Experienced Candidates OR Freshers For MBA?

Posted on March 24, 2015 by IBS India

It is the B-School admission season again. The environment is ripe with with speculation about who will make the cut and who will not be boarding the train this year. The questions are many. Which school, specialization, location, fee among many others. One such question is, should I take the plunge this year as a fresher or should I gain some work experience first. When do I get the maximum bang for the buck out of a MBA program?

So, does it really matter about a candidate willing to enroll in an MBA course if he/she is a fresher or an experienced candidate? The answer is- It depends.

Experienced candidates are perceived to be better equipped with the knowledge of industry, corporate culture, the processes, organizational structure. So, it can be safely assumed that they are able to relate with the theories that are being taught in the classroom and can also contribute positively by suggesting that how a particular concept/theory can be used in a particular situation while being on the job with some appropriate modifications.

However, the thought process of an experienced student can be biased towards a particular industry. Experienced candidates will have a lot at stake which is precisely the reason behind their strong work habits and understandable lesser risk appetite culminating towards lack of fresh perspectives and creativity in their thought process.

In an MBA environment, one often feels like being bombarded with information (in the classroom and after the classroom). It is a bitter truth that many times one would not be able to apply a theory (which is taught in the classroom) in a business scenario. So, the crux is not every concept will be relevant for one while one will be on the job. Experienced candidates have a better visibility and priorities defined when it comes to this aspect. Thus, experienced candidates are expected to have a better visibility of what they want from an MBA program and how they are going to attain those objectives.

‘Freshers’ as the word suggests bring in lot of freshness, energy, creativity, enthusiasm and most importantly are very good at brainstorming activities because of their unbiased approach. As compared to an experienced candidate, a fresher will be under lesser pressure which will allow him to internalize a concept after analyzing it from angles which are 180 degrees apart. The risk taking appetite of a fresher will be very high because of their openness towards any given industry. This is where a fresher scores during internship interviews because at that point of time companies look for enthusiastic candidates who are hungry for learning new things. A fresher easily fits the bill and in most cases gets the PPO (pre-placement offer) from the organization.

As a matter of fact, many freshers get inclined towards entrepreneurship during their MBA because of their risk taking appetite and the desire to do something of their own. However, fresher generally suffers from devil may care attitude which hinders growth in situations where more objectivity and sincerity is required. Freshers are generally more stronger academically or other interpretation of this is that they have more ‘bookish’ knowledge than the practical/functional knowledge.

MBA is all about ‘peer learning’. Now a days, B-schools are leaving no stone unturned to ensure a balanced mix of freshers and experienced candidates in their intakes. The idea is to achieve synergy of a fresher’s open mindedness and an experienced candidate’s functional knowledge. This is precisely the reason behind inculcating a culture of ‘group assignment’ in most of the MBA programs. Every group will have a good mix of freshers and experienced candidates where group assignment is designed in such a way that both kind of candidates utilize their strengths and work on the weak points respectively via learning from each other. That is why there is a cliché that in an MBA program, the role of a teacher is of a mere facilitator. After all, an MBA is not only a way to learn how to be an accountant, a supply chain consultant, a marketer, an HR professional but instead a way to learn what one needs of these roles as MBA gives you an eagle’s eye view to lead an organizational or cross functional teams.

So, our analysis boils down to the level of comfort and the objective of an individual to which certain task has been assigned or self-assigned(MBA in this case). The viewpoints are highly subjective to the situation. So, from the point of view of a fresher, if one wants to specialize in a particular domain then obviously MBA will be a value additive investment if done with work experience. But the situation will change if the objective is of doing general management, then having prior work experience does not really matter.

Also, it is perceived that freshers are more prone to succumbing to the pressure which an MBA program exerts on them as they land into MBA straight after finishing their graduation which results in decrease in performance, hindered learning, inability to apply the concepts learned in real word scenarios and inability to cope up with deadlines. Talking about experienced candidates, they might be suffering from superiority complex and over-confidence which proves to be a serious roadblock for them. So, there are some dark sides on both banks of the river.

Thus to sum it up, a candidate enrolled in an MBA program is like driving a car at night where in you are not able to see further the range of the headlight but you can still make the complete trip utilizing your strengths and by working on your weak spots/cutting them down depending upon whether you are a fresher or an experienced candidate. In the end, we must not forget that the more the specialized the world will be, the more it will be run by genralists.

Contributed by Sthita Sahu

Challenges for MBA students from vernacular (non-English) backgrounds

Posted on March 20, 2015 by IBS India

An MBA program focuses on inculcating traits such as leadership and innovative thinking capabilities in the students to help them meet the ever-changing demands of the volatile business world. Hence, the two-year post-graduate program in management attracts students from different backgrounds and varied cultural diversities. English is a widely-spoken language in India and the country has world’s second largest English-speaking population.In India, English is used as the medium of instruction in most of the colleges imparting professional education to students including management education. All those facts are making English as the most preferred business language for Indians especially for foreign trade.

India is a land of diverse cultures, values, behaviours and traditions. The students getting enrolled in the MBA program hail from different regions with their specific cultural and social backgrounds, therefore their medium of communication is the regional language of the region they come from. For example, a student coming from Tamil Nadu in South India will be Tamil speaking whereas students from Maharashtra and Gujarat will communicate in Marathi and Gujarati languages respectively. Quite a few of them would also have completed their school education from schools having Hindi or the regional language as their medium of instruction.

The difficulties that students from vernacular or non-English backgrounds face with respect to English language proficiency include the inability to comprehend lectures, reading comprehension, taking down notes, communicating verbally, and writing assignments and examinations in English.

In the beginning of the MBA program, the foremost challenge that one might face as a student of non-English background is in understanding the lectures delivered by the faculty members of the college as well as keeping pace with what is being taught in the classrooms.

As a student from non-English background, one might find it difficult to participate in educational activities. In India, all coveted MBA programs focus on exposing the students to business scenarios in the International sphere by inviting guest faculty from the industry as well as management colleges overseas. Here, discomfort with English language may act as a major deterrent since it may require good English-language skills to express personal opinion on a particular topic or ask questions. Someone who doesn’t know good English well may not be as confident to participate in interactive activities such as debates and group discussions, as the students proficient in English language.

Cultural diversity is also a factor that prevents students from non-English background from participating in group activities. They encounter difficulties in developing a social network and familiarizing with prevalent norms and customs among the peer group.

This language barrier further influences one’s interactions with the faculty members. They might come as too shy to approach the professors and discuss the problem areas to come up with solutions.

Coming from vernacular backgrounds, some students may have a tough time writing assignments and taking down notes in English language, which forms the core of the MBA curriculum.Since they are not confident of their English language abilities, they might always have this fear of committing mistakes. This further keeps them from getting actively involved in academic activities.

So far, we discussed the challenges faced by MBA students who come from non-English backgrounds. Now, let us focus on ways to overcome this language proficiency barrier. These remedies will help you in improving your English language abilities if you think you need some helpful tips.

One of the ways which will prove helpful in improving your written English language skills is through soliciting feedback from the faculty, senior MBA students as well as your peer group on your assignments and other written tasks. It will help you identify your problem areas, so that you can work upon them.

Forming small groups of students for the purpose of conducting group activities such as debates and discussions will help you gain confidence in your spoken English capabilities. Apart from improving your communication skills, it will also improve your tone and accent of delivery.

To enhance your comprehension skills, you must read many journals and text books in English language which will help you to get a command over the language. Thus, understanding the lectures of the faculty, irrespective of their accent or the speed of delivery, will not be a challenge for you anymore.

Besides these ways of improving your English language proficiency, audio and video CDs telling “ways to hone English speaking skills” will also help you in overcoming the language barrier.

In this age of Information Technology, e-learning tutorials from the best of the instructors in the domain of English communication can also help you to master English language as well as overcome all your fears related with the language proficiency.

You can as well go for contact classes for enhancing English language skills where you will be trained for both verbal as well as writing skills, besides boosting your reading and comprehension abilities.

You can also seek the support of the faculty for helping you learn and get a hold on the language, thus doing away with English language inhibitions. It will also promote student-faculty interaction.

You can overcome these challenges by putting in extra efforts and hard work with grit, determination and perseverance. It is best that you get hold of the English language even before you start preparations for MBA entrance exams as your efforts will be rewarding enough to land you in a premium b-school of your choice.

In this post, we discussed the numerous challenges that students hailing from non-English background faced during the 2-year MBA program. We also tried to give an insight into the strategies that you can adopt to work on your English language proficiency. We hope that this will help you to foster greater participation in academic activities, allaying the fears of making language mistakes. It will help in increasing your confidence levels with your academic performance showing considerable improvement.

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

Career prospects after MBA in tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India: Opportunities and challenges

Posted on March 19, 2015 by IBS India

There are many questions that arise in the minds of MBA aspirants. The answers to which are crucial in our deciding to opt for MBA. Is MBA the passport to success? Does it make us more employable? Will I get the placement I deserve and where will I get it? Majority of talent opting for MBA education in India is raw/fresh, unlike the global business schools where people come for management education after working in the industry.

Most of us think of MBA as our entry ticket to lavish corporates, with jazzy offices and high salaries at MNCs. With globalization and entry of MNCs and the outsourcing culture in the Indian market, these were not very unrealistic expectations.

Generally, job market in metro cities like Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai etc. was flooded with opportunities in the fields of outsourcing, IT and IT-enables services, due to the presence of most of multinational corporations offering and attracting fresh business school graduates. Even now, these places are the hot spot of placements for MBA pass-outs.

In the last few years however, management educations institutes have rapidly mushroomed in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. And most students too prefer cheaper and AICTE approved programs rather than B-schools. This has led to the problem of plenty due to the increasing gap between good opportunities and deserving talent.

So what does an MBA degree has to offer to our career when we are not able to find the opportunity we want –grabbing our dream job with lucrative offer in a typical Indian urban set up. My article intends to throw light on our chances of a pleasant career after MBA in non metro cities, how different are the market conditions and opportunities there? What are the challenges we could face and how to overcome those challenges to move ahead and have a stable career.

I relocated to Goa, after working for three years in a KPO based out of Gurgaon. I had rewarding credentials, decent experience and diverse exposure. Although I did not expect to find a similar opportunity, I was confident of leveraging my experience of working in a MNC in grabbing a job locally. But I was wrong. There were many challenges I had to face during my job hunt in Goa. There is a dearth of jobs complimenting my previous experience, the compensation is de-motivating and the worst part was that I had to start from a scratch like a fresher. My previous job profile had so much narrowed down my career portfolio, that it was difficult to fit in any profile I was offered.

mba oportunities and challenges

It is true; an MBA degree with good credentials is not and should not depend on the city we want to reside. An MBA program is targeted to increase our potential to thrive successfully in our career. Whatever function we choose, our prospects of having a good life should not be limited by geography. But since the market conditions, economy, exposure, presence of industries is not the same everywhere, we are restricted by the opportunities we have at hand. So how do we find the most job potential sector/profile in tier-2 and tier-3 cities?

According to an Assocham survey, MBA pass-outs from tier-2 and tier-3 cities opt for Bank/PSUs jobs as these ensure job stability with lesser work stress. Out of the 30 sectors surveyed, in both the tier II and tier III cities, financial services sector provided maximum employment opportunities to the aspirants. The sector contributed a share of 19.5 per cent and 22.5 per cent in tier II and tier III cities respectively in terms of job openings. According to the survey, Ranchi emerged as the lead employment provider amongst tier-3 cities, it is Pune that is ahead amongst the tier-2 cities. One major difference in the opportunities available in metros and tier-2 and tier-3 cities is the absence of niche markets in the later. Services, research, outsourcing and consulting have enriched the job market in metros.

So if you could foresee that you might end up settling in a tier-3 town in India, due to personal or family reasons, then it is good to try your chances in financial services, banking and also to some extent education. Also, the potential of any industry could be dependent on the local market conditions. For example, service and tourism industry is well developed in Goa. Identify such potential markets and see where you can fit in.

One functional profile which is ripe everywhere is sales and marketing. Any business, small or big, irrespective of its presence, aims to expand. You cannot grow your business if you do not know the art of selling. Although, not everyone’s cup of tea and somewhat stressful, sales and marketing is one field, that has immense potential as a career field. It pays well, helps you grow as an individual, enables you to develop your network and is not restricted to what place you are working. If you are good at it, you will find ample job prospects for yourself in any city and town. Other fields like human resources, operations and manufacturing, even with decent number of jobs, are restricted by low pay grade in small towns.

It is important to note that in small town job market, retention is easy and encouraging. There is less competition and more opportunities to learn and grow. It is easy to come in the highlight with your work. One should not forget that tier-2 and tier-3 cities are ideal for small start-ups and businesses. You require smaller capital and lower overheads to start business and it is easier to organize a business in a small town where people know each other.

Looking at the future though, with new IITs and NITs coming up in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, these locations are poised for a major growth in academia infrastructure. There are many multinationals that are now expanding their footprints in emerging markets and towns. Companies are looking forward to grow in cities like Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Trivandrum and many others which will gradually lead these places to offer better infrastructure and quality of life. Not only it will provide fresh talent pool a better chance with their careers but will also be able to attract back a significant portion of installed talent pool in tier-1 cities that hails from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. But until that happens, the “dream of job-after-MBA” in these places looks dim and far, with narrow prospects.

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

Grades aren’t everything in a B-School

Posted on March 10, 2015 by IBS India

I want you to recall the penultimate interview scene of the film ‘3 Idiots’? Remember how incredibly the protagonist cracks the interview with his fearless attitude & soul-stirring honesty despite his consistently declining grades. Branding it as suspension of disbelief in the name of cinematic liberty might be an obvious old-school standpoint. For others like me and hopefully you, there is a more rational alternative reasoning to it. Mull it over or read further!

Ask any old-hand MBA about the importance of grades. He’ll most likely advise that once you are out in the real world, its not so much as your GPA that counts as your white-collar disposition and business acumen. I am not trying to suggest that you should skip classes or that your degree is vain. In fact, I advise you do the exact opposite. Confused? Let me paraphrase.

A typical MBA curriculum comprises presentations, assignments, quizzes, tests etc. And all these fetch you grades. But there are other more important things like industry clubs, student associations, networking etc. They don’t directly contribute to grades but will surely enhance your people-skills, which are undoubtedly vital post-MBA.

A professor once told me that a B-School education is as much about what happens outside the classroom as inside it. You have to manage the trade-off between these inside and outside activities. Inevitably, your grades will suffer. I know intentionally sacrificing grades is not an easy habit to break. Especially for academic high achievers. But you have to look at the bigger picture. Temporarily, neglect all old-school opinions of your well-wishers.

I reiterate that not studying is not what I mean by the above statement. On the contrary, study hard. Be thoroughly involved. Vigorously interact with you batch-mates. Bounce off questions to the professors. Challenge pre-conceived theoretical notions. Try to gain a practical understanding of the subjects to avoid the highly unproductive last-minute cramming sessions.

I’ll give you an interesting example. When I was in 10^th grade, I distinctly remember a class-mate who asked a peculiar question to our science teacher. “How can anything be burned without the presence of oxygen?”, he queried. It was a recurrent statement in the science text-book. The entire class including me was flabbergasted by the astounding simplicity of the question. Even the teacher took her own sweet time to gather her senses.

I was unwittingly introduced to the concept of ‘Out of the box’ thinking. This ingenious catchphrase a.k.a Christopher Columbus’s Egg Puzzle is widely used by Management Consultants globally. Its a quiz where you have to link 9 dots using four straight lines without lifting your pen and without retracing the same line. Try it in case you haven’t. Its a dare. I’ve drawn it for you below. (Hint: Think beyond the box)

During the two years in a B-School, you’ll literally be coerced to deploy lateral thinking and think unconventionally from a fresh perspective. I am re-educating you with these worldly-wise philosophies for a damn good reason. Professional and even scholastic success is a function of several factors and your grade is just a single data-point. Unless you score exceptionally high or abysmally low, your CGPA will just be an arbitrary number post-MBA.

And even if you are a Five-Point-Someone (please disregard any correlation with Chetan Bhagat), be honest and own up to the grades during your placement interview. Never forget that your prospective employer wants to hire intellectually curious, well-rounded people who culturally fit within the organization. As a matter of fact, it’s been proved at a multi-national B-School called INSEAD that there is a negative correlation between high grades and high salaries. Need I say more?

Some MBAs argue that B-School students should take their grades seriously because of the cut-throat competition during placements. More particularly for students applying for Investment Banks and Consulting firms.The very same self-proclaimed Executive Coaches fall flat & go astray when you ask them: “Do good grades guarantee success on the job?”

I recall an unintentionally funny incident concerning one of my MBA batchmates. Unlike me, he was quite good with textbooks and grades. However he struggled a lot while getting a job. If I remember correctly, he was finally selected by some company in his (hold your breath…..) “21^st interview” (I suppose they have set a threshold limit now). He got it at a substandard CTC.

My friend’s experience compelled me (and hopefully him) to juxtapose two scenarios: (a) A bookworm topper who slogs for 2 years to get good grades and (b) A well-rounded average-scoring student who gives a crack-shot at the final interview and secures a hefty package. Which one would you chose?

Bill Gates once said “I studied everything but never topped….but today the toppers of the best Universities are my employees.” It implies that a stellar student may be a mediocre employee and vice versa. So learn enough in a B-School to make you ‘savvy’. But not a ‘nerd’. Anyway, as a manager or entrepreneur you can always hire lots of nerds (with good grades) to do specific tasks for you. Just don’t fall into that trap yourself.

I am aware that its very convenient to preach while sitting at home. Genuinely following an eccentric advice is the hard part. It requires both trust and courage on the part of the reader. Just contemplate whether cramming the four P’s of Marketing or flawlessly drawing the BCG Growth-Share Matrix would necessarily benefit you in the corporate world. Unfortunately, things don’t happen in the marketplace the way they do in the textbooks.

Because the real world will often surprise you by throwing new variables at you. Be prepared to tackle the disturbances created on your pre-existing theoretical notions. In order to achieve that, first you would have to overcome the orthodox and outdated Socratic way of critical thinking/learning. Discover and adopt more modern ways of assimilating useful knowledge.

Grades are overrated, bigtime! So don’t give too much importance to them. Moreover an MBA student is graded in two phases: (a) Classroom projects, where you are judged on your assignments, presentations, quizzes & soft-skills and (b) Semester Exams where you have to score in traditionally structured written exams. Its noteworthy that Phase (b) judges you at a single point of time unlike Phase (a), where you are judged over a period of time.

Both the components have an equal weightage for the purpose of student evaluation. I strongly believe that the assessment should rely 80% on the former as the appraisal analysis is spread over some period of time. Following this approach would positively make the grading process more transparent and sensible. Unwittingly, it will also benefit MBA students who religiously follow our current grading system.

Takeaway: Grades, according to me, are synonymous with a pat on the back for your good work. That’s why you crave them. Whether they reflect your actual performance to the corporate world outside of your B-School remains a matter of concern. 5 years into your job and they’ll hardly matter to anyone. Including you. Change that traditional frame-of-mind before entering a B-School. You’ll learn to enjoy and enjoy to learn much more!

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

When Banks refused me Education Loan for MBA Program

Posted on March 9, 2015 by IBS India

I was walking hastily towards my office building in Hyderabad when i received a call from my father. He informed me that all the banks he had approached have refused education loan for the MBA program. I was flabbergasted. How could that be possible? Something must have gone terribly wrong.

First, The Good News

A week back, I was selected for the MBA program at IBS Hyderabad. I was glad that my career was traversing the path as planned byme. Only fact that slightly dampened my spirits then was that I had to quit my corporate job. It meant no salary crediting in my account at the end of every month. I was soon to lead a frugal life of a student, living mostly on my meager savings. Despite this, the decision to pursue MBA was well-thought of, considering my long-term goals.

On the day of the personal interview in IBS, Hyderabad, I had visited the kiosks of various banks set up in the college premise, offering education loan. Every bank had then agreed for an education loan. Since I had toquit my job and be dependent on my parents, as per guidelines, the education loan was to be applied in my hometown with my father as its guarantor. This must be a cakewalk, I exuded confidence, and considering that the b-school was such a prestigious one.

Next Comes the Shock

After receiving confirmation onmy selection, I asked my father to apply for the education loan in my home town of Bhagalpur (Bihar), a state then infamous for loan defaults and high rate of NPAs (non-performing assets). The ‘cakewalk’ was proving to be a nightmare as my application for education loan was rejected by all the banks in my hometown. However we tried explaining and negotiating with them, they remained adamant. By all accounts, I qualified for an education loan. We met all criteria of the loan, except this ‘self-professed’ one, which I fail to understand even now. Still the loan was refused to me.

Reasoning Proved Futile

During my employment, in the name of credit or loan, I had only possessed a credit card from a reputed bank. And used it very judiciously too, never defaulted on the payments. For many of you, without any prior work experience, you will have no bad credit history. This means you will be in a much better position while applying for an education loan with your parents as the guarantor. But so was I, with excellent credit history. Nor my parents had ever applied for any bank loan or possessed a credit card. So, the credit history was definitely not the reason for their denial of education loan.

My father had not retired and was still few years in his job. He was supposed to act as the loan guarantor. Hence, even this factor was good enough to qualify for the loan.

Loan repayment too was never going to be a concern. After having studied from a reputed b-school like IBS, and worked three years in one of India’s most admired and biggest organizations, a well-paid job post-MBA was almost guaranteed. Hence, this factor alone should be ample a reason to offer the education loan.

Few days back to this incident, I had read in the newspaper about the directives of the finance minister. He had advised the banks to simplify the process of education loan and to make it available for all the students of this country, especially to them who cannot afford higher education. An MBA program is by no means an inexpensive affair. Coming from a middle class background, I too had to take this route to fund my education.

A New Criterion for Education Loan?

More than the shock quotient, I had a wry smile on my face when I got to know the reason for loan refusal. Every bank in my home town -private and public sector banks – had replied tersely that since we do not possess a home of our own, banks cannot process the loan application. Your own home for education loan? Why the Home?

It was so frivolous. I had never known that to apply for the education loan, one needed to have own home. We had always lived in a rented house and hence, never constructed our own house though we possessed land for that purpose. We were even ready to mortgage our land for the loan security but the banks insisted on the house only. In this competitive world, where each bank is fighting for its share and using all kinds of strategies to offer loans and credit to eligible working professionals, this reason seemed quite bizarre to me.

Sitting in Hyderabad, I could have hardly done anything. Except, scanning the web pages of banks and reading their and policy on education loan. But the clause of own house figured nowhere.

Last-ditch Effort

Finally, I decided to escalate the whole matter to the head offices of these banks. I spent half a day, searching for the email-ids of senior management of these banks, including local branches, regional offices and head offices. I collected details of 8 such banks which we had approached for loan. I also noted the contact details of Reserve Bank of India, banks’ ombudsmen and finance ministry, which were to form the Topart of the mail. Rest all was inCC.

Having empowered by technology, I wrote an email to these banks, their ombudsmen, Reserve Bank of India and Finance Ministry. Clearly stating my problem in the email, Isought to know if a working professional, working in one of the best and most admired organizations of this country, and aspiring for an MBA course, is refused a loan, then who else would qualify for such a loan. Does it mean that students, aspiring for higher studies but not having their own home, will be denied an opportunity?

It took me few hours to draft a professional email communication and finally, sent it. I was hopeful that someone in the echelons of an organization will pay attention to my problem and provide me with a pragmatic solution.

And It Worked

Hours after shooting this mail, I received email responses and phone calls from the head offices of these banks, trying to pacify me. Almost all of them tried to trivialize the matter and explained how local banks must have misunderstood my requirement and thus, committed this faux pas. They assured me that my application will, in all certainty, be approved. A couple of them even sent a written confirmation to me, directing their local branches to approve the loan.

Now I had all these banks offering me the loan, and that too within a day of the escalation. I had choices now, and hence, chose a bank with lowest interest rate. Within a week, I traveled to my hometown, and the loan processing was done in a day – all in a jiffy. On 1^st May, 2008, I was attending the MBA course at IBS Hyderabad.

Had social mediabeen even half powerful then in 2008 as they are now in the areas of customer grievance and redressal, my choice of medium would have been different. In my case however, the good old email proved very effective. Things have evolved today. We know ‘140 characters’ rule our lives.

The Management Lesson:

It was about reaching the right person through the right means of communication. And when it comes to escalation, it is an essential characteristic. That was not all. Very soon, I learnt in my MBA course that in an organization, discipline must always percolate from top to bottom. Invariably, top management of the organization lays its foundation by defining ethics and values of an organization. And discipline is an essential working principle, which is most often set as an example by the top management. Going into my MBA program – well in advance – I had already tested this management principle, successfully.

A word of caution here. My intention while doing this was not to blow the facts out of proportion and fashion hype or a publicity stunt. But it was an honest and desperate attempt, when I was faced with limited options.However, this should not be misconstrued as the only standard solution for all such problems.

I sincerely wish that such an impasse does not arise in your life. But think for a moment, if you are confronted with such circumstances, how similar or different your response will be? Let this be a case study for you, till then.

Contributed by Suyash Chopra ( Class of 2010, IBS HYDERABAD ) can be contacted at twitter: @suyashchopra1

MBA is an indispensable part of Digital World

Posted on March 6, 2015 by IBS India

We are breathing in a digital age today; we are connected to each other virtually. This digital connectivity reaches the far corners of the globe. With advent of smart phones, people are becoming smarter with each passing day. They carry google in their hands. Now digital is shaping the world. Many businesses are run on the grounds of their digital presence. To live in this digital era companies are embracing techniques to digitalize themselves. Consumers have the tools to assess what we call the absolute value of things. Now consumers can behave rationally they can search and look for things they need. Customers are smart and need a customized solution every time. In your career graph add MBA as a booster for your career growth. In this Digital era ideas can shape and come out in concrete as you can share and get ideas appreciated through digital channels. We have examples of E commerce market which started from an idea of selling online and now we all shop online.MBA gives you an edge in Digital age

The Digi-Connection:

How MBA and digital age is connected to each other. The answer is quite simple. With advent of new techniques and customer centric markets these days companies are looking for MBA‘s to churn out good business for them. Master’s in Business Administration will chisel you to make you a right fit for this industry. Every individual has a great potential,now any individual can think of starting their own startup business.MBA not only add skills, this coveted degree will give you marketing insights, consumer know how, mind set and much more understanding on how to market your business. If you see yourself as a digital marketer then as a duty you have to learn new communication technologies continuously and develop skills to anticipate and adapt quickly. Learning through case studies, interviews from renowned university will prove beneficial for your growth.

Learning with new experiences each day:

MBA gives you holistic learning of industry and industry verticals. Once you gain knowledge of this industry then you can look for opportunities in particular sector. Many entrepreneurs are also looking inclined towards MBA. It is a highly relevant innovative degree that prepares candidates for success in an ever changing professional field. It provides a powerful skill set in new marketing ethics in the emerging digital field and it will raise your value with potential employers..MBA contents and curriculum is so formulated that keeps you updated with ongoing activities around you. We may have a lot of knowledge about brands but how brands are building themselves is the learning in MBA.

If you are willing to stand firm in competitive world then new hires should have a flare towards technology and new age marketing. For such requirement of skill set one must undergo MBA as it is need for hour. The classroom discussions and presentation will make you more of people person. When you are among different mindsets then convincing them will be a new learning.

The MBA journey is in itself a learning experience, every day with each session you will increase your knowledge reservoir with new concepts that are applied in marketing and branding of business. You will be enriched and learned with interaction and intellectual debates with your professors and peers at a B-school. Next, the pedagogical methods employed in B schools are very innovative and effective – these include case studies, presentations, projects, research papers etc.

MBA fueling your Career Growth:

MBA degree has a lot of earning potential in it. Market always offers challenging and rewarding jobs for MBA grads. We’ve found that MBAs have the skill-sets to approach a wide array of projects from a multiple functional standpoint, as opposed to just being skewed to finance or accounting specific approach”. they tend to be better communicators; not only understanding or analyzing a problem and coming up with a solution, but being able to pitch it, sell it, and build interest. Quantifiable salary increases. MBA Programs not only help business leaders grow, they help them make significant career transitions, find a new job or garner a promotion, or launch a new business.

MBA for Entrepreneurs (OTB thinkers):

MBA has a strong connection with this digital era as you need to unbolt the bolts of thinking pattern for business.Today entrepreneurship and innovation has a lot of value when we talk about such OTB – out of the box thinking people like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak come to mind. Such prominent people have not just given the new ways of developing ideas into business. This era will make figure out the new and the awesome ways of engaging people and ideating & strategizing for good business growth. When an idea come in a concrete form and gets applied then you need a business mind to set up it from the scratch. Being an MBA always give a firm support as you will know A to Z of your business. Moreover every business faces major challenges like technological changes, competitors entering the market, shifting economic trends. Entrepreneurs who have prior knowledge of such factors affecting their business would be able to safeguard business. MBA degree will make you a ready resource for your company or business. The extra plus which is required to stand out in the crowd will be earned through such programs. Entrepreneurs or budding entrepreneurs will be able to understand value of customer and branding activities. The edge will be in application of theories which you have studied and how to imply it for good return on investment. MBA creates your own brand image as your career will step up the career ladder, you will eye on different gaps that other companies are not covering up. You attain right exposure and fall in right network so it helps in your own personality development. Business only flourishes when you have a network of people.

In IBS you will learn best of practices to enrich your Knowledge and IBS will make you right fit for industry. In digital world even sky is not the limit so take off and soar high with an MBA program.

Contributed by Sonali Jain ( Class of 2014, IBS GURGAON )

“Quanto-Anglo-Logic” the new religion for all aspiring MBA students

Posted on February 12, 2015 by IBS India

There is never enough time, let me tell you that straight up!

You could begin studying for any exam, a week, a month, a year, or even three years in advance and trust me you will say this one day before your exam, “OMG!!! I couldn’t complete Module 4 of Math, and 3 Chapters in Language.”

I used to be a ‘doubting Thomas’ in matters related to MBA till one day my mother broke the news to me. She knocked on my door and said, “Darling, times are tough! Recession has hit the job markets; so I don’t see you getting a job after B.Com. You have a year; join a part time coaching class for the MBA entrance exam and start studying for it right away.”

Honestly I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do my MBA just after my graduation. What I really wanted to do was work for a couple of years and then pursue my higher studies abroad. Call it fate, but at home my mom always had the last word. So I sheepishly enrolled myself into one of top 2 institutes in my city for an MBA coaching and hoped for the best.

I was pretty confident that I would sail through the coaching classes with flying colours, since I was a topper in my college. But on day-1 when the coaching classes put me through a Pre-Assessment test, my confidence was shattered. I was ranked in the bottom 30 percentile and my instructor looked at me with same look a doctor gives when he has to deliver bad news to the family of his patient.

The instructor told me that I was one of the worst performers he had ever come across in his entire career. He then asked me to go back home and come back the next day for a more detailed analysis.

I arrived back the next day, with a heavy heart and was prepared to hear the worst. But I was quite surprised at what he had to say. He explained to me that I really hadn’t given a bad performance, but I had completely messed up the way I had answered my assessment.

The greatest insight that I got from my pre-assessment was:

There are 3 main sections for any competitive exam (some have more i.e. General Knowledge, etc.) like: Quantitative Studies, English Language and Logical Reasoning and one needs study the pattern of exam before even attempting that exam.

Once the pre-assessment was broken down and each section was individually scored, my instructor had shown me that my weakness was Quantitative subjects. I had individually scored very well in Language and Logic.

Each type of entrance exam has its own scoring pattern; some of them allow students a certain amount of time for each section. While some others allow students to randomly scan through the entire paper and answer whichever section convenient in the entire time, some exams are online, whereas others have to be answered on hard paper. Some exams even have scores for the steps in calculation. So one must be aware of the type of exam one is attempting.

Work on your weak subjects and build on your strengths.

With all this knowledge I began my journey towards enlightenment. My goal now had shifted from studying a bunch of subjects to actually strategising on how to tackle different exams that I had made up my mind to try.

Since Quant was my weakness I went through the entire list of modules and tried to figure out what I was actually good at. I marked out those chapters and quickly began to work on them. The next step in Quant was to actually work on the modules I could not tackle, and some of them were: formula based calculations, trigonometry, and Quadrilateral equations. No matter how hard I tried I could not get a hang of them. Maybe it was because I had begun preparing for my exams just a few months in advance to the actual entrance, and I was still in my final year of college. Maybe I could have worked harder, but like I said before, there is never enough time for everything, and what one needs to undertake is a strategy to tackle one’s weakness. So I simply tried and skimmed through what I didn’t understand and decided to skip it altogether.

At this point I would like to put forth a disclaimer: Any views expressed in this article are simply on the basis of my personal experience and every individual is unique. If you could take a lesson from my experience I would be highly honoured, but I warn you that you need to understand your own strengths and build your own strategy.

The other 2 sections, Language and Logic were more like stress-busters to me. I loved to solve puzzles during my spare time, and in the year that I was preparing for my entrance exams, I would carry my logic book while I travelled and used it to substitute my puzzle book to pass my time. When I was stressed out studying Quant, I would use my language book as a refresher in between and have a little fun with it.

Months flew by and my strategy seemed to work like a charm, till the time came for the actual exam. About a month in advance I booked my tickets and got my stay arranged as my city did not have an entrance exam centre. I kept solving the papers from previous year’s exams and my instructor encouraged me to complete more assessments. Even though my score was slightly above average he encouraged me to never give up.

You see at the end of the day one can never predict the circumstances one would encounter during the day of the exam. All you can do is pray to Pythagoras, Hermes and Apollo and hope that you have prepared enough to tackle your demons. Rest assured that in the end everything will work out just the way it is supposed to and CAT is not the only exam that one can attempt. There are plenty of others, just like the number of Gods we have in India. You could really try and attempt the international exams, if you have the opportunity.

No matter what, there is never a need to be disappointed or dejected because, “There is always a next time!”

Contributed by Sujir Pavithra Nayak, (Class of 2011, IBS Hyderabad)

Current Era! Finance or Marketing

Posted on January 30, 2015 by IBS India

2015, Time to revive the glory and growth which the world lost six years ago. IMF and World Bank forecast an identical 5.6% growth in current year and 6.4% in 2015. World is citing renewed confidence in market due to economic reform brought in by the new government. The only question in student’s mind is:

“Will the reforms brought by new government bring in job opportunities; if yes, then in which sector and how can we utilize the opportunity”?

The toughest situation in your life arises when you are on the verge of completion of your 2^nd Semester of M.B.A. and in 3^rd semester you need to figure out which specialization to opt for? Probably you get confused while selecting the specialization and in a way you are right as the elective which you select isn’t just another subject but rather has a strong hand in defining your career. You need to be very clear about what to do as you have to make your career in the same and attain success in it. A general human tendency to find a concrete answer to any confusion is by seeking help from parents, friends or relatives. The biggest question over here is – Do you really find a solution? Or do you get more confused? The answer to former is a shaky ‘MAYBE’ but to the latter is a definite YES! We will try to find out the solution for the same.

Finance –

“It takes money to make money”, so the proverbial saying goes. Finance is the elixir that assists in the formation of new business, and allows businesses to take advantage of opportunities to grow, employ local workers and in turn support other business. There are many fields in which you can see good career prospect like Venture capitalist, Trade finance, banking, Investment banking etc.

Venture capital is an area of finance that specializes in funding new companies and supports their expansion efforts. Trade finance helps in facilitating international trade. Bankers play an important role in the economic life of a nation. The health of an economy is closely related to the soundness of its banking system. It can help you make your career as a credit manager or relationship manager. Investment banks and their bankers help companies, governments and their agencies to raise money by issuing and selling securities in the primary market. They assist public and private corporations in raising funds in the capital markets (both equity and debt).They also provide strategic advisory services for mergers, acquisition and other type of financial transaction.

“If you want to thrive in today’s economy, you must challenge the status quo and get financial education necessary to succeed.” – Robert Kiyosaki

Few companies where you can start your financial career include-

Deutsche bank
Goldman Sachs
Morgan Stanley
KKR
Blackrock

Few successful bankers who made a name in Finance –

Warren Buffet – Berkshire Hathaway
Rajat Gupta – Goldman Sachs
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala – RARE Enterprise
Chanda Kochhar- ICICI Bank
Shikha Sharma – Axis Bank

Marketing –

The heart of any business success lies in its marketing strategy. The overall marketing umbrella covers advertising, public relations, promotion and sales. It is a process by which a product or service is introduced and promoted to potential customers. What if a company doesn’t do proper marketing? Will potential customers be aware about the product that the company is selling? Will the company be able to attain market share or increase sales without the same? Once any product, service or company gets on the radar of your prospects, it increases the chances of higher sales. It also acts as a Revenue generating unit for a company. There are various fields in marketing in which you can shape your career such as Market Research, Sales professional, Advertising and Product designing.

Market research is vital for understanding the critical characteristics of company target market and helps in increasing Sales, profit and ROI. Sales department generates revenue for an organization. No matter how good your manufacturing operation is, how cutting-edge your technology is, how tight your financial goals are or how progressive and forward thinking your management techniques are, you must have a sales mechanism or everything renders useless. Advertising plays an important role in today’s age of cut-throat competition. Advertising has become necessary for every organization to get desired market share and build a brand value. Product design is cross-functional, knowledge intensive work that has become increasingly important in today’s fast paced, global competitive environment. Product design is a critical factor in organizational success because it sets the characteristics, features and performance of services or goods that consumers demand.

“Understand that you need to sell your ideas in order to advance your career, gain more respect and increase your success influence and income”. – Jay Abraham

Few companies where you can start your marketing career include-

Ogilvy and Mather
Lowe Lintas
Nestle
ITC
HUL

Few successful Marketers who had a successful career in Marketing –

Steve Jobs – Apple INC
Larry Page – Google
Miles Young – Ogilvy Mather
CK Prahalad
Prahalad Kakkar- Genesis Films

You understood the importance of finance and marketing but the question which was raised in beginning of the article is still unanswered. Confusion still remains. Let’s try to get an answer for the same and resolve the confusion. Both Finance and Marketing are crucial for any organization, which cannot function smoothly without either of them. Both departments work hand in hand to make a successful organization. They help in maximizing profits of an organization and its expansion. If you want to have good and successful career, choose either of the departments and give your best in it. The most important question you need to ask while taking the decision is “What is my area of Interest?” How the above questions can help you in find the solution? If you like number crunching and your analytical skills are good, then opt for Finance. Other skills you would need to succeed in Finance include:

Critical Thinking
Mathematics
Complex problem solving
Analytical
Reading comprehension

If you like communicating with people and are creative, then marketing will be the right field for you. Important skills required for successful marketing professional include:

Communication Skills
Creativity
Technical Skills
Analytical Skills
Psychological understanding.

We can conclude that you don’t become successful by choosing the right field. Both the fields are important for an organization and you can make a good career in either of fields, provided you have the required set of skills. If you are hardworking, dedicated and committed then you can succeed in any of the field and can achieve success.

“Success is not a destination, but the road that you are on. Being successful means that you are working hard and walking your walk every day. You can only live your dream by working hard towards it.”

Contributed by Kandarp gandhi ( Class of 2014, IBS MUMBAI ) You can connect him on Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kandarp-gandhi/36/579/b86

7 Things I Wish I Did Just Before the MBA Session

Posted on January 21, 2015 by IBS India

Usually, a new session at a B-School in India starts in the month of May or June. I assume that you would have confirmed your hard-earned MBA seat around February. Consequently, you would have the option to either (a) Kill the time in between or (b) Invest the interim period of 3-4 months. After repeated retrospection and with the benefit of hindsight, my personal experience consistently favours the latter (and this is coming from an easy-going person).

Mentioned below is my list of 7 important things I wish I did just before I joined the MBA session. I honestly believe that if you work on them now, the following 2 years would rather be less stressful and more enjoyable (contrary to what I experienced). Consider them as a productive pre-MBA workout for you. So, let’s begin.

#1 Read some good Management Books

Invariably, the first year of MBA is insanely intense and can be quite stressful. It will constantly test your ability to withstand extreme pressures. Probably, it’s a never-seen-before world for you. In such a situation, getting a head-start is indeed a sensible solution. I had read loads of management books and business articles during MBA and post-MBA. But not a single one before that.

Ergo, more than half of my class was ahead of me in terms of sheer knowledge. Moreover, being an absolute novice, I struggled to understand the gruelling business concepts. And that too in a ridiculously compressed time frame. ‘Time’ was the key which I didn’t have much. In fact nobody did. Eventually, I learned the hard way. Because not learning was never an option.

To save you from a similar sense of impending doom, I have compiled a list of 5 must-read management books. They are:

(1) The Essential Drucker (By Peter Drucker)

(2) Competing for the future (By Gary Hamel & C.K.Prahalad)

(3) First, break all the rules (By Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman)

(4) 12: The elements of great managing (By Rodd Wagner & James.K.Harter) and

(5) Leading Change (By John P. Kotter).

Read the above books for fun, as a leisure activity. They will bridge your knowledge gap, boost your creativity and improve your writing skills. You can select one of them for your book-review assignment as well. Now pull up your socks, go to Amazon.com and add them to your cart. You can thank me 2 years later!

#2 Mastering PowerPoint

You know the basics, alright. But, you need to delve deeper to become an expert in making presentations. PowerPoint will become your lifeblood for these 2 years. Learn to apply elegant animations, stimulating videos/audios and innovative techniques to place your presentation in a different league. And try to be original. It will directly affect your GPA at every semester’s end.

Download loads of relevant YouTube videos, audios and useful pictures as a pre-preparation exercise. It’ll pay you dividends over a period of 2 years. Given below are some links for free online PowerPoint tutorials.

http://www.electricteacher.com/tutorial3.htm/

http://www.actden.com/pp/

http://www.gcflearnfree.org/powerpoint2013/

#3 Self-Introduction Speech

Right from Day 1 of your B-School, you’ll be asked to introduce yourself numerous times. Present yourself elegantly and confidently. Practice a lot it in front of the mirror. Or record it through your computer web-cam to deliver a flawless pitch. This endeavour will simultaneously help you refine your soft-skills and oratory prowess.

It is imperative to leave a good first-impression on the faculty as well as your batch-mates. But more importantly, this activity will inadvertently boost your self-confidence. For me, ‘CONFIDENCE’ (more than knowledge) was one aspect that helped me get through the rigorous MBA program and its unpredictable ups & downs.

#4 Crash Course in Financial Accounting & Managerial Economics

Honestly, my grades in the first two semesters immensely suffered because I belonged to a non-commerce background. Accounting & Economics are hardcore Commerce subjects. Commerce graduates spend 5 years learning these concepts. I had to do it in less than 6 months. It was a hellish experience. I strongly advise all non-commerce graduates to hire a local tutor. Ask him to train you for just the basics of Accounting & Economics in 3 months.

Alternatively, join a 30-40 hours online Mini-MBA program. It summarizes almost all the management sub-disciplines at a nominal fee. This way you can focus on other important activities like group-presentations, projects etc during the course. Always remember that the first semester is the toughest and the most hectic. Invest your valuable time and precious energy smartly. This is where you’ll be tested to your limits.

#5 Read Newspapers

Reading newspapers regularly is an efficient way of improving your reading speed. Their format is especially designed that way. At the B-School, you’ll have an edge over others if you are able to somehow quickly scan a text-book page or a case-study in a short time. This can actually be achieved with persistent practice.

The Times of India and Economic Times are two newspapers that I recommend you start reading as soon as possible. Besides, the knowledge acquired during the process will serve as a worthwhile asset to you. Food for thought: do you know why ET costs Rs.10/- on weekends and Rs.3/- on weekdays? Incidentally, it’s a genius business strategy. You’ll certainly learn this and many more interesting concepts at your B-School.

#6 Make up your mind on your Specialization in advance

You’ll be asked to choose either Marketing/Finance/Human Resource/IT etc. as your primary subject in the 2^nd year of MBA. My advice to you is to figure out your core area of expertise/interest beforehand. Do some research on current industry trends and decide accordingly. From Day-1 of the program, your chosen specialization should be the focal point. Or more precisely your first love.

Since the 1^st Semester, all your projects/assignments/presentations should revolve around your area of specialization. This strategy will eventually benefit you during campus placement interviews. Companies hunt for skilled candidates who have clearly defined goals. Persuade them evidenced by your body of work in these two years. I am quite certain that will do the trick.

#7 Save some bucks for Intermittent Entertainment

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And companies don’t hire dull boys, right? So, it’s better to save some money for the occasional get-togethers with friends. Romantic getaways with your girlfriend/boyfriend can be equally invigorating. And if you’re like me, then working out after an exhausting day should clear your mind. Either-way, you’ll need some money in the piggy-bank.

Takeaway: Pre-preparation for the actual MBA Program is bound to make your life during and after MBA easier and a lot more fun. It shall inwardly prepare you for the real battle ahead. Being a non-finance student, I personally experienced these difficulties. Ignoring the seven afore-mentioned pieces of advice had troubled many lives including mine. Particularly during the 1^st year.

I honestly don’t want the wretched experience to be replicated in your life too. So why not walk the extra mile now and have an upper hand over others? Please don’t take it easy. It’s an adventurous roller-coaster ride. Fasten your seat belts and gear-up mate! Do well!

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

Does your MBA College justify your Investment ?

Posted on January 20, 2015 by IBS India

A substantial amount of money has just parted from you in the form of your MBA fee and you sit back and try to comprehend the pressure you will be facing soon to justify this investment. Now how would you feel if your college takes half of this ‘Justification’ pressure from you? Wouldn’t that be a reassuring moment for you?

Let’s take IBS into consideration to shed some light on the above mentioned title. Broadly, the college in itself is so renowned that the fee you have just paid would not be frittered away. But as previously mentioned we are talking about sharing the pressure and not imposing the entire of it on the college. And so, you also would have to buckle down.

IBS, from the very beginning of the course, makes sure that you walk on a straight path towards your destination. For that to happen it has installed various street lights on this path named ‘Professors’. The professors are not randomly picked to teach you the discipline but only after a meticulous interview procedure and considering their previous academic experience they are chosen to teach you the management concepts.

The college teaches the concepts with the help of case studies. Not only they are acquired from an International business school but the professors of IBS too contribute in developing new cases. They prepare new cases and read, comprehend and solve the new cases of their respective streams as and when they get published. All these efforts just for the community named ‘Students.’

In case if you are looking for an additional source to learn, besides learning from the experts, there are not one but two libraries. One library is home to thousands of books, covering a multitude of streams like Finance, Marketing, Human Resource or Operation, etc. The other is an E-Library from where you have a direct access to latest journals and research papers along with a plethora of books and it can be accessed by the Intranet server of the college.

Talking about Information Technology (IT) facilities of the college, it brings to the foreground one recent and remarkable achievement by the college. Along with Intranet facility which not only updates you about various events across the campus, the college has developed an official interactive online platform called ‘Quicforce’. This platform allows you to see your academic performance.

The forum, Quicforce, can be accessed by anyone who has been provided with IBS’s email Id. This platform not only allows you to take note of your next lecture with the case associated with it but it also updates you about your attendance in every lecture. The one thing which makes it so special is that you can connect to your peers on a real time basis. You can interact with your college and batch mates and you can even have a word with the students from the other branches of IBS too.

This activity aids in understanding the concepts better. You are virtually surrounded with students and teachers from your campus as well as other branches of IBS. You raise a doubt in the forum and your doubt would be put to rest from the teachers and the other students.

Though the theories taught in the college goes hand in hand with the practicality of the surroundings with the help of cases, the guest lectures by prominent corporate personalities as arranged by the college is icing on the cake. With current insights into the various industries, these lectures also lend you a hand in looking at the concepts of the book from a practical angle.

Aiding the guest lectures and case studies in establishing practicality in the minds of students is Summer Internship Program abbreviated as SIP. Just like a trailer of the movie, SIP gives a fair idea of the C-World. With a project in hand, the SIP lasts for three months after which the grades are allotted on the basis of the quality of the project.

One of the major ways by which IBS justifies your Investment is ‘Networking’. The students enrolled with IBS come from different cultures and places. You learn many things from them while pursuing your MBA but the network also stays strong once you disperse into your professional lives. With the students now working with different industries all at once, you are able to enhance your learning on what’s new in that industry provided you stay in touch with others by one way or other.

And guess what! In case if you have a habit of continuously keeping yourself updated with the events of the corporate world, then the college offers you a large and a strong network of alumni. Most of them hold high positions in their organizations and many others are about to begin their journey. Hence you get to see the C-World from both the ends of the spectrum.

Look at the fun offerings too from IBS. There are various official clubs at IBS with the sole purpose of entertainment along with learning. In addition, there are recreational facilities such as gym, sports. The annual fest, the fresher and farewell parties every year and the family like environment in the form of the hostel life add to the wonderful experience. The college offers nothing but the very best in every aspect, academically, recreationally and personally.

Last but not the least, it justifies your investment and also takes care of the ‘return’ in form of ‘Placements’. From MNCs to Start-ups, the placement cell of IBS makes sure that the list of recruiting companies in their database grows each year and students get placed with a suitable profile with a handsome salary package.

So you see there is plethora of things with which you can ‘Justify’ your primary investment. Interestingly, there is only one thing when it comes to your ‘Justification’ part and that is nothing but your participation in the above mentioned facilities of IBS. Unless you, as a student, don’t involve yourself in the above mentioned activities and programs, the glass would remain always half and you would end up perceiving it as half empty.

In the end, don’t just enrol yourself with a college and pay the fee but remember to team up with your college before you tag yourself as the Master of Business Administration.

Contributed by Hasan Ali Gumani ( Class of 2012-2014, IBS HYDERABAD )

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