India is rocking and so is its business scene. An unprecedented growth rate of the economy, growing entry of MNCs in India, rising mergers and acquisitions by Indian companies abroad and the fabulous growth recorded by the service sector are all set to transform the business management scene in India in just a few years from now. “Managing in India is thus poised to become truly global-oriented and the managers will have to become adept in operating at global scale across multiple geographies, leading cross-cultural teams, redefining global standards and benchmarks and building global Indian brands. The premium will be enjoyed by those who will have acumen and capacity of dealing with uncertainty and unpredictability, and the ability to adapt their proven business models to other emerging economies successfully”, said J D Singh, director, Jaipuria Institute of Management.

Business management qualifications vis-à-vis Indian industry requirements

PGDM as compared to other graduate level technical courses is far more comprehensive to build a holistic personality that is analytical, creative and result oriented. They also become much sought after due to their vast exposure to the real world of business through live projects, industry internship, case studies, interactions with business leaders, cross cultural learning through exchange programmes and of course the rigor of classroom learning.

Talking about the difference between the concept of MBA and PGDM in India, Singh said: “It is not really a question of any difference in the concept between MBA and PGDM. Both relate to imparting as well as equipping students with the knowledge, skills and attitude to successfully manage organisations, be it business or not-for-profit businesses”, said Singh. The universities both in India and elsewhere confer an MBA degree, while PGDM is awarded by autonomous B-schools in India. It is the quality of learning that that makes up for the advantage. Singh explained, “There are a few Indian Universities which produce outstanding MBAs much better than many autonomous PGDMs, while there are excellent PGDMs starting from the IIMs and their likes who deserve all the credit to what Indian management graduates mean today in India and abroad. On balance, PGDM carries an edge and is a synonym of superior quality of management education in India.”

Agreed Sivaramakrishnan Kalyanaraman, VP- Global HR, Intelligroup Asia Pvt. Ltd and said: “Most of the top institutes have put in a mechanism in place which ensures that the curriculum takes practical cases into account and teaches concepts which are new and in line with the requirements of the market place. For the industry, it does not matter whether the person is a PGDM or MBA as long as the curriculum and the quality of students are above par. It so happens that the best students go to the top institutes like IIMS and hence it might appear that the industry prefers PGDM.”
Growth areas in the field

According to Kalyanaraman, “Leadership, Organisational Behaviour and other people related studies are emerging as the key areas of management. Today’s corporates need leaders who have a combination of technical, accounting and people management skills.”

In terms of growing areas, services sector management is considered to be the next frontier of growth. The sector not only carries the potential of a million jobs but also immense opportunities for entrepreneurs and wealth creators. “Aspirants focusing on some of the following areas will carry an edge in terms of placement as well as faster rise to the top. Some of these areas include: banking, financial services and insurance; retailing and merchandising including mall management; management of IT/ ITES (KPO) organisations; health care and hospital management; hospitality and tourism management; real estate, infrastructure and construction management; management of education and training institutions; management of rural development institutions; and management of NGOs. Among the traditional areas of business greater focus will be needed to study specialised courses on mergers and acquisitions; turnaround management; management of Indian MNCs; cross cultural management; and environmental management with business orientation, to mention a few. These growth areas need the creation of a new body of literature and development of new pedagogical tools for their dissemination”, said Singh.

Pallavee Dhaundiyal-Panthry