How to Choose an MBA Education which is more Employable
Posted by: Mr. Joby T H | Digital Future
MBA – A sought after Program
In the last decade, MBA was the most sought after Post Graduate degree for it offered bright career prospects. True to its nature, It is still very much a sought after Post Graduate Education. As an INFLUENCING Program, MBA attracts not only those who are interested in business but also those who want to master tools of Management.
Unemployment or Underemployment Crisis
Over the last few years, we could observe that there are numerous MBA graduates who end up with a meagre salary package. Most of the time, unemployment or underemployment prevails.
Last year, an ASSOCHAM study1 stated that only 7% of MBA graduates from the B schools of India get into the core jobs after completing their Program.
Skill assessment of the final year MBA students revealed that students had scored only 23% on an average across all the business schools. Therefore it can be inferred that students don’t develop their management skills adequately to meaningful contribution to the industry.
Industry fraternity do feel that the students who come out of the Program do not have the skills that are required in their company.
Reason – Quality Education
Failure of the Graduates coming out of B school is due to the nature of management education itself. The curriculum is only focussed on granting degree and not on inculcating the necessary skills that are most sought after in the digital era.
A Global survey2 has found that 86 percent out of 11, 617 prospective students prefer an MBA Program overseas, as they find the quality of education to be superior to local institutions.
The lack of updated curriculum, Quality infrastructure, Faculty up-gradation and the low paid jobs through campus placements are the major reasons for India’s B-school disaster.
This sort of education in B-schools tends to produce MBA graduates who lack critical thinking skills, professional values, leadership qualities and a vision which are the most required qualities of a manager in the real world of business.
Our culture of competition in education is also a reason to be blamed. The former Union minister of state for Human resources Shri Shashi Tharoor stated “I believe that our educational system is over – regulated and under governed” We need to focus on an environment where the youth can speak their views and look up with confidence for creative ideas and ground-breaking innovations.
Healthy Curriculum and Quality
The curriculum is only focussed on to a single goal of creating an ROI for the institutions and not on creating or inculcating the necessary skills in the managerial candidate that is most sought after in the digital era. The MBA curriculum is to be blamed for not creating the world’s best managers. The MBA grads cannot be assessed for their professional standards and outcomes.
What makes mba graduates employable
with their mere theoretical knowledge and the practical training imparted to them during their course of study. The students are spending most of their time in college proving their academic performance, most of their significant time in researching about their future employments rather than getting the real time managerial experience.
The employment prospects for the Indian business students have dropped. MBA grads are spending lakhs of rupees on their education, but earn a meagre sum of amount ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 rupees per month after their graduation.
The undergraduates searching for a particular college to pursue their MBA education should look into the curriculum of the college before they get in. They should also be able to gain an insight of what are the specialisations most sought after in the job market. Choosing the right specialisation along with updated and skill oriented curriculum having a real time experience may pave way for a student to get into the required core placements.
Digital Skill for certain employability
The undergraduates should develop the ability to navigate the increasing complexities of a global environment and seek new opportunities. In this digital era, the MBA seeker should take up Programs like Business Analytics and Digital marketing for which the industry today are giving priority. They should be able to assess whether the college which offers these Program provide developmental and professional experience through analytical and problem solving case studies and real time projects.
Finance courses associated with investment banking, security firms, and corporate finance is always the most preferred specialisation because of its huge opportunities. These courses today need to be incorporated with skills on operating excel and to a certain extent on financial analytics.
Logistics ends up with the next preferred specialisation while human resources and Marketing follows. Continuing with its rapid acceptance, along with Business Analytics, Digital marketing, e-commerce has dethroned other usual specialisations. These three specialisations empower an MBA graduate to take the necessary risk to prosper in digital career.
To conclude, if the B Schools offering these Program have a contemporary approach as per the industry needs, the Graduates coming out of these Programs can operate as young entrepreneurs in the near future.