Friday, April 29, 2011

Why is MBA education necessary?

There are things which you learn with experience. Then, there are things which you also learn by knowledge. By acquiring the knowledge or training in a particular field, you reduce the time period of learning and are able to take a more comprehensive view of the whole thing. MBA education is just like that. If you are looking forward to getting some job or doing some business, one of the ways to learn about it is by way of taking things as they come, with time and experience. Another way is to take MBA admissions, preferably in the best MBA Colleges in Delhi, the capital city.

By going for MBA Delhi courses, you develop a broader outlook towards any business. This might not have been possible by approaching the business in traditional way. With a broader mindset, you are in a better position to spot the opportunities that lie ahead and work on them expeditiously. MBA also help you to organize your resources well. If you were a traditional business person, the generation of resources as well as their utilization could have been limited to old ways only. You might not think of the newer avenues of resource generation.


Another major benefit of doing MBA is that you get to learn from the experience of others and avoid the likely pitfalls which might have been faced by others. The use of case studies, role plays and the chance to work on different types of projects provides a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the pros and cons of various businesses. There methods help you to understand the different problems faced by the people in the past and what were the solutions provided. These real life learning experiences from all around the world help you develop insight into the vital aspects of problems and their solutions.


Every business operates in a macro environment and is influenced by its elements like the government policies, laws, etc. By seeking MBA admissions and being in the best MBA College in Delhi means that you would be getting a good grasp of all these elements of macro environment which is capable of influencing your business. Developing a proper understanding of these elements is where MBA helps you a lot. If you were to go in the traditional way, you might have got caught up in government wrangles without much knowledge of what all can be done to come out of the difficulty.


In MBA Delhi College you would be given the full functional knowledge of the main segments like finance, HR, IT and marketing. The use of metrics, decision making tools and the best applied managerial practices and methods are some of the things which you get to learn. At the same time, your personality gets all round grooming. Whether it is being articulate in putting forth your view, doing negotiations, speaking in public, giving presentations or sharpening your skills, MBA gives you a really good grounding in these areas.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Ratings of Business Schools

When you want to pursue the post graduation in management, or MBA in short, you are literally faced with the problem of plenty. Not that you have everything on cards and it is only a matter of your choice to take admission in the college you want. There is an immense competition which makes it very difficult to take admissions in the top MBA colleges. Even getting into the second rated ones is also faced with a lot of competition. Have you ever wondered on what parameters are these institutes adjudged the top or A- class or the B class ones? What principles form the ranking criteria of these colleges?

There are different sources which bring out the rankings of these business schools. These sources could be the magazines or some other organizations and the ranking criteria could be many, each organization having one of its own. At times, these ranking criteria could be misleading and their real meaning could be couched in double meaning language.

For the prospective students it is important to verify:

1. The sources of information which are bringing out these ranking.

2. Pay attention to what are the evaluative criteria being used by them.

The problem is not so much with the top MBA colleges but with the second rated ones which bring out the misleading advertisements on the basis of the different ranking criteria, which, prime facie, are of no substance. With so much of competition among the MBA colleges to garner more and more of the top candidates, there is an increasing tendency to mislead candidates. Therefore, there is a need to remain vigilant and cautious about these institutes.

Here are some of the tips which can be used to determine whether what is being advertised is right or wrong:

1. Dig deeper: Do not just take the claims of the institute on the face value. You need to dig deeper. Find out which source has given these rankings. Is that source credible? Have you heard of that source commonly? Is it reputed enough in its market?

2. Check the substance of the criteria used for ranking: You need to keep your mind open on what are the criteria being used for ranking and how much beneficial would these be for your calculations. You must be judgmental about the non-substantive or the frivolous criteria and be mindful of their relevance for your selection of the MBA colleges.

3. Do not depend on just one source: There might be many other sources which may not be giving a very good opinion about the college. So, it is better to refer to as many sources as is possible.

Seeking MBA admissions is a top priority among the students and, therefore, it is important that the candidates do not fall in the trap of the half truthful ranking given by dubious sources since it is a question of investing big bucks in management education in present times.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

What you get to learn at an MBA college in Delhi?

Masters of Business Administration (MBA) is a coveted degree which is provided by MBA colleges around the country that are recognized by UGC. The ones which are not affiliated with any university can not call their course award as a ‘degree’ but these are called ‘diplomas’ or post graduate diplomas. The institutes giving these courses are affiliated to the AICTE. The third ones are totally private institutes which do not offer any degree or diploma but they name their awards variously as ‘programs’, ‘courses’ etc. Top MBA Colleges prepares a candidate to take up the administrative or managerial positions in different organizations at different levels of the organization.

In general, the two year post graduate program is divided into 4 semesters, two semesters per year. The first year is devoted to the study of general subjects related to business. You might be given the essential knowledge about the law, statistics, management principles and a brief overview of the finance, human resources, information technology and the marketing field. The aim of the first year of MBA College in Delhi is to make the person acquainted with the common business-related issues. 

The second year is the year of specialization where the candidates are required to take up the stream of special knowledge. Here the choice is to be made mainly from the four fields, human resources, finance, marketing and information technology. Some of the MBA institute might not be offering these four streams but might be specializing in only one of these streams, say offering only the post graduate in finance degree. The candidates can choose the institute if they want to go into some expert domain. For doing the masters in finance in the institute which provides specialization in this stream only, the candidate shall make a choice of the right institute well in time.


All through their study focus is retained on practical learning and a number of case studies and projects are undertaken on different subjects by the people. The industry interface is also a crucial part of the course in MBA Delhi College to demonstrate how the learning is applied at the industry level. There is a period of about two months in between the end of first year and the beginning of the second year wherein the candidates are required to do their summer training in an industry on a research topic. The candidates are also required to submit their report on summer training project. This report also lays the ground for the future job considerations of the candidates.


Besides the in-class and out-class learning, there is also a deliberate and conscious attempt to change the thinking perspective of the candidate and to make him a person of wider and global thought. There is considerable personal grooming and personality development which is imparted to the candidate in the MBA College in Delhi. He is trained in the art of making analysis, taking bold decisions and how to deliver the results.

CFA: A Much Desired Finance Course for Professionals

When it comes to courses in finance being offered in India, no other course invokes so much controversy as the CFA, or the Chartered Financial Analyst. The original CFA course is a program of study of the US and is recognized world over. The course is a self study graduation level program meant for the investment professionals. There has been an India based institute which claimed to provide this degree to the candidates but the same was not recognized or allowed by the US based institute. So much for controversy, let us now pay attention to what makes the CFA a preferred course by candidates seeking to do courses in Finance. 

The CFA course is favored by the aspirants who want to make it big in the finance stream. This exam is recognized the world over for seeking employment in different countries. Therefore, most of the Indian candidates desirous of seeking the employment opportunities abroad might decide to take up this course. This is the primary motivation for the Indian students to take up high paid jobs with some good MNC investment bankers, PE firms and other similar avenues which are well paid. This gives the candidates a global advantage to compete with the best in the field at the world scale. Further, there is a lot of development of the practical skills and ethics.


The institutes which can provide this course in different countries, including India, are required to take approvals from the Board which administers its conduct all over the world. So, there are some institutes which offer the CFA India program to Indian investment professionals. They are required to clear the three levels of tests and also required to meet certain professional criteria for successful completion of this course and being awarded a charter. Considerable importance is laid on the ethical conduct and before declaring any person as passed in this CFA course a complete check on the ethical conduct of the person is done.
Earlier, the institutes provided this course in India but these were not allowed to conduct the exam for the same in India which saw very less number of candidates taking up this course from the actual US based body. So, while they studied in India, they had to go to out of India for giving the exams which was very inconvenient. The court ruling has now allowed this exam to be conducted in India which is likely to see the increase in the enrollment rate of the candidates.


The popularity of the course is in line with the demand of the finance professionals from a number of different multinational finance companies. Candidates completing this CFA course can either take up the jobs or they can also work as independent professionals providing help to the clients. They can be investment consultants or working with other company. They find coveted organizational places, in the middle or higher level managerial positions.

Structural layout of the MBA colleges in India

It was when the economic reforms of the country were undertaken in early 1990s that ushered in the MNC culture, that the need for well educated managerial personnel was felt. This provided the impetus for the setting up of the MBA colleges in India. This could not have been possible for the government to set up these colleges on such a big scale and especially when it was encouraging the private sector to come forward on many other fronts. What emerged was a set up of three types of the MBA colleges.


The first type is of those colleges which are set up by the Universities under the aegis of the UGC. These are the only colleges which can offer the ‘Masters’ degree in management. Hence, ideally, so far as the nomenclature is concerned it is these institutions which can offer the MBA degree. The students who aim to get a degree prefer to seek MBA admissions in these colleges.


The second types of colleges are the ones which are run by the private sector and are not under the control of the Universities. These are run directly by the private players and their functioning is streamlined as per the norms of AICTE. These are not allowed to call their award a ‘Master’s Degree’. Therefore, these offer the ‘Diplomas’.


The third type of top MBA College is the one that is run by the private player without any sort of control. These are the ones which are not allowed to offer the degrees or diplomas and use the different other names.


Having elaborated on the different types of MBA colleges in India, it is important to note that people usually get secure careers by opting for the first two only. Seeking MBA admissions in the third category of the colleges in considered a risky investment. For the government or semi-government job positions, it is the post-grads from either of the first two institutes which are eligible to apply for the job vacancies. The UGC regularly brings out the list of institutes which are not recognized by it and cautions the candidates from seeking admissions in these ones. It is interesting to note that the top MBA colleges in India, of the IIM fame, offer the diplomas only.


For the candidates willing to do MBA, the first choice is naturally the top MBA colleges that are reputed. However, intense competition for those institutes might force many of them to seek admissions in many other institutes. Which one is the top MBA College and which one is not, is dependent on many criteria. The most simplistic benchmark to judge the same is to find out how much salaries are commanded by the post-grads from these institutes. The other important criteria could be the extent of placements, the faculty, the infrastructure and even the teaching methodology. Besides seeking the admissions in the regular MBA colleges, the candidates can also opt for pursuing the MBA with distance education learning.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Do MBA colleges in Delhi churn out quality professionals?

Considering the number of students passing out from the MBA institute all over India, one wonders whether these institutes are really making the effective and efficient managers. Also, most of the students take up jobs at a lower pay scale which is what they could get after completing the graduation and working for one or two years. While it is true that the candidates from some of the top MBA colleges do land up good jobs, it is equally a fact that a vast majority of others are not so lucky. The statistics reveal that most of the MBA post graduates, from the non-popular institutes, draw only a little better salary than the graduates. This often puts many a prospecting candidates to think whether it is worthwhile to opt for MBA as a career or not. It also makes one think whether the institute that they would be joining is capable enough to impart them quality education and training as managers.

While it could be a reality that the quality of MBA course conducted by many colleges might not be that good as some top MBA colleges in Delhi, it is equally a fact that not doing a course could be more difficult to land a job. The choice is always in the hands of the candidates whether to study MBA in a particular college or not. If they look for easy admissions and a tag for MBA and do not land good jobs then there is no one else to blame. Therefore, it is important that the top MBA colleges in Delhi are selected with due caution to make good careers ahead. Asking the friends, checking out the different media stories, reviews and ratings of institutes, the alumni of the institutes and checking with the different authorities can lead you the right institute.

Sometimes, even the MBA institute is criticized for lacking in areas for not being able to provide the desired or advertised level of training to the candidates. So, what shall institute ideally be providing? Or, what are the factors which you shall check to know what are the strengths and the weaknesses of the institute? Some of these areas could be the following:

1. Faculty and management: Experienced faculty which is well honed in the art of teaching and experienced in workings of industry, is what makes the difference to the institute. You can check who all are the people who make it a top MBA college?

2. Industry interaction: What part of time is spent in the class rooms and how much time is devoted to the industry interaction can also tell about the institute. It is crucial to maintain balance between the two. The type of industry interface is also important to judge. Whether it is the top MNCs or the local businesses with which students interact?

3. Infrastructure: The importance of top infrastructure can not be ruled out in the top MBA colleges in Delhi. This is an indication of the importance attached to being updated on the technology front by the institutes.

What all is there is the MBA admissions exam and why?

If you are willing to take up MBA education after completing your graduation, there are a number of institutes which offer this course. There are the AICTE controlled institutes, the UGC affiliated MBA colleges operating under the aegis of universities and even the private institutes with their own set of curriculum and rules. But, irrespective of the nature of the business schools, one does has to go through some sort of examination and required to pass it, in order to be eligible for taking MBA admissions. Many of the MBA colleges have multiple step admissions procedure.

Normally, the three step procedure comprises of the written exam which is basically an elimination round, a group discussion on some topic and finally, the interview. The written exam is a way to test the level of knowledge of a candidate and is used for eliminating those candidates in the first stage itself who do not secure the acceptable level of marks. Out of the three steps of the MBA admissions process, this is the exam step which is given the highest weightage. The exam generally comprises of the quantitative aptitude test, English language, reasoning and general knowledge. The quantitative aptitude test is a test of judging the mathematics subject knowledge. Test of English comprises of the unseen passages, grammar and vocabulary and sentence correction. There are two types of reasoning ability of a person that is tested, one is the verbal reasoning and the other is the non-verbal reasoning. The latter is based on pictures and diagrams. General knowledge test is all about checking how much interest the candidate takes in reading the news items. The focus is more on corporate or economic general knowledge. Often, the candidates are required to work with speed and at the same time be accurate marking the correct answers. Speed with accuracy matters and that is why candidates prepare on these lines before taking the MBA exams.

There are definite reasons why the tests are conducted in such way. Mathematics and statistics is required during the course of MBA education. It is also required that the candidate is mentally alert and capable of sound reasoning since he has to take up managerial level position. Further, the knowledge of what is happening around him can make him a better businessman or manager. English, of course, has to be good since the candidate would be required to interact with people who know English. Not knowing the same will be a major hindrance in communication.

The next step in the MBA admissions process is that of group discussion. This step various aspects of a candidates personality, like the leadership qualities, the ability to retain focus and not let the discussion go wayward, intelligence level, ability to work in a team, treat the topic in all encompassing way, arriving at a reasonable and justified result and maintaining group cohesion. The final step of interview is taken by highly experienced people who would be judging the way you conduct your self.

Monday, April 4, 2011

MBA Colleges in India.

It was when the economic reforms of the country were undertaken in early 1990s that ushered in the MNC culture, that the need for well educated managerial personnel was felt. This provided the impetus for the setting up of the MBA colleges in India. This could not have been possible for the government to set up these colleges on such a big scale and especially when it was encouraging the private sector to come forward on many other fronts. What emerged was a set up of three types of the MBA colleges

The first type is of those colleges which are set up by the Universities under the aegis of the UGC. These are the only colleges which can offer the ‘Masters’ degree in management. Hence, ideally, so far as the nomenclature is concerned it is these institutions which can offer the MBA degree. The students who aim to get a degree prefer to seek MBA admissions in these colleges. 

The second types of colleges of MBA in India are the ones which are run by the private sector and are not under the control of the Universities. These are run directly by the private players and their functioning is streamlined as per the norms of AICTE. These are not allowed to call their award a ‘Master’s Degree’. Therefore, these offer the ‘Diplomas’.

The third type of MBA College is the one that is run by the private player without any sort of control. These are the ones which are not allowed to offer the degrees or diplomas and use the different other names.

Having elaborated on the different types of MBA colleges in India, it is important to note that people usually get secure careers by opting for the first two only. Seeking MBA admissions in the third category of the colleges in considered a risky investment. For the government or semi-government job positions, it is the post-grads from either of the first two institutes which are eligible to apply for the job vacancies. The UGC regularly brings out the list of institutes which are not recognized by it and cautions the candidates from seeking admissions in these ones. It is interesting to note that the top MBA colleges in India, of the IIM fame, offer the diplomas only. 

For the candidates willing to do MBA, the first choice is naturally the top MBA colleges that are reputed. However, intense competition for those institutes might force many of them to seek admissions in many other institutes. Which one is the top MBA College and which one is not, is dependent on many criteria. The most simplistic benchmark to judge the same is to find out how much salaries are commanded by the post-grads from these institutes. The other important criteria could be the extent of placements, the faculty, the infrastructure and even the teaching methodology. Besides seeking the admissions in the regular MBA colleges, the candidates can also opt for pursuing the MBA with distance education learning.