With India riding the global outsourcing boom, and the consequent economic growth, India’s economy will only grow for at least a decade. In the context of such unprecedented economic growth the demand for management personnel will grow exponentially, especially considering the global recognition of India’s managerial talent. From LN Mittal to Ratan Tata, the ongoing global takeover by Indian managers augurs well for management and allied professions like law and accounting, in India. The demand from recruiters in these professions – especially management – is far outstripping supply. Nothing succeeds like success, and the current demand for managerial talent ensures a successful career in management.
Any individual can achieve proper management skills through management education at B-schools, or business schools. The profession of management is quite challenging and employment is lucrative in this field, especially for students who graduate from reputed B-schools.
The educational infrastructure, overall ranking, and the record of campus placements over the last couple of years are important indicators which help a prospective applicant to shortlist prospective B-schools and send applications, the schools’ ranking has to synchronize with the applicants’ grade to stand a realistic chance for admissions. The growing number of B-schools mushrooming in India clearly indicates that management is among the hottest career options today along with traditional fields like medicine and engineering and IT.
Management education aims at equipping you with management skills in various areas, which would basically fall in two categories – administration and business. The areas may overlap, but the former has to do with internal administration and the smooth running of the organization, and other has to do with planning and running a business successfully. Beyond these two areas there are specializations in individual streams (marketing, finance, HR, operations etc) in various sectors where the specialization by and large depends on the candidates’ interest, aptitude and the discipline in which the applicant has graduated.
Some of the top B-Schools in India:
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, Xavier’s Labor Relations Institute (XLRI) – Jamshedpur, Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) -Delhi, IIM Indore, and the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and Tata Institute of Social sciences (TISS) in Mumbai.
Eligibility: For all IIMs, the minimum eligibility criteria for admission to PGP (post graduate programme) is a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any discipline recognized by the Association of Indian Universities/AICTE, as eligible for PG studies. Some institutes have a cut-off percentage of around 50% for applicants.
Personal attributes: General requirements for taking admission test for management are; clear logical and analytical thinking, a proven ability to take decisions quickly, proficiency in English, and an ability to make cogent contribution in group discussions. In short, a dynamic winning personality which forms the basis for the above mentioned personal attributes.
Job prospects: A management graduate has varied opportunities, depending on aptitude and qualification at the graduate level. It is possible to develop a career in a range of fields, which include Human Resource Management, Operations Management, Strategic Management, International Management etc. Due to the need for managers in various level across all fields, the potential to develop as a manager is only limited by personal limitations (a mind block), otherwise the sky is the limit in this profession where only results count.
Remuneration: Management is among the most remunerative careers. Along with a fat paycheck excellent perks are offered which may include free accommodation, conveyance/attractive allowances, provident fund, leave travel concession, medical reimbursement etc., to secure and retain superior talent.
Admissions to MBA/PGDBM are through one of the five all India entrance tests namely-CAT, JMET(conducted by IIT), MAT, ATMA (conducted by AIMA) and XAT (conducted by XLRI).
Common Admission Test (CAT): The CAT is held at Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, Patna, Pune, and Vishakhaptnam, on all India basis for admission to ‘postgraduate programme (PGP) in management in IIMs. The CAT is of two hours duration and questions include verbal ability and reading comprehension, problem solving and logical reasoning , data interpretation and verbal reasoning. Group discussion, leadership test, and a personal interview also count a lot in the final selection.
Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET): This entrance is for admission to postgraduate degree programme in management (two year full time MBA) offered by the IITs and Indian Institute Of Science (IISc). Currently IISc Bangalore, IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur offer such programmes. The JMET brochure and application forms may be submitted either online or offline. Some of the websites are: http://gate.iisc.ernet.in, www.iitd.ac.in, http://gate.iitm.ac.in, www.iitb,ac,in/gate, http://www.iitr.ac.in/gate.
Eligibility: A bachelor’s degree (or quivalent) in engineering or science(minimum 60% aggregate) or a postgraduate degree in science with first class.
Management Aptitude Test (MAT): This test is conducted by the Centre for Management Service (CMS) of the All India Management Association (ATMA). Most institutes using this entrance exam are members of AICTE (All Indian Council for Technical Education).
Test centers
Northern Region: Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Delhi, Dehradun, Bhimtal, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Jammu, Kanpur, and Ludhiana.
Southern Region: Anagamally, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Hubli, Hyderabad, Kannanore, Madurai, Mangalore, Mysore, Vishakhaptnam.
Eastern Region: Balasore, Bhadrak, Bhubneshwar, Cuttack, Durgapur, Guwahati, Haldia, Howrah, Imphal, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Muzaffarpur, Roorkee, Sambalpur.
Western Region: Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Ajmer, Bhilai, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Indore, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, and Raipur.
Eligibility: Only graduates from recognized universities are eligible to apply, including students who are in their final year degree course.
AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA): This test is conducted by the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). ATMA enable students to join management courses in 400 institutes in India. ATMA, approved by AICTE, is designed to assess the candidates’ aptitude for management education including verbal skill, quantitative skills and analytical reasoning. Students interested in taking ATMA can obtain the brochure –consisting of the application form, information bulletin and a sample test), in person or by post, on payment of requisite charges in cash or by demand draft drawn in favor of AIMS.
Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Students appearing for their final year examinations are also eligible to apply.
Xavier Admission Test (XAT): XAT is conducted by the Xavier Labor Relations Institute (XLRI)-Jamshedpur. XAT is also the entrance test used by some other management institutes, mostly run by Jesuit missionaries, XIM (Xavier Institute of Management), Bhubaneshwar, LIBA (Loyola Institute of Business Administration), Chennai, and BIM (Bharthidasan Institute of Management), in Trichy. There are 42 other management institutes who select candidates on the XAT standard. The XAT bulletin is available with select branches of the SBI or can be downloaded from the XAT website.
Eligibility: A three-year bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline recognized by the Association of Indian Universities, makes you eligible for courses covered by the XAT.
