the industry.

In order to be able to teach, one needs to possess thorough knowledge of the subject, clarity of thought, confidence, ability to articulate and passion for the profession. An MBA is one course where the class of students is most diverse. We all come from different background of education, experience and age. Everyone has a different approach and thought process. Therefore, equally diverse is the need of the faculty. A B-school faculty may comprise of from retired corporate executives, sharing their knowledge and wisdom earned during years of industrial and corporate experience, to specialized and well trained faculty with expertise on the particular subject.

The very first requirement to apply for faculty position in a college is a Masters. Most institutes prefer NET (National Eligibility Test) qualified candidates. NET is conducted by UGC (University Grants Commission) twice a year. Depending on your specialization or master’s degree, you can choose your subject to appear for NET. Preference is also given to M.Phil or PhD candidates.

One of the reasons, the young brigade hesitates from taking up teaching as profession is because of the low salary offered. However, with the pay commission, teachers these days get salaries that are comparable to the industry standards. Even private colleges these days have handsome salary packages to offer.

Another inhibiting factor for most of us is slow career growth. Although different institutes may have different ranking levels, usually the hierarchy is Assistant professor > Associate Professor > Professor/Reader.

mba program

B- Schools hire both visiting and regular faculty. Depending on your interests and choice, you can make yourself eligible for both. The current scenario of teaching at good B-schools these days however has changed. The eligibility criteria and qualification norms for faculties at B-schools have now become more stringent. Management now looks for a mix of experience and qualifications. This is due to the reason, that teaching MBA curriculum is different from the conventional mode of tutoring because of the need of equal emphasis on both theory and practice. It calls for using a variety of teaching methods like case studies, seminars, simulations, guest speakers and group projects to facilitate the learning process.

Some institutes, prefer hiring people like Shruti (at the beginning of this post) as part-time/visiting faculty. For those who do not want to leave the industry as well as hold a passion for teaching, working part time is a good option. They rely on their industry experience to teach and bring in fresh ideas from the field, offering students a more hands on experience of learning about the corporate world.

This is true that for some core electives, like economics, quantitative ability, accounts etc, institutes prefer more conventionally qualified faculty. Usually a master with PhD or NET qualification is the gateway to the academic field. Yet there are some electives, like business strategy, business ethics, business communications, sales and marketing and some components of human resource management that demands the insight of someone from the industry.

Teaching is a continuous learning process. In due course of time, it has evolved from being just an art to a more professional stage that today holds the potential of catapulting you to a different level academically.  If you have the patience and willingness, you don’t have to restrict your academic ambitions to just tutoring. There are many opportunities these days that are out there for academicians to consider. For instance, many lecturers and faculty members have their doors opened to the field of consulting as well.

Often, institutes have industrial tie ups to facilitate faculty research, consulting and technology exchange programs. This way a faculty member may get exposed to doing something like his/her industry counterpart and also get appropriately paid apart from the salary. Although this calls for some experience and time in the career and has limited scope of vertical growth, yet it gives you a chance to work independently as well as stay in touch with the ongoing development in the corporate world.

Another highly potential field for teachers these days is in corporate training. The way, institutes call executives from the industry to conduct lectures and seminars for their students, likewise, companies sometimes ask senior college faculties for organizing training sessions at a corporate level. They are asked to conduct sessions on topics that employees might not have learned during their formal education, like presentation and communication skills, business writing and other job specific functional and technical skills. There are also training certifications offered by academic bodies like Indian Society of Training & Development and XLRI Jamshedpur. With absence of too many academic programs to train the trainers in soft skills and personality development, there is a huge dearth of corporate trainers. This leaves the companies to invite B-school faculties and help them conduct such programs for their employees. To embark in the field of corporate training, however, one needs to be well aware and updated, confident, spontaneous, mature and creative.

The field of research also offers great opportunities to those in the field of academics. Many universities now conduct Faculty Research Programs encouraging faculties to engage in research activities. Although one might have to put up with stagnant growth and low salary, the satisfaction lies in the ability to think out of the box and contributing to the knowledge pool by getting the chance to get your research work published.

We have seen that how being a faculty these days is not just restricted to classroom teaching, thus breaking the stigma of stagnation and limited learning curve, that was once associated with the field of academics. Today’s educationists diversify their portfolio by venturing into new avenues. They work as freelance academicians, offer online tutoring, conduct career counseling at a professional level and much more.  With the high demand of well qualified and deserving candidates in India, this field is full of opportunities which are also always unaffected by the state of economy or recession. If you have the zeal and commitment towards your passion to teach, then there should be nothing stopping you.


Contributed by Isha Jajodia (class of 2010, IBS Gurgaon)

Balance between Creative and Commercial- Management Professional.

Professional ManagementManagement- The word says it all. What I perceive beyond all the intricate definitions given by some management scientists is that Management in normal laymen language means to manage. Manage anything in a manner that there is no chaos and certain value in terms of satisfaction is generated. We all come across various instances in our daily lives. Weather its dealing with our parents, lying at the time of late night outs. Managing our super complex love life maybe by showing it up on facebook, going out on dates, pampering and can either be by giving the space to our partner. And imagine its you who is playing all these different roles taking different steps with different people just to make them happy and balance your life. That’s so creative. On the contrary, we see some of us who cannot convince our parents, break ups is a regular thing for them and not that socially sound in making friends even when they want to. It is nothing it’s our creativity quotient which is very individualistic and shows up in our regular life.

In the same manner, being a Management Professional is nothing its just an appropriate mixture of being creative and commercial sound. Every spender from various society strata has a budget to spend which is called his/her purchasing power. Even if you take up your own venture or join any company, your life will revolve around the client’s budget and spending pattern. It is very important for one to know about the clients spending pattern so as you can make your own strategies that when do you expect monies to flow in to your systems and from where. Till the time you do not have these things in place, the working strategies are chaotic. For an example, we know that a brand of beer would spend on advertising in summers. So a Tv channel would plan meetings with the clients, Media agencies of such beer brands in late winters and make sure they get some business. After the channel gets the surety that the beer brand is surely spending some monies with them, they will then project it in the projections for the summers. This is called commercial planning and being commercially sound. In case the channel gets to know at the end moment that the client is spending and starts running to meet the client at the end moment, that shows that the strategic planning has not been done and the client is not tapped by the concerned person,  that means that the planning is not commercially sound.

Management Skills

As we spoke before about the differing creativity quotient, today earning money has two main roots. As the spending pattern change every other day alike past, to have a great brand loyality one has to be creative. Creativity is an open term but in actual it is always bordered by ones budget. Right from a Brand Manager to sales Manager, HR, and all the possible profiles the world is all about being creative in what you do. Lets carry forward the last example we talked about, post when we know that the client has a budget to spend on the TV channel and ask the channel to provide him the best deal in an average amount say XXX and also adds that the client will only spend if he finds the deal better than the competing channel deal. Now it’s the sheer creativity which can get monies, the sales person needs to figure out how is the channel delivering in the clients target audience and which time bands and shows are doing well. The sales person also needs to check with the production team that if there are any restrictions on airing the alcohol brand. Beyond this the sales person needs to figure out the taste of the decision maker like if he is the consumer of the channel? What is his favorite show?  If he likes glamour, if we can send him at the shoot or any award function in case he takes the deal. Before being creative we need to have our strategic plans in place else it is like rolling behind the bush. Now when we make the deal for the client against the ratings in the clients Target audience we will see which show is the best as per the clients ratings and will give him the Fixed commercial time as per the client’s liking and the ratings. Beyond this, if in this budget we can offer him a sponsorship on certain show and decrease the Commercial time on the other shows. So it is all about once creativity in getting the monies. We see amazing tag lines and continuously changing visual merchandising at the clothing brands like Zara, Forever 21, M&S and lot more for the fact that brand managers are taking creative strategic call for increasing the footfalls and the revenues. We see the Human Resource Managers managing the employees so effectively and continuously moving the employees in various departments to make sure they retain the valuable sources is all creativity.

Every move that a brand takes that we find creative and extra ordinary amazing, right from the coca-cola’s India Pakistan campaign, Swedesh Cancer patient Campaign, OLX on-ground campaign, dabur vatika’s cancer Patient Campaign(don’t know them all? Youtube it or follow my facebook) has various levels of strategic positioning decisions and creative brain storming of the advertising agencies and the brand managers involved. I remember while my internship with Ogilvy and Mather, my Manager told me that first 20 ideas are always done before and non acceptable, dump them! And this is actually true the more we challenge our selves, the more we dump, the more we read, the more we read and find the more our brain works. So to be creative get your commercial strategic planning in place, read about what’s happening around about the industry you plan to get in to and have your personal view point on everything. Yes please disagree with lot of things because that we will evoke you to do something of your own. Be the one in making PPT’s while presentations , collect data. Change things, colors, fonts, hairstyle, clothes. Life is too short to live it boring, stay creative!


Contributed by Rahul Wadhwa, (Class of 2013, IBS GURGAON)

Origin of MBA in India

IBS BangaloreArguably, Masters in Business Administrate aka MBA may be termed as one of the most valued and inherently adopted degrees across the globe. But did you ever think which University or College actually began the practice of imparting formal education in Business Administration in the world and in India? Did you ever wonder how the MBA phenomena started or what the first MBA program was? Top global and one of the oldest Business Schools around the world are London Business School, Harvard Business School, Stanford B-School, Columbia Business School, IE Business School in Spain and also the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management and XLRI Institute in India.

Take a wild guess. Which B-School amongst them do you think actually initiated the concept teaching modern business concepts to students to make them highbrow managers and risk-loving entrepreneurs. You’ll be surprised to know that the answer will be astonishingly different and its nowhere close to the afore-mentioned list of B-Schools. Incidentally, the United States can be accredited for the origin of MBA degree, in the nineteenth century.

The commonly known history of the MBA degree dates back to the year 1908 when it was offered as a degree by the renowned Harvard Business School. Its first batch had around 80 students tutored by highly qualified faculties. If you dig deeper, you’ll find that this common knowledge is marred by factual inaccuracies. Don’t blame yourself for this forgivable ignorance. 90% of the people are oblivious to the veracity of this piece of information.

To put your curiosity to rest, Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, which was founded in the year 1881 by an American entrepreneur Joseph Warton, started giving Bachelor of Finance Degree to aspiring entrepreneurs and managers. Mr.Wharton’s vision was to technically equip young graduates with elementary business knowledge to face the complex economic situation that he thought was unfolding. Subsequently, it started an International MBA course as well.

Masters in Business Administrate aka MBANearly 20 years later in the year 1900, Tuck School of Business (working under Dartmouth college) was founded by Edward Tuck. It was the first legitimate B-School which awarded a one of its kind advanced business degree known was Master of Commerce. It was the undisputed predecessor to the present-day MBA degree. The MBA degree soon began to spread around the US. In 1921, Shanghai University of Commerce became the first Chinese Business School to offer MBA. By 1930, the number of schools in the United States reached 30.

Ivey School of Business in Canada was the first B-School to be established in 1948 outside of the US. Afterwards, the now-famous MBA degree made its way to South Africa and Pakistan (Yes, you read it right. That was before it was introduced in India). Pretoria, one of South Africa’s three capital cities in the Gauteng Province introduced an MBA program in 1949. Six years later, the degree traveled to the Institute of Business Administration (University of Karachi) in Pakistan in collaboration with Wharton Business School. As a matter of fact, it became the first institute in Asia to offer a formal MBA program (according to IBA’s website).

It was only a couple of years later that the pre-eminent multinational B-School INSEAD located in Paris launched a unique 1 year MBA course for the first time in Europe. The inceptive batch comprised 50 students from 14 different countries. Eventually the degree became well-accepted across Europe by 1960. Then, in 1963, the degree marked its arrival in Australia through the reputed Melbourne Business School.

MBA’s tryst with India

S.No College Establishment Year
1 Xavier’s Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur 1949
2 Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata 1953
3 Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi 1954
4 Indian Institute of Management (IIM-C), Kolkata 1961
5 Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A), Ahmadabad 1961
6 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) 1963
7 National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai 1963
8 Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JJBIMS), Mumbai 1965
9 Institute of Marketing and Management (IIMM),New Delhi 1969
10 Christ University of Management (CUIM), Bengaluru 1969

The above list is about the earliest instituted B-Schools established in India in the order of their year of establishment. You may observe that although the highly prestigious IIMs are assumed to be the best and also the oldest institutes offering an MBA program, they were not the first to offer MBA programs. After scanning the list, it may apparently be perceived that XLRI, Jamshedpur was the first college to confer an MBA degree.

But the truth is that even though Xavier’s Institute was founded in 1949, it was Kolkata-based Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM) which was the first to offer an MBA degree in India. XLRI did not offer MBA degrees since its inception. IISWBM was set up in collaboration with the the University of Calcutta. This undervalued B-School was once a mentor to the highly rated IIM Kolkata. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad was the second IIM to be set up after IIM-C in 1961 itself.

IISWBMIISWBM was founded at a time when the concept of management degree was alien to the educational fraternity of that period. Presently, in addition to its flagship programs including MBA, MHRM, MPSM, PGDBM, the institute also conducts full time programs in Sports Management,Telecom Management and Retail Management.

Takeaway: Some of the oldest institutes providing Management education in India including the celebrated IIMs are still considered to be the best. However, it certainly does not imply that the next generation B-Schools are inferior or impart a second-rate learning experience to aspiring managers and wannabe entrepreneur alike. There are numerous institutes under the top-25 rated B-Schools in India where infrastructure, faculty, industry exposure, placements and package are the enticing factors when it comes to joining a B-School. ISB, ICFAI and Symbiosis business schools are live examples of institutes who epitomize exemplary education keeping in mind the Indian industry culture.


Contributed by Pranshu Awasthi ( Class of 2007, IBS GURGAON )

Advantages Of A Full-Time MBA Program Over A Distance Learning Program

Advantages Of A Full-Time MBA ProgramVirtualization is the new buzz word which is affecting our day to day lives. Think of any corner in our lives from shopping, eating to choosing your life partner and making important communication (email), virtual world has taken over. Education is not an exception. From the old ‘chalk and talk’ method, the paradigm has shifted to delivery via applications which support virtualization. I have been a spectator of this whole paradigm shift and hence would like to put forward my understanding of this whole change.

First things first, the basic advantage of regular MBA is that you get a feel of how communications are done in front of key stakeholders in corporate environment when every who’s who of business is watching you via real time classroom interactions. One cannot participate in a business oriented discussion with the liberty of not being judged only in a classroom environment, which helps the candidate grow as a professional. The ability to contribute in a business oriented discussion positively is the most important takeaway for a full time MBA student as compared to the student pursuing distance learning program who chose to be anonymous and secluded.

Regular MBA takes you ‘out of your comfort zone’. Particularly, candidates with work experience who resign from their respective jobs only to take a loan and chose to remain unemployed for the period of next two/one years, stakes go on an all-time high. On top of that, urgency to meet tough deadlines for assignments and presentations add a mountain of stress on those stakes. A distance learning student always stays within its comfort zone and does things at his pace. So, a regular MBA student green ticks a very important ingredient to become successful as a professional which is ‘efficiently handling pressure situations’.

I have seen candidates going into a b-school with a devil may care attitude, procrastinating in almost their every deliverable, a fair bit of being laid back while trying to be proactive. But once they come out of the b-school system, a quite visible dent in their personality is there in terms of being more disciplined, more methodical in going about their tasks and always being a leader in being proactive.

MBA program

Apart from this a distance learning student misses out on other important activities in the campus like in person interactions with great visionaries, entrepreneurs and successful personalities in industry who are invited by the college to deliver guest lectures. Today, top MBA colleges have tie-ups with NGOs or drive on their own for being responsible and contributive towards social causes. These programs give ample opportunities to regular MBA students to develop their leadership skills and stand out as a winner later on in their respective careers.

I have seen regular MBA candidates enjoying the advantage of having a very strong ‘personal’ alumni network over the years in their corporate lives. As a student, they interact with three batches personally on an average, which are their immediate seniors, their own batch and the immediate juniors. This personal interlocking done during their student life proves to be very handy when they seek guidance during their career as a professional. The cushion of ‘knowing somebody by face’ is there and the level of comfort during discussion is reflected vis-à-vis their interaction with some other senior person in the firm. In the case of distance learning mode, this ‘personal’ touch is missing and only virtual reach remains there.

Based on my above viewpoints, one can easily infer that regular MBA brings along more focus and intensity along with it. You just cannot afford to have a hiatus once you are in. This prepares you for the upcoming corporate life as while working it will be very crucial in deciding one’s success because their quality of your work will also be very important along with the quantity. In distance learning mode, while attending lectures via webinar or any other virtualized tool, a student has various distractions. These distractions can be itchiness to quickly check their Facebook and Twitter or the desire to go and have a small sandwich break. So, needless to say discipline and focus go hand in hand for doing something worthy.

Lastly, the single most important thing about which every candidate does its analysis before joining a regular or distance learning MBA is the ‘placements’. A glance at the recent trends gives a very clear picture that students enrolled in a regular MBA program get better roles, better packages in better companies vis-à-vis students enrolled for distance learning. Based on my interactions with various recruiters the single most important factor which tilts the equation in favor of regular MBA candidates is that they are seen as someone who are more polished and more ready to take up business roles. To go with it, their calculative risk taking appetite is considered to be much better than the distance learning folks.

Thus, it all boils down to ‘No ship sails through the ocean without facing the storm’. As is clear from the above talking points that regular MBA candidates become more battle hardened and more trained to handle critical situations in corporate life where the onus of the success of business decisions lie on their shoulders. Also, amidst all the demands of increasing seats in distance learning MBA course in top institutes there is no denying the fact that colleges are aware that quality will suffer if they do so. So, regular MBA will not see serious competition in the immediate years to come and will be ‘the wiser thing’ to do for the aspirants as MBA-exposure= distance learning MBA, which obviously won’t give the bang for the buck and time invested by the aspirants.


Contributed by Sthita Sahu

How MBA Helped Me Become A Better Homemaker

MBA A Better HomemakerWhen I entered IBS to pursue my MBA, little did I know that I am enrolling into a lesson full of real life significance. We all learn big and small things from our academic lives, both professional and personal. We pick key things from our education that help us move ahead in life not just in our work but also at home.

An MBA program is meant to impart not only theoretical knowledge but also a set of important skills highly crucial for your career. At a macro level it exposes you to the ways of the business world, whereas at a micro level it teaches you to be an invaluable part of that world.

It is always said, that learning begins at home. It is also true, that your home is your first office. From cooking, cleaning, laundry to expenditure, all household chores demand equal amount of professionalism, as do our actual workplace.  Homemaking is a profession just like any other with its own set of skills, knowledge and abilities. There are 9 important traits that I learned during my MBA program and at my work after that, which I feel have everyday application in my life.

  • Time Management: like your workplace, your household is also run on deadlines. Not just you are supposed to multitask, but you should also know what to prioritize and when. As a homemaker, you are supposed to get up early, prepare breakfast, get ready yourself, arrange the house and all this on time with your own and your family’s work schedule. You are also expected to keep track of appointments and activities, important events etc. Managing your time is the most important part of your job as a housewife.
  • Efficiency And Productivity: The efficient use of resources is one of the key tools of best management practices. You have to be constantly engaged in the process of saving time and increasing productivity. You are a part of fast moving life style which demands quick and prompt actions before you start lagging behind on the requirements of your household. Your chores have to be aligned in a way that each gets a dedicated time to be finished. Running a house is like working on a forever long project. Through measurement, planning, tracking and consistency, homemaker’s focus on time, energy, finances helps keep the family on track to accomplish goals that make a good life.
  • Human Resource And Recruitment: Though at a small scale, but from maid servants to milk vendor, hiring and managing human resource is an intricate part of being a homemaker. Monitoring their work, holidays, salary, festival bonuses and gifts, all brings in the traits of an HR manager in a housewife.
  • Capacity Planning And Inventory Management: This is one of the many important chapters of operations, taught during MBA that is very relevant to being a homemaker. You should be able to plan in advance, track your groceries for the month, what and how much is needed, foresee the demand and calculate the supply. Whether expected or un-announced visit by a guest, as a housewife, I learned that your house should be well equipped with sufficient resources.
  • Cost Cutting: Just like your business, money plays an important part in personal life as well. Maximizing your savings with minimum cut down on your expenditure is one of the key agendas of a homemaker. You are always thinking of ways to reduce unnecessary expenses. It is not just your organization affected with inflation and economic crisis, your household budget and finances are equally brought on the edge. Sudden increase in your home loan interest, raised prices of fuel and high food inflation can throw your domestic balance sheet for a toss. As a homemaker you have to be smart enough to manage such situations. It is important you understand the basic financial requirements of running your household, prioritize the outflow of money and sometimes even bring changes to your lifestyle.

Become A Better Homemaker

  • Waste Management: One of the most critical management tools is to manage resources so as to minimize wastage and increase efficiency. With careful planning you can learn to deal with garbage, food scraps, recyclables. Not only you will be able to save money, but it can also help you get more organized.
  • Crisis Management And Conservation Of Resources: What if there is a medical emergency at your home? Or there is shortage of water or any sudden power issues? You are expected to be always prepared for any crisis. Such situations call for prompt action and advance preparation. As a homemaker I learned conserving your basic resources is so important. Storing water, saving electricity and having your emergency contacts handy are necessary steps to keep you ready to deal with any sort of emergency.
  • Presentation Skills: Who does not want to keep their house always clean and visually appealing? Like your work place cubicle is to be kept organized and clean, so is your house. Though mostly an ignored aspect of our lives, the way of presentation anywhere can be matter of admiration for you. It is not just about cleanliness, but how organized your house is. Do you always find what you look for in your home? Or things more often are lost? While I was enrolled in my MBA curriculum, there used to be a lot of emphasis laid on our presentation skills. I gradually realized the relevance of this skill in our everyday life.
  • Team Work: Finally, like your company, your home is run by mutual cooperation and contribution by all its members. The spirit of team work is very important for running your home successfully. In a busy world scenario, each member of the family should contribute some way or the other, by either helping in the chores or by participating in important functions of your house, like paying bills, buying groceries etc. This way, it is easier to erode the wall that once divided work and family.

Other than these, I feel, skills like, leadership, problem solving, decision making, organizational planning and controlling are also significant to home management. Although at a small level, I found all these skills to be an undeniable part of my job as a homemaker. Now, when I look back retrospectively, I realize how true the saying that our mothers are the best managers as homemakers is.

By approaching homemaking as a profession worthy of respect, bringing in best practices from the outside business world and cultivating a professional mindset, I feel, you can be more effective in your daily work, have less stress and better self esteem.

Having stated all this, I would like to stress the point that doing an MBA is not just a catalyst to your career, meant to offer you a highly paid job and accelerate your growth. Education is not just about learning, it also about making you wiser in your life and your approach towards everything.


Contributed by Isha Jajodia (class of 2010, IBS Gurgaon)

The pros and cons of group study for MBA entrance exam

MBA aspirantsMBA entrance exams that ensure admission to premier B-schools in India need the right mix of hard work and smart work.  However, preparations for MBA entrance exams need careful planning owing to their complexity level. They don’t just test you on aptitude and knowledge but they focus equally on your social skills. To prepare for all kinds of assessments, you need to prepare in different ways. Some traits are honed at a personal level while others need practicing with your peers appearing at such exams.

Group study is a characteristic feature of entrance preparation. If you are preparing for MBA entrance exam, all you need to know about group study are its pros and cons to guide you how to balance it and get the most out of it. You must be able to discern when it is effective and when to avoid group study.

Best utilization of group study will definitely take you one step closer to your dream of cracking MBA entrance exam. To keep it simple, the advantages of group study in preparing for MBA entrance exams are listed below.

  1. Keeps you motivated : Group study for MBA entrance exam will keep you encouraged till the last moment. Knowing the progress and improvement of your peer group will definitely motivate you to put in more hard work. All of you who get bored easily while studying or lose interest quickly can benefit a lot with group study for MBA entrance exam.
  1. Easy help : Being hesitant in asking questions during a class is the most common issue encountered by students. When you attend a class in a coaching institute where students are cramped to the limit, you are likely to face difficulty in comprehending things easily or putting up a question to clear doubts. You can tackle this in a group study, where you can ask for help from the other members of your study group.
  1. Different perspectives : While going for group study for MBA entrance exam, you can benefit a lot in all the sections by getting different perspectives on every question. Different ideas, perspectives, and inputs help all the students of the group in gaining better understanding.
  1. Ease in erasing doubts : Any doubts you have about some of those complicated and confusing questions can be sorted outwith the help of other member students of the group. Quantitative aptitude will become slightly easy for you with a fellow group member explaining the solution with patience and in a casual way. You have the freedom to ask questions many times to clear ambiguity. The comfort level you share with the other students of the group makes it easy for you to come up with your problems and get them solved without any fear and apprehensions.
  1. Keeps you updated when you miss any class : If you happen to miss any of the coaching classes for MBA entrance exam due to illness or any other reason, you can easily cover up in your group study. Help can pour in from any other student of the group who will explain the concepts you missed owing to missing the class.
  1. Easy to get inputs on General Awareness : Studying in a group will help you get information on what all is happening in the world. Discussions with the study group members can hone your general awareness, especially for those who do not want to read newspapers. General awareness is an important section in all of the MBA entrance exams and it also helps to give good performance in Group Discussions and Personal Interviews. So, utilize the knowledge of the fellow members of the study group and get information on important things.
  1. Relieves you of the stress and monotony : Studying in a group will keep you high spirited as whenever monotony or boredom sets in, a lively joke or narration of an adventurous experience will give you the much needed break. Rejuvenation in the middle of serious group study actually adds to the energy levels with every member getting back to studying with a refreshed mood.

mba programmeBut as every coin has two sides, so does every situation. Group study is vital and carries benefits but it might prove futile in a situation where the following disadvantages may act as spoilers.

  1. Straying away from the motive : One of the biggest drawbacks of group study for MBA entrance exams is you might drift away from the motive due to several distractions. When students sit together for group study, it’s natural for them to engage in conversations which can take them away from their goal.
  1. Idle- talk defeats the very purpose of group study : While going for group study for MBA entrance exam, you need to make sure the members do not indulge in idle-talk. Discussing everyday affairs or personal issues will create unfavourable environment for studying. Idle-talk, gossips, pointless conversations will mutilate the objective of group study, causing more harm than good.
  1. Overt domination in a study group proves detrimental : Leadership is a good trait and having a strong headed leader is a boon for any group. But group formed to prepare for MBA entrance exam should be the last group to have a dominating leader. Avoid letting any student dominate the group or else you will always lack behind with no voice of your own. All the members are students and everyone should be equally treated and allowed to share views and thoughts freely.
  1. Negative talks create unpleasant environment : Students have the habit of discussing their feedback of professors, or their teaching style or classroom happenings that might create a negative environment in the study group. The negativity will hamper your concentration and progress towards cracking the MBA entrance exams.
  1. Study group of friends might fail to serve the purpose : If you are forming a group to prepare for MBA entrance exam, having your close friends as members of it might deviate you from the aim. It is natural to end up chit-chatting with them, wasting the precious time. Having friends is not an issue, but stay focused and determined to achieve your goal as preparing for MBA entrance exams is not an easy job.

Remember, this is the most important phase of your academic life, where you need to put in serious efforts to achieve your goal. Securing admission in a good B-school requires a good score in MBA entrance exams. You have to put your best foot forward, so avoid all the distractions and take the best of everything to scale heights of success; this includes group study as well.


Contributed by Qais Mujeeb ( Class of 2001, IBS Hyderabad )

Startup!!! Is it a good place to start with?

MBA paradigms in careerEnd of final semester, within a short span of time you will be on verge of starting your career. You will be tensed and a bit nervous. Anxiety will make you more confused as, what to do? Where to go? How to go? Collage placements will be going on at a very high pace. It will be a tough choice for you, to sit in a company who has a good brand name or to sit in process of a start-up. All other students including your friends would have opted to sit in for a company with a good brand name. This will make you more confused.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

 It is very clear that you ask few questions to yourself, to be clear on how to go.

  • Are you looking for a long term career?
  • To get the basic knowledge of how industry works?
  • Looking to learn the most, in initial stage of your career?
  • Are you ready to take up challenging role?
  • Are you ready to give what is needed to get on the top?
  • Are you ready to work in an organization for long term?

If answer to the above questions is yes then probably don’t need to be confused as start-up will be the best place for you to work and start you career.

Start-up:

It is very essential to know what a start-up company is and to evaluate that it will have a better future or not?

Start-up Companies are the companies which are in its first stage of Operations. These companies are often initially bank rolled by their entrepreneurial founders as they attempt to capitalize on developing a product or services for which they believe there is demand.

Evaluation

  1. The Market – It is very important to know that which market the startup serves in. Who will be the consumer be and how big is the market opportunity.

Career prospect – If the market is big and competitive then it will be a good learning platform. It will provide opportunity to meet new people and work with them closely.

  1. The competition – What current or future solutions, technologies or companies may compete with yours in the market? How is yours differentiated; what is the unique value proposition relative to the competition; why will your solution win?

Career prospect  It the startup is in competitive market, it has competitive edge towards their peers then it will give you chance to learn the skill which may be very rare in others and you will also be equally competitive. Learning most in the startup will get you an opportunity to get hired by their competitors.

  1. The Team – Who is your management team, what is their background and why they are uniquely qualified to run this venture and deliver the solution to market? How do they plan to meet the goals of the organization?

Career prospect – If you are working with good team then you can learn various things from them. It will help you build your personality and sharpen your skills.

  1. The Business  What is the business plan of the startup? Plan of expansion and how good is the business model?

Career Prospect – If business plan of the startup is good then you will get a chance to learn. If it will be your field of interest then you will work well and grow fast.

MBA program

Benefits of working with a Startup:-

  1. Getting Recognition –No matter what slice the corporation cake, working for a larger company pretty much does not guarantee you recognition. On the other hand working for a startup means you will receive instant recognition because everybody, including company itself is in an entry level position.

“I want my contribution to matter. At most big places you are just another brick in the wall.”

  1. Having more responsibility– Responsibility is a good thing in the work place, as you are considered a valued employee with an important role to play in the company.
  2. Bonding with coworkers-Most startup start small, this leaves plenty of room for you to get to know your coworker on personal level. Considering most startups have a specific mission in mind, whether it’s to create a new product or build a niche industry, the company’s goal will give everyone involved something in common from day one.
  3. Learning from true innovators – Startups have innovation written all over them. If you choose to work for one, then you’ll immerse yourself in movers and shakers on a regular basis. If the startup is in the ground-up stages, chances are you’ll have the opportunity to work directly with the creators, founders and geniuses that are trying to change the business landscape.

“Desire! That’s the one secret of every man’s career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents.”

  1. Embracing new opportunities– Depending on your prior experience and qualifications, working for a startup might involve taking a pay cut. But don’t let that deter you from taking a position at a newly-founded business, because the opportunities it provides will far outweigh the paycheck. From the people you meet and the innovators you work with to having your name attached to a company that’s growing, working for a startup means you’ll attain skills and have experiences that you would never find in a corporate job with a cushy paycheck.
  2. Working toward the money. A startup company comes with a startup budget, which means you’ll likely take a small pay cut. But like the professional opportunities mentioned above, working for a startup also means you may have future financial opportunities. Many startups offer a stake in the company’s stock and plenty of room to increase your salary. If you work hard and contribute your skills and knowledge to a startup, it’ll likely result in a larger salary down the line, which can be something that’s hard to come by in the corporate world.

“I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything.”

Few successful startups which has given tremendous growth to employee-

  1. Alibaba- Jack Ma

Net worth – Undisclosed

  1. Xiaomi – Lei Jun

Net worth – 45 Billion $

  1. Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg

Net worth – 33.3 Billion $

  1. Uber – Travis Kalanick

Net worth – 18.2 Billion $

  1. LinkedIn – Jeff Weiner

Net worth – 7.5 Billion $

  1. Flipkart – Rajiv Bansal

Net worth – 1 Billion $

Although a career in the corporate world has plenty of benefits, working for an established company can sometimes result in a mundane 9 to 5 with little room for growth and a lot of bureaucratic red tape.

You need to give a thought to work in a startup. It can be a roller coaster of a ride, working on the ground floor of a new company can allow people to shine; “own” projects and possibly reap the benefits of the company’s success in the form of equity, while simultaneously learning a lot in a fast-paced environment.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”


Contributed by Kandarp Gandhi, (Class of 2014, IBS Mumbai)