It's springtime for MBAs again: Study

Mumbai: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Corporates are once again investing in the promise of an MBA. On the academic floor, management education which went through troublesome years is seeing springtime this recruitment season.Employer demand for recent business school graduates will see a strong upward trend in 2015, as 84% of companies worldwide plan to add new MBAs to their workforce -up from 74% in 2014 and 62% five years ago, according to a global survey of employers. Globally , more than half of the employers will increase starting salaries for new MBA hires in 2015, either at the rate of inflation (30% of companies) or higher (21%).
The median starting salary expected in 2015 for recent MBA graduates in the United States is $100,000. This represents an increase of $5,000 over 2014 salaries and is nearly double the expected starting salary of $55,000 for bachelor's students in 2015. Prior work experience is key in helping students stand out in the job market, especially for MBA graduates, the survey noted. Depending upon the degree earned, employers expect fresh graduates to have an average of two to four years of prior work experience.
The survey was conducted by GMAC, the European Foundation for Management Development and the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance and 113 business schools worldwide.The GMAC 2015 Corporate Recruiters Survey drew responses from 748 employers in 47 countries around the globe, including 46 companies in the Fortune 100.The analysis provides a view into the current employment landscape, gauges the demand for MBA and master-level business graduates, and offers insight into hiring practices and trends across industries and world regions.
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Why opt for MBA?

MBA is meant for anyone from any field who wants to enhance their skill level, feels Prof. S. Bhargava.

A majority of those who pursue MBA in India are engineers. But a Master’s in Business Administration is meant for any one from any field who wants to enhance their skill level, feels Prof. S. Bhargava, Head, Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT-Bombay.

Education Plus caught up with him to understand the need for an MBA and preparing for the global business environment.

Why should one opt for an MBA degree?

Whether you are a fine arts, commerce, media or science graduate, as long as you meet the basic criteria, you can pursue MBA. But don’t join it for the sake of getting an MBA degree. I will not get into a debate on whether a non-graduate should pursue MBA or not. But if you are a graduate in a particular discipline, then you would be mature enough to know the market, have experience and understand your strengths and weakness.

MBA is all about the value addition you get while pursuing the course such as developing skills like thinking, cognition, perception, attitudinal and behavioural change and dealing with people.

Should one pursue MBA right after graduation or after gaining some work experience?

Being a graduate has its advantages – you are young, innovative and creative, because of which the solutions you come up with for cases will also be different. But these are likely to be devoid of insight about the real world problems. People with work experience, on the other hand, will never agree with the youngsters’ point of view, and may think they think are only dreaming and aspiring.

In the U.S. business schools, it is mandatory to have some work experience because it enables you to look at a case or a problem from the point of view of your experience and what you have seen in reality.

Personally, I feel it is better if you complete graduation, get some work experience and then join MBA.

There are several kinds of MBAs available — residential, part-time, weekend, online, and so on. How can one decide which course to pursue?

Given a choice, go for the residential MBA programme because it will give you the opportunity to learn from your peers who will bring in their varied educational and work experience into the classroom. But it may not be possible for many due to practical constraints. In such cases, weekend, part-time or online courses are options. Any course or study undertaken systematically will surely benefit you.

Over the years, the number of people pursuing MBA has been significantly on the rise. What is the one thing that students should focus on to set them apart from other MBA graduates? What is it that employers look for?

Employers always look to employ the person who can deliver the best. There could be bias towards graduates from A, B or C business schools. But ultimately, once you join, your next promotion will depend on your performance which is the result of where you did your schooling, how you did your projects and additional skills. Placements also depend on your knowledge, talent, networking, PR ability, communication skills and how much importance you give to each of these.A few us from different B-schools undertook a study for the Government of India. We interviewed alumni who graduated two years, six years and ten years ago. From the study we found that when you join a company, the skills that are required to discharge you responsibilities are soft skills (those that deal with people). But when you do your MBA, the focus is on hard courses like finance and decision sciences. This is why business schools are now introducing more soft skill courses like value, ethics and culture sensitivity.

What is the difference between preparing for the Indian business environment and preparing for the global business environment?

In most business schools, students are prepared for both Indian and global business environments. In some case studies, the context may be local, but the focus is also on universal concepts like strategy and human relations.

You cannot differentiate between either of the business environments because there are both internal and external factors involved. It’s like an iceberg. There is more to what you see. Bureaucracy is everywhere. Government regulations are just guidelines for businesses to be run in a particular way. Indian or foreign, you should adapt to the system you are going to work in. It all comes down to adjusting and adaptability.

Keywords: MBA

India among world’s top 5 MBA destinations”

It is an important development for management schools across India, as the country is ranked among the top five preferred study destinations worldwide, ahead of countries such as Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore, Netherlands and Australia.

According to the study by Graduate Management Admission Council which conducts the GMAT for admission to 6,100 graduate business and management programs worldwide, rankings don’t feature in top five consideration criteria for actually selecting a program and a study destination. The study revealed that during the decision making process for selection of B-school criteria, quality of faculty, job placement, programme type and fee structure matter more than the rankings for aspiring management graduates.

The number of B-school aspirants seeking to study outside their country of citizenship has increased from 40% in 2010 to 52%. India features among the top five destinations, while the leader’s (the US), popularity decreased from 73% of prospective students in 2010 to 66% in 2014. Two-thirds (66%) of prospective students across the globe, however, still prefer the US, followed by the UK (6%), Canada (5%), France (3%), India (3%), Hong Kong (2%), Germany (2%), Singapore (2%), Netherlands (2%) and Australia (1%).

90% Indian MBAs unemployable’

India produces about three lakh management graduates every year, but hardly 35,000 of them are employable, said the experts.

According to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), 3,54,421 students enrolled for MBA in 3,364 institutions across the country last year. Speaking at the southern regional round table conclave of business school directors and deans, J Philip, former director of IIM-Bengaluru, said, “Today, the requirement of managerial candidates in the Indian market is between 35,000 and 40,000 every year. There are two reasons for unemployment: Lack of global skills and excess supply.”

Philip said India is probably the only country that could help supply managers to European countries and Japan. “Most countries in Europe are facing a crunch,” said Philip, now the director of Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore. An expert, who did not wish to be named, said, “Around year 2000, there were about 10 world class business schools in India. Now we have 25, but we have a long way to go. We need an industry-oriented syllabus and interaction with industry to improve employability.”

Parag Kalkar, director of Singhad Institute of Business Administration and Computer Application, Pune, said in the past 10 years the number of management institutes in the country had doubled. “While the previous central governments aimed at reaching the global enrolment ratio for higher education (27%), AICTE randomly allowed institutes of engineering,” Kalkar said.

According to AICTE, the number of management institutions has risen from 2,614 in 2006-07 to 3,364 in 2013-14. While the numbers continuously rose till 2011-12, at least 71 institutes shut shop in 2012-13 and 107 in 2013-14.

Kalkar said, “While quantity has improved, the government and AICTE have been compromising on quality. Institutes have been given approval without examining or inspecting documents, infrastructure, faculty and other basic requirements.”

Lack of industrial exposure of faculty and students is another issue. “Many institutes do not have faculty with industrial experience. Some wish to join a management institute immediately after completing their postgraduate study,” said R Nandagopal, director, PSG Institute of Management. The same applies to students, too. “Many engineering graduates do not want to waste time. Hence they apply for MBA immediately after graduation,” said Nandagopal. “While in the US and Europe, institutes consider work experience as a criterion for admission to MBA. It is a mid-career education for them,” he said.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2015/01/90-indian-mbas-unemployable/#sthash.F3LVhGae.dpuf

Jan 13 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Out of 3L MBA grads every year, only 10% are employable: Experts

Adarsh Jain

Coimbatore:





Reason Said To Be Lack Of Global Skills

India produces about three lakh management graduates every year, but hardly 35,000 of them are employable, said experts who gathered here for a conference of B-school heads.According to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), 3,54,421 students enrolled for MBA in 3,364 institutions across the country last year. Speaking to TOI at the southern regional round table conclave of business school directors and deans, J Philip, former director of IIM-Bengaluru said, “Today , the requirement of managerial candidates in the Indian market is between 35,000 and 40,000 every year.There are two reasons for unemployment: Lack of global skills and excess supply.“ Philip said India is probably the only country that could help supply managers to European countries and Japan. “Most countries in Europe are facing a crunch,“ said Philip, who is now the director of Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore.
An expert, who did not wish to be named, said, “Around year 2000, there were about 10 world class business schools in India.Now we have 25, but we have a long way to go. We need an industry-oriented syllabus and interaction with industry to improve employability .“
Parag Kalkar, director of Singhad Institute of Business Administration and Computer Application, Pune said in the past 10 years the number of management institutes in the country has doubled.“While the previous central governments have aimed at reaching the global enrolment ratio for higher education (27%), AICTE has randomly allowed institutes of engineering,“ Kalkar said.
According to AICTE, the number of management institutions have risen from 2,614 in 2006-07 to 3,364 in 2013-14. While the numbers have continuously risen until 2011-12, at least 71 institutes shut shop in 2012-13 and 107 in 2013-14.
Kalkar added, “While quantity has improved, the government and AICTE have been compromising on quality. Institutes have been given approval without examining or inspecting documents, infrastructure, faculty and other basic requirements.“
Lack of industrial exposure of faculty and students is another issue. “Many institutes do not have faculty with industrial experience. Some wish to join a management institute immediately after completing their postgraduate study ,“ said R Nandagopal, director, PSG Institute of Management. The same applies to students, too.
“Many engineering graduates do not want to waste time.Hence they apply for MBA immediately after graduation,“ said Nandagopal. “While in the US and Europe, institutes consider work experience as a criterion for admission to MBA. It is a mid-career education for them,“ he said.