The MBA Primer: All you wanted to know, but didn't know whom to ask!

The buzz around the three-lettered word -- MBA -- is strong. More importantly, it`s here to stay, for a long, long time. Lakhs of aspirants prepare every year to tame the CAT and other management entrance tests. A record number of students - over 2.5 lakhs - appeared for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 08. Hundreds of MBA institutes release ads in newspapers to grab the attention of MBA wannabes. Many national magazines release annual surveys on MBA institute rankings. And, lest we forget, there are tons of training institutes that promise to help you prepare better for entrance tests - and get that prized degree!

But before you decide to be a part of the race to enter the portals of IIMs, XLRI, ISB or other institutions, it would be worth doing a bit of homework. You should know, for instance, what a typical MBA course is like, what the various options for pursuing an MBA are, and how you can choose the right institutes. Remember, all MBAs are not equal: while a rigorous course from a reputed institute can be your passport to a fat-salaried job at India Inc, there are many lowly-rated institutes from where getting even a halfway decent job is a pipe dream.

Management experts believe that there are over 1500 Business Schools and the numbers are growing every year. "Management education is very important for the sustained growth of the country and we have some 1,800 management institutes in India," says Fr N Casimir Raj S J, Former Director, XLRI Jamshedpur.

What accounts for this growth? The demand of a reputed MBA degree is healthy -- from both the recruiters and the aspirant`s sides. Says Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director, Birla Institute of Management and Technology (BIMTECH), "After engineering, MBA is the most sort after course by Indian students. In education, there are many other courses but most of them are theory centric. MBA is a mix of theory and application." Around 10 lakhs students aspire for an MBA degree in India every year, he adds.

The Indian economy has grown at a healthy rate in last decade. This growth has translated into a demand for more managers. Although the growth momentum is slowing of late, demand for quality managerial talent is expected to sustain.

Business is getting more competitive and knowledge-driven, thus creating a demand for knowledge workers. Fr N Casimir Raj S J comments, "There is a great demand for quality talent -- both in India and from across the world." Dr B S Sahay, Director, IMT Ghaziabad, adds, "The perception of whole world about India and Indian B-schools is changing today. Earlier foreign institutes didn`t give much importance to Indian B-Schools, but today things have changed. Foreign institutes are giving a red carpet welcome to Indian institutes and students."

If one looks at placement of various leading B-schools, lot of top companies rush towards these institutes to make good offers.

Every year, during placement season, companies flock to the management institutes to grab the best managerial talent. The fact that many more companies are keen to recruit MBA graduates are leading to a new requirement in numbers - at both the domestic and the international level. According to MBAUniverse.com`s Placement Report 2008, firms from a wide range of sectors, namely consulting, private equity, real estate, finance, information technology, general management and marketing participated in the process.

Consulting major Monitor Group and private equity player Greater Pacific Capital were some of the big names which recruited exclusively from IIM Ahmedabad; while the world`s largest steel manufacturer Arcelor Mittal offered some unique and challenging roles in hitherto unexplored but rapidly emerging economies of Eastern Europe.

There was a significant increase in the compensation offered to students by Indian firms as well. Top Indian firms, namely the Aditya Birla Group, Trilogy and HCL significantly increased the salaries offered to students to compete for talent with international firms.

Read on for a comprehensive overview of what an MBA is all about, and what should you consider before getting a degree.

FMS Entrance Test ::: Delhi University...

The FMS exam is the management entrance exam conducted by New Delhi-based Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University. FMS, set up in 1954, is one of the pioneers of management education in India and its entrance exam is one the oldest one. It is generally held on the second Sunday of January every year. For instance, the exam date for academic year 08 is January 13.
But why does FMS conduct a separate exam? Prof JK Mitra, director of FMS, says, “FMS is a pioneer in management entrance testing. Our entrance test is a benchmark in India.”

FMS pattern
According to FMS, in the past the pattern of the exam included Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Language Comprehension, Analytical Sbility and Environmental Sensitivity. There were a total of 175 questions in FMS exam in 2007. The duration of the exam was 120 minutes.
Comparing the FMS with CAT, Prof Mitra says, “The FMS entrance test is different from others in its approach. We believe that management programmes should be open to students of all backgrounds, not just students with engineering education. So our exam is more holistic.”
According to Career Launcher, “The FMS paper in 2007came up with the standard pattern of 175 questions but the difficulty level was much higher than the previous year. Quantitative section was full of questions on algebra, complex numbers, logarithms, mensuration and coordinate geometry, which could have perplexed you in case you were not comfortable with them. The Reading Comprehension and English Usage sections were difficult, while the two sets on Data Interpretation were sitters. Verbal Logic was easy. The questions in Analytical and Mathematical Reasoning section were tough to say the least.”
Way to FMS

To apply for FMS, interested candidates can get FMS admission forms and submit the duly filled forms by November end. Students who have secured 50% marks with Arts, Commerce or Social Sciences, 55% with a Science background, 60% with Mathematics or Statistics, and 60% with Medicine, Engineering or Technology can apply for FMS.
For students from outside India, submission of GMAT scores is mandatory. There are only 130 seats for Indian students and 13 seats for foreign students in FMS.
On the basis of their performance in the test, applicants will be called for an interview, an extempore and a group discussion.

How to enter IIM???

Kudos!!! This is to all esteemed readers of my blog... The reader base of blog showed an upward trend during the past week.. I received a total of 2982 page views that week... That's the thing I require... That makes me more and more dedicated to my job of posting new and up-to-date info here... I would like to thank all those readers who visit my blog and leave their valuable comments, which helps me improve my approach towards them.. Thanks... 

I'm compiling this piece of information on request of my esteemed reader "Umar" who is an aspirant of CAT... 

The selection for the post-graduate programme (MBA) in Indian Institute of Management - IIM is done through a two-stage process. In the first stage, candidates to be called for personal interview are short-listed from among those who have applied to IIMA’s post-graduate programme. While short-listing the candidates for personal interview, candidates belonging to categories for which seats are reserved, are treated differently. The criteria used for short-listing would be disclosed on the CAT web-site (www.catiim.in) and/or the IIMA website (www.iimahd.ernet.in) along with the list of short-listed candidates on 9th January 2009 (Current Academic Year). Please note that the cut off for short listing SC/ST/PWD candidates for personal interview would not be less than 17% score in each of the three sections of CAT 2008 and no less than 25% score in aggregate. For other categories, it would be no less than 25% in each of the three sections and no less than 33% in aggregate.  The actual cut-offs used for short-listing, however, may be higher than the above mentioned percentage scores and would depend upon the performance of candidates in Common Admission Test - CAT .

In the second stage, candidates to be admitted to the post-graduate programmes are selected from among those who have attended the personal interviews.  In preparing this admission list, inputs such as performance in personal interview, the CAT score, academic background and achievements, extra-curricular activities, and post-degree work experience, are taken into consideration.

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What is MBA at IIMA???

The Post-Graduate Programme is the most prestigious curriculum at IIMA. The programme nurtures world-class managers by exposing them to real life unstructured situations along with analytical tools and business philosophies. Participants discover their true potential after practising rigour and focused hard work. Students gain conceptual and interpersonal skills while fine-tuning on the social purpose in managerial decision-making.

The Institute has initiated exchange programmes with more than twenty-five foreign Institutions of equal repute. Every year the Institute selects close to a quarter of the students to spend one term at some of these institutes. The students get to benefit from the rich exposure that they receive. Similarly students from the corresponding institutes visit IIMA for a term. Joint activities provide each school with a better understanding of teaching methods they practice and give them a better poise. Students learn to appreciate diverse cultures and working environments and develop a holistic vision. 

Another important aspect of the PGP is the Summer internship. This eight-week programme provides the students an opportunity to work with reputed companies from various sectors where they get to put their ideas and skills to work. In retrospect the companies get to know their prospects better and a chance to enhance their visibility on the campus using the intern as their ambassador.

Some of the best companies, in India and the world, visit the campus every year searching for the best talent in the field. Close to 6000 graduates of the PGP course have scaled to high positions in a number of reputed Indian and International corporations and institutes.

:-) Don't be too excited my dear friends... IIMA is within everyone's reach... Check back soon for more posts... Rest assured... Quality is always the beginning for me... Be with me...

The magic called IIM !!! Shaping future ahead...

In just four decades IIMA has evolved from being India’s premier management institute to a notable international school of management. 

It all started with Dr Vikram Sarabhai and a few other public spirited industrialists realizing that agriculture, education, health, transportation, population control, energy

, and public administration were all vital elements in a growing society and that it was necessary to link these meaningfully with industry. The result was the creation of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1961 as an autonomous body with the active collaboration of the Government of India, Government of Gujarat, and industry. 

It was evident that to have a vision was not enough. Effective governance and quality education were seen as critical aspects. From the very start the founders introduced the concept of faculty governance: all members of the faculty play an important role in administering the diverse academic and non-academic activities of the Institute. The empowerment of the faculty has been the propelling force behind the high quality of learning experience at IIMA. The Institute had initial collaboration with Harvard Business School. This collaboration greatly influenced the Institute’s approach to education. Gradually it emerged as a confluence of the best of Eastern and Western values.

Mission

• IIMA's mission is to help India and other developing countries improve their managerial practices both in the private and in the public sectors, and adopt superior public policies. It seeks to do this through producing risk-taking leader-managers who will pioneer new managerial practices and set new standards; through producing teachers and researchers who will generate new ideas of International significance; and through purposeful consulting aimed at helping client organizations scale new heights. 
  

Objectives 

• To provide learning facilities to men and women of exceptional
  
• calibre for pursuing careers in management or becoming teachers and researchers in different management fields.
  
• To promote knowledge through research, both applied and conceptual, relevant to management, and to disseminate such knowledge through publications.
  
• To participate in and contribute to the formulation of public policy, which would provide answers to questions of social importance.
  
• To enhance the decision-making skills and the administrative
  
• competence of practising managers and assist organizations to solve their managerial problems by providing them with consulting services based on actual requirements.
  
• To collaborate with other institutions in India and abroad with a
  
• view to further professionalising management education and assisting in institution building, in a meaningful manner.
  

Source: http://www.iimahd.ernet.in (IIM Official Website)