Evolution of Management Education

The origin of management as quite a new discipline can be traced back in the 20th century. The management courses developed from the accounting and book-keeping courses were introduced in the US as the country lost its frontier image and began to industrialize. It was modeled on the standard American two-year postgraduate academic programme and most students enrolled in right after taking their first degree. This model won rapid acceptance and spread quickly.

In 1908, the Graduate School of Business Administration (GSBA) at Harvard University was established; it offered the world’s first MBA program. The lead was then followed by the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business, Thunderbird School of Global Management and so on. But a report in 1959 by Carnegie Foundation shook their foundation by stating that business education has changed little since its inception in 1931 and added that the business schools have failed to identify and establish a genuine discipline characterized by its own body of subject matter, theoretical problems and research methodology.

Subsequent to this report, there were attempt to review the management education. As a result, professional accrediting association of business and management education, American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business looked into the concerns. Management education thereafter showed continuous improvement and grew rapidly.

Business schools responded rapidly, raising both their admissions and teaching standards and establishing the now well-known American emphasis on academic research. The overall effect was the creation of the classic American MBA model: a first year of required core courses to provide grounding in the basics of management and a second year of electives to allow specialization or deeper study.

But Again in 1980’s American higher education of business was condemned for being ill-equipped to develop appropriate policies and creative consensus based organizations. Thus in year 1982, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) came up with a study that recommended that:

• Management Schools should provide an education that combines both generalist and specialist components
• Management Education should be more holistic in character. It needs to be more integrated-incorporating functional, quantitative and analytical fields including the humanities and sciences-to educate the “whole” manager to meet the responsibilities and challenges of the future.
•Management education should aim to develop future managers with portfolio of capabilities.
•Management education should teach more effective environmental scanning and analysis which is particularly important for domestic and international business.
•Management courses should strive to develop experiential courses in creativity and managerial innovation.
Such global challenges exerted pressure on management schools to change.

At the same time, interest in management education was growing in Europe, especially in UK, which was looking for an antidote to its economic and industrial decline relative to its major world-trading partners. The business schools of UK emphasized on importance of trainings and even regarded it as a strategic weapon. Thus management education and management practices started converging. It was clear that management development needed to create a portfolio of learning through use of varied pedagogical approaches.

The history of management education in India, dates back to 1960’s when the foundations of the first Indian Institute of Management (IIM) were laid. With the changing dynamics of the business environment, indigenous industry realized the need for employees having formal education packaged with experience of real life case studies.

Thus on a whole, business schools are bringing together various bundles of experiences, situations and contexts including cultural sensitivities to bring managerial education closer to the practice of management.

Traditonal MBA or Contemporary PG Programs

Young professionals and recent college graduates who wish to advance their careers often look upon Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree as a means to achieve their professional goals. While there are exceptions, MBA programs are generally two-year commitments that may instill training and knowledge in specific fields (information technology, finance, etc.) as well as management skills that require soft and intangible skill sets.

This approach attempts to enhance managerial skills with the aim of progressing the professional’s career, which comes with added responsibilities, expectations and a larger scope of assignment. In other words, it is more time and money intensive.

It is possible, however, to attain higher levels of responsibility and visibility within your organization by pursuing an advanced degree in management that is not an MBA. The academic universe offers a variety of programs that are tailored to individual goals and circumstances. An MBA program generally emphasizes a case study approach as it develops and molds future business leaders out of class participants possessing varied educational backgrounds, work experiences, career goals, and skill levels. An MBA is considered as ‘one-size fits’ kind of product, instilling just enough functional knowledge (in management, banking, finance, etc.) while equipping and molding students with business skills that may be utilized in a whole host of future situations and settings. While there is a whole gamut of career options that unfold before a person seeking specialization that is more research-intensive, academic program.

Should a professional decide to become a specialist in his or her field and work on cutting-edge issues or advances, he/she should pursue post graduate management courses for one-year from reputed institutes that strictly provide high quality academic training and relevant work experience. He/she can also resume on the job much earlier than a MBA degree holder, and expect a faster growth, promotion or switch career to his/her desired areas if required. Also, it would prove advantageous to the industry and the corporate sector to absorb people with such specialized knowledge into their firms.

The institutes that may offer a student with much needed specializations are:

1. Indian School of Business (ISB)
2. Great Lakes Institute of Management
3. S.P. Jain Institute of Management & research
4. Sambodhi research & Management Institute

Why Sambodhi Institute?

The idea of Sambodhi Research & Management Institute in New Delhi was conceived by Sambodhi Research & Communications Pvt. Ltd in 2005 with a vision to take management education to next level. At Sambodhi, we transform intelligent, inquisitive, industrious young minds into successful corporate leaders.

Sambodhi offers full time post graduate courses, Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM) and Post graduate Program in Financial Services (PGPFS) which are academically at par with 1 year MBA offered by European Universities. These courses give an excellent opportunity to students to get exposed to western business academia and methods.

Unlike other management institutes Sambodhi Institute provides management programs which focus on imparting basic management education along with the trainings. It aims to equip those skills in students which help them confront contemporary business problems in different environments, and develop sound business acumen for decision making. These programs are designed with a view to offer an intensive learning curriculum in combination with hands-on training in industrial setting. Sambodhi’s distinctive and flexible study format enables students to choose their desired subjects of specialization suiting their interests and profiles.

We at Sambodhi believe that a mix of concepts, cases, exercises as well as simulations for themes such as business strategy, market planning, business negotiation, leadership, business ethics and team work are most required in current scenario. Thus we have formulated our courseware keeping the contemporary business issues and problems in mind.

We understand the concerns of people with limited resources and means, yet unfathomable desire to seek and excel. Thus we are offering our courses at a nominal fee of Rs. 97000 which would not just give one much higher returns on investment, but also help one excel in his/her career.

Sambodhi Institute does not just provides job, it provides career and creates visionaries of future!!!

European Model of Education

There is a stark difference in the way European business schools and US business schools look at management education.

European management courses are the order of the day and are highly valued for comprehensive and compressed strategies. It propels the career of students in right direction by saving their time and giving much higher returns on investment. Unlike US methodology of management education, it adopts fast track system and completes the course in almost a year. It instills such skills in students, which helps them compete in today’s global marketplace and lead as visionaries of future.

European pattern of education gives added advantage to people with work experience, though it does not at all mean that it does not cover fundamentals of management.

The pedagogy for European model is characterized by interaction with corporate leaders and industry veterans which gives more real life knowledge to students while US model focuses more on case studies.

Total cost of investment in any US university pose a big challenge before any student aspiring for managerial education. Thus, Sambodhi Institute has thereby come up with one year management program rather than a usual two year program.

Placements After Sambodhi

As an aspirant of managerial education one must look at what an institute or business school is offering in terms of faculties and facilities, the placement would be assured. Students of Sambodhi Institute are taught to surpass the expectations of the recruiters and bring forth their diverse skill set that makes them an asset to any organization that they choose to join.

The programmes offers unique opportunities to fresh graduates and experiences professionals who want to enter the fast growing arena of management and finance.

The focus of Sambodhi’s counseling centre is to prepare the students thoroughly for the tough corporate world ahead. It aims not only to bring aboard the best recruiters but also on identifying individual strengths and talents. It assures of placements only after getting assured of the students dedication and commitment.

Sambodhi does not look for short term placements of its students, it seeks career for them. Along with placement, it helps one in following ways:-

• Introduces students to all functional areas of management
• Increases corporate awareness
• Develops leadership skills
• Gives them much needed practical exposure
• Increases their technical knowledge along with good PR skills.

Sambodhi is renowned for providing assured placements to its students at top managerial positions and at best workplaces in India. It includes Water Aid India, Aga Khan Foundation, ICICI, Care India, Hope Foundation, etc.

Autonomous Business Schools

An MBA provides a modern manager with the tools and skills necessary to identify new opportunities for organizational success. MBA programs are designed to make one aware of different approaches that have traditionally helped in managing organizations. It provides a person with the ability to understand the nuances of business and the dynamics involved in managing it. An MBA is useful for anyone who wants to give direction to his or her career.

MBA has thus become the most sought-after qualification in India. All aspirants dream and view them in top 20 B-schools in India. There are more than 1800 B-schools in the country. So, which B-school should you join? This is the toughest question for any MBA aspirant.

The B-schools in our country can be segmented into three categories: AICTE approved B-schools, University B-schools run by State or Private Sector Universities and Autonomous B-schools. Some institutions do not seek AICTE approval or any affiliation with any university by choice. Many of these B-schools have broken the myths related to AICTE approval and have becoming globally recognized B-schools. These are known as autonomous B-Schools. One has to understand that not all students can join the IIM’S or crack the CAT to get into top business schools in India. So one should not get disappointed and loose hope. Many students plan to drop a year or go for jobs that does not at all give them relevant knowledge and infact makes them digress from their career goals.

But there many autonomous business schools that provide the same competencies to students that any other good business school would. The doors are also now open for admissions to the private universities and autonomous business schools or institutions. One can think at the present juncture of joining the autonomous business schools this year as the final stage of admissions process is currently on. For these you have to start checking right now for their entrance exams. Many autonomous business schools also accept CAT, MAT, XAT or any other related scores for their admission process.

Many leading autonomous institutions like S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) and Sambodhi Research & Management Institution (SRMI) are the torch bearers for all aspirants of managerial positions.

Enrolling into MBA

Before Enrolling into an MBA Degree

MBA is one of the most common career choices amongst the youth in India. This is purely because of the benefits that the course offers. An MBA can surely help individuals who want to move up in their respective careers. One can extensively search the internet for loads of information available on different MBA colleges in India. Thanks to globalization and liberalization, education in India especially MBA is gaining great momentum. With the growing needs of the industry for world class managers, the institutes offering MBAs has also gone up in the last few years. There are over thousand recognized institutes offering MBA in India. But before investing your precious time and money, consider these factors and make an informed choice.

1. Is An MBA Degree Program Right For You?

You should firstly decide if an MBA degree program is the right choice for you? You should thoroughly analyze your strengths, work experience and career goals before enrolling into a MBA degree program. Some of the online MBA websites also have a career self-assessment section. Browse through this section and determine if an MBA degree is what you are looking for. Do not just go after the fancy of being a manger just after completion of the course. It requires much needed hard work, smart work and perseverance.

2. Are you able to manage the expenses?

An MBA degree program is relatively expensive compared to other graduate programs. You should analyze your finances to find out if you can afford the course as well as the personal expenses, as you would not be working for the time being. Conduct research to find out the available financing options which might help you. It is better that you contact your bank to inquire about the educational loans. Some of the MBA schools also offer educational credit to the interested candidates. Also look for scholarships criteria offered by some institutes.

3. Will you actually get placed after the degree?

In the recent years, there has been quite a massive increase in the salary paid to people indulging in MBA jobs in India. The one and only reason has been the coming of many multinational companies for their recruitments in India. There have also been quite a large number of MBAs being triumphant in the job market abroad. But beware, most institutes offers 100% placement assistance initially, but look if they can guarantee you in written about the placements. Look for institute or business schools previous placement records and the salary that they offer. ­­­­­