We have seen the business and corporate world change in the last couple of years. Unlike our parents, who worked their entire lives for one organisation following the same 9 – 5 routine, year after year, we are not at all interested in spending half our lives doing the same. We are a more dynamic lot, want more, discover more & want to experiment more.

And going by the prevalent trend over the last few years, management education has been the top choice of most students & working professionals. Abiding by the rules of evolution, management trends have shifted over time. While general MBA, MBA in HR, MBA in Marketing & Communication were some of the top choices in the nascent years of management study, the trend seems to be changing now. Management Industry has encountered major changes over the past few decades, which aim for a positive growth of the sector. The herd mentality of MBA is giving way to a more innovative and analytical bend of mind, which is amorous for non-Commerce streams as well. Strong research forms the basis of going ahead with an MBA degree.

MBA continues to be in the wish list of the major section of the society but the approach towards the course has undergone affluent changes. From being just ‘a degree’ to ‘the degree’, MBA has found loyalists across all streams. It is no wonder that engineers, bank executives & accountants alike see merit in accentuating their education with an MBA and seal it as their future. 

Let us throw some light on the areas which have witnessed a switch in the MBA sector:

CAT Paper Pattern

CAT is the main gateway for MBA aspirants to enter into the management programmes. Other important MBA entrance exams include – CMAT, XAT, MAT, IBSAT, GMAT etc. The paper pattern for CAT has undergone a number of changes since its inception, sometimes big and sometimes small. CAT 2013 and CAT 2014 have a long list of differences due to the modifications made in the entire procedure for the common aptitude test 2014. To bring more clarity we bring to you the list of new things CAT 2014 aspirants are going to witness:

• The purchase of offline vouchers has been discontinued from this year and the candidates have to make the payment of registration fee through online modes only by credit card, debit card or through net banking.
• The test window has been reduced from 40 slots to four slots spread over a period of two days.
• The candidates have no option to select the dates. The dates will be allotted by the CAT centre on a random basis
• Students have another month to prepare, as CAT 2014 is scheduled for November instead of October.
• 54 new cities for CAT have been added which sums up to a total of 99 cities where CAT will be conducted this year.
• There has been an increase in the number of questions from 60- 100
• The addition of questions has, in turn, increased the time slot of the exam from 140 minutes to 170 minutes.
• Time per question has been reduced from 140 seconds to 102 seconds.
• A time limit on the sections is no longer applicable. The test will have two sections: Section I comprising Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation and Section II comprising Reading Comprehension, Verbal Logic, English Usage and Logical Reasoning.
• A tutorial to understand the format of the examination will not be available before the start of the examination. Candidates are advised to do the tutorials, from the website well in advance.

The Approach

The most evident alteration that MBA has gone through is in the way people approach it. With an ocean of options, students are not ready to dive in without weighing the pros and cons of every alternative. It not just about the label anymore; the B-school you pass out from has immense value in the job market today. Degree aside, the focus has now shifted to procuring an MBA from a Tier I or Tier II institute. As companies get choosier in selecting candidates at the time of placements, the takers for private institutions, which don’t have promising future prospects have gone down. This has resulted in a more focussed and skilled lot graduating from management schools.  

Focus on Industry Experience

Schools offering MBA programmes are bringing about changes in accordance with the demand of the job market. Some universities / colleges have a mandatory clause of minimum of two years work experience. This is in your interest, once you have tasted what the corporate world brings to your table, it becomes easy for you to digest the basics of the programme. Industry experience exposes you to the market and hence makes your understanding a lot easier.

It is also observed that MBA graduates are at an upper hand when it comes down to the college placements. Students with relevant experience are offered a package much higher in comparison to the fresh meat in the industry.

This practice is also catching up due to the expenses of the MBA programmes. Students wish to take up a job which enables them to save for their further studies. They also experience a jump in the pay package if they go for an MBA post the industry experience. Hence your ROI is at an all time high.

Age Bracket

As more and more people are realizing the advantages of MBA, the age bracket for MBA is becoming wider. Gone are the days when fresh graduates aged between 20 – 24 years of age looked at MBA as a PG option. Today top management like the Presidents, Vice- Presidents, CFOs & Managing Directors are opting for MBA to enhance their careers. Even if you are looking at setting up your own company or business, investors will look at your educational qualification before agreeing to give you their moolah! And why not? After all, industry development has skyrocketed & the knowledge of the latest skills, techniques and tools is of paramount importance to be successful. 

Job Market

The erstwhile mushrooming digital industry is at an all time high right now and the demand for potential managers is at its peak. As such, MBA/ PGDM courses are now focussing on the online platform and integrating modules covering these aspects. Most of the B-schools have now launched programmes for digital marketing, social media management, SEO optimization and a few other courses pertaining to the online media. Hence, the fresh lot of management professionals, who are well trained with the current trends are being served to the companies hungry for digital management experts.

In the years to come, the major players in the job market would be companies from the IT sector, Consulting Agencies, E- Commerce giants, Media Agencies and the Software companies. NGOs are also being viewed as a promising industry for MBA graduates to look at. The pay packages for MBA graduates are also escalating to new heights. The job market is just calling you to dive in to it.

It is raining placements in the management institutes this year, and will continue to grow further. The placement record for B- Schools has also gone up this year reflecting the improvement in the job market of the management industry.

 “The IT companies have showed good response despite the fact that the overall market scenario is not good. We are hoping to see new records in terms of placements,” said Janat Shah, director, IIM-Udaipur in an interview with a reputed news agency

Courses

To adapt to changes is the key for survival today, and the MBA sector has revamped itself and has a new array of courses to offer to students. Other than the mainstream options like Finance, Operations, HR and Marketing, the MBA industry is now offering specializations segmented as per your career preference. One such example is the E-Commerce sector. MBA/ PGDM programmes are also being offered to cater to needs in the automobile, telecom, marine, banking, the dot.com, media and advertising sectors.

A positive shift has also been witnessed for the automobile industry, telecom sector, marine industry, banking, the dot.com sector, media and advertising. 

Executive MBA- The next big thing!

Increase in your brand value, easy schedule of the course, increased focus on the industry experience, huge jump in the pay packages are some of the reasons for the increase in demand of Executive MBA. An Executive MBA (with a substantial work experience) is your ticket to walk the red carpet and bag roles as coveted as Vice President, Heads of business verticals and CFO’s. And probably, that is why there has been a surge in the number of takers for this course.

Devendra Dwarkanath Kale, 29, joined IIM Ahmedabad's PGPX programme (a full time residential programme for executives with substantial work experience leading to a One Year Post-Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives) in 2011 and graduated in March 2012. In an interview with a business daily, gave out insights on the impact of the PGPX programme on his career. He compared the average post-MBA salary for the past two years, with his own pre-MBA remuneration in cost-to-company (CTC) terms, and then considered his own investment. "I didn't want the payback period to exceed three years," said Kale. "The programme also helped me penetrate the consulting industry, which I was eagerly looking to do. Package-wise, I saw close to a 100 per cent increase in CTC."

MBA Abroad

There is always a certain chunk of people who aspire to get their MBA degrees from abroad.

The most probable causes for this include industry exposure, placements, pay packages  and the urge to settle abroad. . Studying abroad is a pretty expensive affair, however, MBA aspirants today are willing to take that risk. Most B-schools in India have some or the other affiliation or exchange programmes with a foreign university for global exposure. In our opinion, this is a good deal and studying MBA in a foreign country is not all that necessary.

Then again there are colleges with international campuses like SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, with global campuses in Singapore, Dubai etc. Of course, the admission pattern will be different from that of India. In this case particularly, aspirants are required to take the SP JAT, which is a different exam conducted for admission to global campuses only. Another exam that students can take is the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) to apply to foreign universities.

MBA via Distance Learning

If you are short of time virtue or your time or cannot afford a full time MBA/ PGDM programme, then Distance Learning MBA is a good option. True, the ROI will not be at par with the regular MBA programmes, but you will definitely see a hike.

 Usually spread out over six months to one/ two years, these programmes are a great option for working professionals, who feel the need to update their skills.  Albeit a second option, big institutes spread across the globe have included these programmes as a part of their curriculum because of the consistent demand for this course. 

Online MBA programmes

Another suitable option for MBA aspirants is the Online MBA curriculum. This works perfectly for corporate workers and students who have their hands otherwise full.

E - Commerce is ruling the sales market in India and the demand from companies like Amazon, Groupon, Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong etc for qualified personals is also on the rise.

Digitalization is not just limited to new course options but it is the way forward in the execution of these courses. Online lectures from foreign universities are the basis for the online collaboration with universities abroad. There are also online courses that have been launched for working professionals, which, though a relatively a new concept, is fast gaining momentum.

The changes in MBA are in tandem with the cumulative factors affecting this sector in terms of education & career. Efforts are being made by Indian B-schools to come at par with the foreign market and global standards and emerge as a leader in management education churning out a shining future for management professionals. 

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