Ready reckoner for Personal Interview (from Alumni)

Posted on April 6, 2015 by IBS India

In the first place, I’ll advice you to remain calm; PI is not a platform for ragging prospective students, rather it’s a means to test your aptitude and inclination towards the subject. Ideally, on the day of interview (and even otherwise), you should start at 6:00am. Take a shower, dress professionally (reserve your vibrant colors, tight fitted clothes and chunky accessories for evening party). Tie your hair neatly with a band (applicable to all girls and those boys who maintain a long hair style). Clean your nail, polish your shoes and carry a well organized bag/ folder for keeping your personal belonging safe and handy. Remember to put your phone on silent mode. You should definitely have a good breakfast and catch up with all headlines in the morning newspaper. Start early to be able to reach the venue on time (rather 5 minutes before).

Secondly, remember that interviewers love those who are genius and respect those who are genuine. As students, you are and not expected to know-it-all; so remember that honesty is the best policy. Here are a few commonly asked questions:

Tell us something about yourself:

This is one of the most common questions you will come across while appearing for an interview (be it the MBA, or for a job or perhaps when you go for a matrimony meeting). Interviewers ask this question for different reasons – to test your communication skills, gauge your confidence, study your eye movement and body language, check the clarity of your thoughts and perhaps make a strategy to ask next few questions. I have come across many candidates who have a well structured response to this question and a few candidates who start thinking at that time. Think of those days when you rehearsed the ‘Jack and Jill’ several times to give your first stage performance; don’t hesitate to do the same now! Write your response and keep reading it over and over to be able to present yourself well. You may like to include your name, your qualification, your family background and your interests.

What are your Strengths and Weaknesses:

This is the second most favorite of interviewers. Give a genuine response; especially, don’t fake a weakness (no one is perfect). You may like to give an example of how you have used your strength in the recent times to achieve an objective or how your weakness has taught you a life lesson. You should be ready with a plan of action to work on your weakness and fix it soon.

What are your short-term and long-term objectives or Where do you see yourself 5 years and 15 years from now:

Don’t try to give the witty response, “In your seat, Sir”… this is outdated! Don’t tell them as a Manager or General Manager or Vice President; the interviewer knows the corporate hierarchy better! Talk about the work you would be doing; for instance – “Advertising is the area of my interest; after five years I see myself working in an advertising firm and conceptualizing print media advertisements.”

Why MBA? or Why MBA from this B-school? and Why this particular niche Program?:

“My father asked me to do so”. “There is good scope and I’ll get a good package”. “I always wanted to earn a post graduate degree”. “It’s the trend; everyone is pursuing MBA today”. These are definitely not the kind of responses that the interviewer wants to listen! If you are a fresh graduate, you can talk about how a MBA can better prepare you to take up corporate responsibilities. Now there is no harm in adding that it will also improve your monetary position. If you have work experience, you can talk about an incident that triggered your decision. You should read the history and credentials of the B-school where you have applied to and if you have applied to a niche specialization, make sure you have studied the program brochure well. I had once asked a prospective student, “You have applied for eBusiness; what do you think it’s all about?” She replied Empowerment in Business; being a girl I need to be empowered and madam you are such a fine example of woman empowerment! I almost fainted!

Questions from your graduate level program:

If you are an engineer, you may come across a few questions around capacitors and diodes or perhaps your final year project work. Aha, damn… you were never in love with machines and hence you’re pursuing MBA… But these questions still seem to haunt you! Relax, be honest and explain your point. You may like to tell the interviewer to test your interests and your knowledge in the program you wish to pursue. Those who have done B.Com or BBA are perhaps a bit luckier! Really??? I was interviewing a prospective student who had completed his BBA. I asked him about his final year project; he said that he had submitted a project on ‘Setting up a chain of Spa for Dogs’. My first question was, “Had you estimated your market size?” He replied, “Oh yes ma’am, about 80% of urban population owns a pet.” I was still thinking which country he was talking about and there the young man clarifies, “Ma’m you go to the Juhu Beach and you’ll find every second person has a dog!” After he left the room, my co-interviewer said, “Did this young man include spouses of all those married in his category of ‘pets’?” Moral of the story is, “Do brush up theory from your graduate level program and final year project.”

Do you read a newspaper? or What headline spotted your attention today?:

The interviewer is checking your knowledge on current affair and general awareness. Many students say that they skipped reading news as they had to reach the venue early. Interviewers will then throw up questions like – What was major news in this week or in this month? What is India’s GDP? Name three CMs who are women? Who is the Home Minister of India? What’s the latest on the FDI in retail? Which company lately announced an IPO? and so on… This year election could be a hot theme! So do read newspapers and keep yourself informed on what’s latest!

What are your hobbies and interests? or Do you like reading books?:

Most interviewers wish to understand whether you pursue an interest and if you do so, how deep is your involvement. Most coaching classes have made students believe that the only correct answer to this question is, “reading”. Don’t get in to this trap; the next question will be – which books have you read, who have authored them, who are other authors you admire, what’s the synopsis and so on… On the contrary, your hobby could be painting, travel, music, dancing etc. But once again be cautious; your interest can’t be shallow – you can’t say, “Music is my hobby, I love listening to Bollywood music.” If you say travelling is your hobby, you should keep a list of places you visited on top of mind and also what’s striking about that place and its culture! One of my co-interviewers had asked a girl to show the various mudras of Bharatnatyam. So when you talk about something being your hobby/ interest, make sure you are involved deeply!

Who inspires you? or Who is your role model? or What’s the difference between a leader and a manager?:

These questions tests your definition of success; some interviewers are also trying to test your ethics and values. Your response could be any corporate tycoon; alternatively you could name someone you know closely. Provide a good justification for your choice. Last but not the least; do read the difference between a leader and a manager before you sit through any interview.

How would you handle a situation? or What is a solution you recommend to a particular problem?:

At times an interviewer may throw up a commonly faced real-life problem and ask you to provide a solution. This could be to test your decision making ability or ability to work in a team or understanding your managerial style. Try to be honest and give a rational reason for your recommendation.

To summarize, your goal clarity, domain knowledge, general awareness and communication skills are being assessed. Be confident, stay calm and respond honestly. Wish you best luck!

Contributed by Suchin Kulshrestha, (Class of 2008, IBS Hyderabad)

“MBA Institute Ratings – IBS: Touching New Skies Everyday”

Posted on April 3, 2015 by IBS India

In today’s fast moving world, one education course which is making its way very strongly to the youngsters in India is MBA…

There are more than 2500 business schools in India to cater the demand for MBA but not every business school impart quality education and churn out leaders.

After the completion of the graduation course, most of the students got confused when the critical question of short listing of the top B-Schools comes their way, it becomes much more complicated, given that the definition of ‘top’ varies between people and across years.

Most of the students choose the route of going thru the website of the B-Schools read out the brochure or consult to their seniors or faculties…but that does not provide the right and correct answers to their much awaited query!

Every other B-school make exaggerated claims just to stay relevant. It therefore becomes crucial for aspirants to see through the clutter and identify these ‘top’ B-Schools.

There are many independent research agencies in India which conduct the survey among all the business schools in order to filter out the best from the lot.

We have taken a close look on all the published ratings and we strongly believe that IBS has been able to stand out from the rest in many ways…

In this section, we provides you all the relevant information and details on the rating part pertains to IBS…we are providing this information based on the ratings published by two rating agencies, which are today the most reliable and most informative.

One of the very critical and most reliable rating agencies is CRISIL India.

CRISIL Business School Grading is India’s first independent and rigorous grading service for the education sector. Through this service, CRISIL aims to recognise and nurture quality management education, while helping employers and aspiring management graduates find business schools that best match their needs.

Business schools provide India’s rapidly growing industry with management professionals: the CRISIL Business School Grading aims to help business schools achieve higher degrees of academic excellence, establish the right profile of institutes and showcase an institute’s quality to students, faculty and employers across India.

CRISIL’s criteria for grading business schools have been developed after carrying out extensive research, and taking feedback from several stakeholders. We use quantitative and qualitative assessment parameters, to ensure that our evaluation framework is both robust and comprehensive.

In its latest rating report published on 11^th Oct’2014, CRISIL India has rated IBS as A** under its National Grading and A*** under State Grading which just goes to show that in the Andhra Pradesh state, IBS is the Best and in the Nation too, IBS is not far behind to become the Best B-School.

You can access the whole scorecard of IBS published by CRISIL India at http://www.crisil.com/pdf/ratings/icfai-mba-2014.pdf

Another upcoming and most comprehensive source for reliable and genuine ratings is “Careers 360” – The education Hub.

A nation-wide survey was conducted to find 100 top B-schools in India. The outcome is a list of top 30 public MBA institutes and top 70 private MBA institutes.

On the basis of ranking survey data, Careers 360 has also created list of top rated B-schools in different states and union territory.

Sometimes it gets tough to choose between two or more equally good and reputed institutes. For example, how would you choose between an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or Department of Management Studies of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)? This is where the significance of ranking comes into play.

With the objective of helping the students to make the right decision without going through this complex process, Career-360 releases a list of India’s top B-Schools annually.

This list segregates B-Schools into various categories, thereby aiding the students in choosing the set of B-Schools to apply to. This list is made using a methodology that has a proven track record of over a decade, after months of extensive research by experts who have over two decades of experience in guiding students on Indian MBA admissions.

For the benefit of all we shall disclose that IBS is being categorized in the Private Business Schools category.

It is the young schools that surge ahead in the list of Top Private Business School List.

While the top 20 in the list of public B-Schools is dominated by older schools, it is the relatively younger ones that are gaining ground in the private sector. And IBS is one of them..IBS has been placed at 12^th position, and in the list IBS is much ahead of some of the most popular and reputed colleges like KJ Somaiya, Xavier, Amity, Jaipuria and Symbiosis etc..

You can access the full report at:

http://www.bschool.careers360.com/top-100-b-schools-in-india-2014

ICFAI Business School (IBS)-Hyderabad is a constituent of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), a Deemed University as per the UGC Act 1956. Established in 1985, IBS-Hyderabad is one of the top business schools in India. It has been ranked at #12 in the nation by Hindustan Times in a 2012 survey. The school has been re-accredited by SAQS (South Asian Quality Standards), rated A** by CRISIL, EB2 IN by ICRA and as an Excellent Business School by Eduniversal.

The major programs offered at IBS-Hyderabad are MBA being the flagship program, PhD and BBA. Ours is one of the largest MBA programs in Asia with a student intake of around 1100 this year.

The academic units of IBS-Hyderabad are organized around five departments: finance and accounting, marketing and strategy, economics, operations and IT, and human resources and soft skills.

The faculty pool at IBS-Hyderabad is a good blend of people from the industry and academia with majority having PhDs.

There are 170 faculty members in the business school currently. The faculty members have published in the last three years around 300 articles in International and National journals.

The Case Research Centre of the school develops business cases on an average of over 100 cases per year, which are being used around the world for teaching, in textbooks, and industry.

The Center for Management Development of the school provides opportunities for faculty members in interfacing with industry. IBS-Hyderabad emphasizes student-centric learning supported by continuous evaluation and feedback.

It offers a largely case study based pedagogy for the MBA program. Case studies allow students to step into the shoes of the decision makers and deal with issues faced by managers.

The students go through around 500 national and international case studies including those from Harvard Business School.

While going thru these reports at the respective sites, it becomes very clear that IBS is one of the top B-school in India which is gaining momentum at rapid pace and is beating every other competitive college thick and fast.

Sources:

IBSHyderabad.org/WelcomeNew.htm

bschool.careers360.com

crisil.com/ratings

Contributed by Himanshu Chaudhary ( Class of 2003-05, IBS HYDERABAD )

Mistakes that MBA aspirants do

Posted on April 2, 2015 by IBS India

Couple of year’s back I was in the same boat as many of today’s MBA aspirants are. Today, as a professor, I sit on the other side of the table taking GDs and Interviews of students who are in search for that coveted B-school tag; a ticket to success that will assure them a place in one of top Indian or MNC corporate houses.

However, it’s funny how the mistakes that are so glaring when you sit on the “safer” side of the table are not so evident when you are an aspirant. Nothing much has changed in all these years; year after year, students commit the same set of mistakes, fuelled partly by misguided coaching institutes and partly by ignorance.

In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to list six such areas that I believe, if taken care of, can brighten the chances of an MBA aspirant.

The GD is the biggest waron the way to an MBA admission.

For many, many aspirants, GD is a tense moment. Time is limited and others just won’t stop talking and hogging all the airtime. Therefore, one has to jump in and make a point. Or look for that quick opportunity to summarize. Or steal your moment of glory when someone pauses for breath. Or cut someone short.

For someone listening to the discussion, it seems so concocted. So artificial. In GD, we look for genuine students who have a decent hold over the subject and also have respect for others’ opinions.

As I always keep saying in my earlier articles, a good idea is to come to GD venue early and mingle with the fellow participants. Ask where they are from, what their backgrounds are. Show a genuine interest in knowing each other and being friends. Then you realize that suddenly the discussion is less of war and more of a friendly conversation. If not entirely, to some extent at least; because when you know someone, you automatically start to respect him/her more.

Also show a good interest in the topic being discussed…not behave like a leopard about to jump on its prey. Listen to others intently and show them you respect their opinion. Be in the discussion, forget you are being evaluated.

My interview is ruined. I couldn’t answer several questions.

There are all kinds of interviewees. Some are nervous from start, some appear normal and others seem over-confident. There are ways to bring out the best in each of them, or even make them show their true colors by employing a variety of techniques. For example, an interviewer might deliberately ask difficult or ambiguous questions, or ask repeatedly to unnerve a seemingly over-confident candidate.

However, whether one seems normal, stressed or over-confident, the purpose of each question is not to always elicit the correct answer. Many times questions are posed to see reaction, check a particular parameter in a candidate. Therefore, a wrong answer may not be the end of the road. It might – and this might seem unnatural – just be expected.

Far too many candidates get an I-have-lost-it attitude and show a sudden dip in performance, once they fail to answer couple of questions. Bear in mind that you haven’t been conclusively evaluated until the interview is over. So whether the answer are right or wrong, don’t try to assess your performance by looking at the face of the interviewer, because you never know if you are reading that face properly.

Each question is a new opportunity. Don’t lose it because you think you didn’t give a satisfying answer to the previous question

Undergraduate is underground.

It’s surprising how several candidates who appear to have scored well in their undergraduate courses fail to answer very basic questions on their subject. I once asked an Electrical Engineering student with more than 80% marks from a good institution what kind of motor the regular ceiling fan has, and didn’t get an answer.

Many engineering students fail to calculate the amount of current in a simple circuit of resistors and capacitors. Yet several of them answer questions on current business and political affairs well enough.

The explanation I get is unwittingly clichéd: “I studied them long back and don’t remember them now”. It’s hardly sufficient, however. MBA curriculum is rigorous and students are expected to have the ability to grasp the fundamentals and never let them go.

Your graduation course might be irrelevant for business studies from a pure content perspective, but for an interviewer, it shows your attitude towards academics and whether your learning is concrete or superficial.

I speak my mind. You see, I am honest, at least.

When the interview was already going good, I asked a girl candidate why she chose to go for an MBA. “Otherwise my parents will marry me off. I need some excuse”, she said. To me, this might be a perfectly honest answer and I give 100 out of 100 for that. But should I go ahead and select the candidate? Probably no, because her purpose is entirely different from what I am looking for in students.

Honesty is great, always. But one need not be crude, in order to be honest. A statement like “I am not sure what I want to do after MBA, but at least it will add to my overall skills and help me manage my career better” is also honest while putting things in a better light.

I have the best answer to all questions.

This is related to the previous question. While crude honesty might spell trouble, too much cooking up won’t help either. I once asked a candidate what he thinks about our school and what other B-schools he has applied to. “This is certainly the best and I have applied only to KIIT School of Management”, he said. It’s very hard to believe that an MBA aspirant applies onto to one B-school. Similarly I asked another what he dislikes about our admission process, and he said it was wonderful, even though he was kept waiting for several hours for the GD.

MBA students are expected to have a mind of their own and display maturity in their answers. So don’t go collecting the best answers to each question. There are no best answers. The answer that truly reflects you, and brings out the best in you in a mature and polite way (and not being crude) is your best answer.

I am great, but sorry don’t ask for any examples.

Many application forms ask the candidates to write their strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, the dreaded “tell me about yourself” question in the interview also prods you to speak a little about your strengths. Most candidates end up writing very generic strengths such as “hard working”, “committed”, “team player”, and so on. There may not be anything wrong in this, but to a reader, unless they are substantiated with example, these words don’t carry weight.

Many times, when I ask a student to prove to me how he thinks he is a good team player, I get a blank stare. A good practice is to write a sentence about a strength (e.g. A good team player because of my past association with several clubs and committees), rather than just a word. If that is not possible, always keep at least two examples ready to prove that you possess the strength.

You will see that it gives you much more confidence when you can prove what you claim.

Contributed by Suchin Kulshrestha, (Class of 2008, IBS Hyderabad)

Industry Needs more MBA’s

Posted on April 1, 2015 by IBS India

An industry operates in a dynamic environment, fragile conditions, stiff competition and scarce resources. It therefore needs individuals who can help maximise its collective purpose, provide direction and stay sustainable. The companies under the given industry have diversified goals too, each at different phases of life-cycle. Some have crossed the milestone; some have just carved them out and some even at the verge of collapse. It needs people who are aggressive, disciplined and willingness to support the mission and vision of the industry. It requires human resources who have a plan of action. It needs individuals who understand not only the conceptual knowledge of the industry but also know how to apply it at the right time. Industry ardently wants to absorb individuals who has a strategic bent of mind and simultaneously understands the value of time.

Currently Industry has a very strong recognition towards MBA as a professional course. The industry definitely understands the fact that MBA program ensures the individual has an excellent amount of exposure to complexity and uncertainty. It knows the MBA provides industry experience, business experience and most importantly managerial experience. Such rich aspects provide a higher degree of expertise and a strong compatibility to diversified roles. Industry recognises the fact that MBA grooms the candidates skill set, brings strong behavioural changes, and provides a strategic perspective. One of the aspects that have always been widely applauded is the fact that MBA program provides a managerial instinct which is extremely important across the industry.

Solid Grounding in concepts, terminology and techniques: The industry is growingly recognising the fact that MBA’s have already been distilled with most concepts that are crucial for the execution of their role. They are well versed with the framework of business which helps them navigate complex business problems in a more efficient way. Their style of management brings externals into confidence. There is an ease of doing business with them as they are well versed with the aspects which are crucial in business meetings, client meetings, deal execution etc. It is therefore but natural, their added knowledge and understanding provides favourable impact on the business. Their indulgence and association provide strong support both directly and indirectly to the company.

Cost reduction & Recruiters Preference: There is growing need for MBA and that is why we see so many companies reiterating the fact that their talented employees, who do not hold MBA degree, go through company sponsored MBA programs. In fact some companies have their own institute teaching their employees about MBA. Such companies find MBA a great support in their business. When companies get candidates who have already been absorbed into the MBA course, it reduces their cost of sponsoring for an MBA. Just not that it saves a lot of their time too. The need for MBA is reinforced when many recruiters prefer MBA as their first choice. One of the primary eligibility criteria has become MBA qualification. The industry which currently is in an up-trend, the need for MBA has further skyrocketed.

Avoiding pitfalls of business & Adding Value: Industry has also seen that MBA’s have already been exposed to a good amount of case studies of various established and innovative companies. They know the case-studies have been specifically streamlined on various aspects which can help the industry. Company knows MBA provides a strong learning curve to the candidate which if applied on their current business will help avoid various pitfalls which could otherwise be not known. MBA’s critical thinking helps business in various ways: Identifying threats and opportunities. Their applied knowledge from case studies not only help in filling the voids and gaps in the business but also help in adding value to the company. Sometimes their ideas help reengineer the business process and help recast the model in ways which otherwise would not have been possible.

Entrepreneurial attitude: Industry needs people who are self-motivated and have entrepreneurial attitude, one who can be self starter and go-getter. They need employees who have an attitude to get things done at the right time and in the right way. They need people who can understand the business and can manage things with least supervision. The industry knows MBA’s main propaganda is to make entrepreneurs. This comes as a big support for both the established companies and the one who has just taken a step in the industry. MBA with entrepreneurial attitude has a passion for work and a flair for success who work beyond the comfort zone. Such traits have not been missed by the industry and are one the aspects why Industry still wants to embrace MBA’s.

Global Approach & Multi-industry factors: MBA program is streamlined in such a way that both local and global aspects are introduced to the candidates. The candidates therefore have a global business perspective and have a higher tendency to provide comprehensive views. Therefore their working environment is not limited to domestic shores and this provides industry a confidence that MBA’s have a potential beyond the confines of the geographical parameters. Further to this, the diversity of MBA’s in terms of knowledge on multiple industries is extremely important. In today’s world, different industries are linked together and dependent on each other and having knowledge of different industries act as a catalyst for the company and the industry itself. This makes MBA’s more appealing to various industries.

MBA is a professional course with a lot of weight-age to ones life career. Its recognition is spreading far and wide and getting merged globally. Companies have been recognising it and have made it visible that they would definitely prefer MBA. More and more MBA candidates are being offered good post in renowned companies which again reiterates that MBA’s are strongly preferred. As the industry grows so does their operational aspects and so does the role gets challenging. MBA’s have therefore keeping pace with this dynamic roles and have stood shoulder-to-shoulder, showing competencies. For many it may still be hard to swallow that MBA is one of the preferred eligibility criteria for companies but the reality has been encouraging as more and more companies are coming out to recruit MBA graduates as their first preference.

Contributed by Mitesh Agarwal ( Class of 2011, IBS HYDERABAD )

MBA in HR Conceptual vs Reality

Posted on March 30, 2015 by IBS India

Human 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 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 20^th 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

Posted on March 30, 2015 by IBS India

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.

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)

Origin of MBA in India

Posted on March 27, 2015 by IBS India

Arguably, 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 MBA Nearly 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.

IISWBM 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

Posted on March 26, 2015 by IBS India

Virtualization 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.

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

Posted on March 26, 2015 by IBS India

When 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.

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

Posted on March 25, 2015 by IBS India

MBA 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 )

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