The boom in the MBA sector has escalated to an all-time high worldwide. With every passing year, the number of smart leaders and trained management professionals churned out by business schools is witnessing an upward trend. "MBA, as an area of study valued by employers, is showing more strength than ever with hiring of new graduates projected to rise for the third year in a row," said Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC president and CEO in an interview with a leading daily.
Employer’s demand for recent business school graduates will increase in 2015, as 84% 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 by GMAC.
A company’s growth is now said to be directly proportional to the number of skilled and trained management professionals that are associated with the company as opposed to a few years ago, when businesses used to hire only specialized graduates for a particular role.
The continuously changing market has also urged the MBA sector to undergo a facelift. MBA in India has now broadened its horizon and is not just a hub for engineers to enhance their skills. The management domain is an evolved one and has various specializations to offer across various sectors. “The trend of management specializations began with Retail Management and has been followed by E Commerce, Health Care, Business Design, Rural, Media etc. This shift is probably due to the organizations in these sectors that want to hire talent with proper knowledge about the particular domain in addition to the management/leadership competencies. The shift is primarily due to heightened competition, sophistication of consumer/buyer/customer habits and lifestyles, etc. This is a great step and should benefit both the recruiter and the recruited,” says Prof Vijayan Pankajakshan, Dean of Human Resources Academics & Industry Interface, (Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai).
While MBA education in India is climbing the ladder at a very fast pace, there are ample cracks that need to be mended to meet the increasing demands of the future management graduates. There are various specializations that the management schools have already started offering, yet there are various sectors that still need to be capped.
“Other new spaces that have emerged/are emerging include Luxury Goods, Aviation, Education and Energy. But just as employers demand more specialized graduate hires, the students are going to demand a broader range of specializations to choose from. According to MBA recruiters from major companies, likely areas of demand will be Human Resource Management, Project & Programme Management and Marketing. Another specialization that is also becoming popular globally is Supply Chain Management. (Quote: Worldwide: US Bureau of Labour Statistics: There will be a 26 per cent increase in logistics roles by 2020),” adds Prof Pankajakshan.
Since 2011, India has been vying with the USA to be the largest MBA job market and there is no sign of this trend abating with growth forecast at 8% for 2015.
Management degrees are selling like hot cakes and there are various reasons why it is the reigning course in India. Even school kids have their eyes set on management as a career option and it has clearly reserved a spot for itself in their wish list. Students with varied backgrounds are coming together to learn the basics of ruling the corporate world as business leaders. Let us dig out the answer to the golden question of the corporate world- ‘Why MBA?’
Career Enhancement
An MBA degree proves to be a great booster in your career graph. It not only enhances your skillset, but it strengthens your position in the competitive corporate world as well. An MBA degree not only brings you in line with the latest market practices but also helps you escalate your career graph. People who feel that their career has become stagnant also turn to a management degree for further growth. A change in the field of specialization is also possible once a candidate earns a management tag. It has been observed that post the completion of the degree candidates have a good growth both professionally and financially.
According to a global study by GMAC, a majority of graduates agree that their education improved their chances of finding a job that met their expectations (86%), gave them a competitive advantage in the job market (85%), and prepared them to meet the challenges of today’s job market (85%). Most graduates also agree their graduate management education gave them control over their employment outcomes (82%) and exposed them to new career opportunities (78%).
Overall Development
A candidate goes through a 360 degree change once enrolled into a management programme. The programme offers just the right environment needed to develop leadership and management skills in an individual. Management candidates have experienced personal, professional and financial development in themselves post completion of their programme. The development proves to be a complete package of corporate exposure and theoretical knowledge.
Skill development is an important aspect of management programmes. These days, institutes use a mix of lectures, discussions, case studies, experiential teaching and team projects to inculcate the skills needed in the corporate world.
Specialization
Gone are the days when majority of candidates opting for a management degree were engineers. MBA has now broadened its horizon and is now reaching out to all the sectors. Candidates with interest in a specific field can now opt for the programme of their preference. The Indian market has undergone a number of changes and the management institutes in India are striving hard to cope with them.
Employers are now looking to hire specialized candidates for a specific role which in turn has led to the candidates demanding specialized MBA degrees for a smooth career growth. Thus, institutes are making efforts to provide specific specializations/courses in accordance with the industry requirements. Few of the most upcoming specializations are those in Retail, E-commerce, Healthcare, Business Design, Rural Development and Media.
“When companies express a focus on growth, it appears they return to MBA hiring.” Chowfla said, in a press release.
Demand is High
The demand for management professionals has been on the rise and this is the third year in a row which has a projected an upward shift in the overall MBA hiring worldwide. A company’s growth is now said to be on the shoulders of management professionals from esteemed organizations. The business of India is expected to rise in the years to come and hence, the industry is seeking well trained professionals who can make profit for organizations.
As per the Corporate Recruiters Survey, it is not just the MBA hiring which is going to enjoy a bright summer but also the packages being offered to candidates. Globally, more than half of employers will increase starting salaries for new MBA hires in 2015, either at the rate of inflation (30% of companies) or higher (21%).
International Exposure
Candidates who prefer a global workspace also opt for a degree in management. The overall experience in the MBA field is said to be one that exposes the candidates to an international environment. To cope with the rising urge in the market to be able to work in a universal domain, MBA institutes across the country have started offering courses in partnership with reputed universities abroad. This helps the candidates gain an insight into the working conditions and challenges faced in India v/s those faced abroad. This helps them gain better insights, skills and knowledge about a wider space, which ultimately equips them with expertise to work with a global outlook.
“Initiatives are being taken for some students to help them complete part of their MBA degree in a partner overseas institution of repute, with a foreign student from the latter completing a subject(s) in the Indian institution. Multiple locations will become increasingly common as employers seek graduates with a more international/global outlook. This is already becoming more prevalent with the rise of an EMBA delivered across multiple geographic locations joining full-time MBA programmes that are spread across several countries – such as the Mannheim MBA where modules can be taken in Germany, UK, Spain, France, China and India,” says Prof Pankajakshan.
Flexibility in the Curriculum
India is a developing market with immense potential to be the market leader in the times to come. There are a number of changes that the Indian market is undergoing constantly, thus the professionals are keen to update themselves with the latest techniques and knowledge for which MBA seems like the wisest option. Management sector offers programmes as per the requirements of such professionals.
While we do have two year full-fledged MBA programmes, we also have one year PGDM courses, distance learning courses, online courses and executive programmes, depending on the need, requirements and aim of the professionals seeking an MBA degree. The flexibility of the courses has been appreciated worldwide and is one of the reasons for the increasing applications of MBA globally.
MBA programmes remain the predominant programme type that prospective business school students considered in 2014: 52% of candidates considered only MBA programmes, compared with 22% who considered only specialized business master’s programmes. 26% of candidates considered both programme types.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the new rage in town. Every day, a new start-up makes it to the headlines with their own story of receiving a funding from potential investors. India is said to be a raw market and has a lot of potential and opportunities for entrepreneurs to lay their hands on. “My heuristics suggest that the reason for this trend, this exodus of students from the promising final placement sessions of their B-schools, is the hunger for innovation. This is fuelled by the various possibilities, resources and the upcoming technologies,” says Satya Narayanan, an Alumnus of IIM Bangalore and founder Career Launcher.
We are living in the 21st century and the young minds are a creative, risk-taking and innovative lot. They are a reservoir of ideas but at times need polishing to become a corporate leader. They turn to MBA programmes to acquire the required skill set. All the good MBA institutes have added entrepreneurship as a specialization, adhering to the demands of the candidates. The ideas are raw and need proper research, structuring and vision that are provided by an MBA degree. Initially, an entrepreneur used to ride on the idea and the vision, now times have changed. There is a lot of competition and the consumer demands have also undergone a change, an MBA programme trains and prepares the candidate to meet the challenges that are floating in the market for start-ups.
Good returns
An MBA degree from a good management institute is a great value addition to the candidate. It just boosts one’s pay package and opens new domains for work opportunities. Usually, an MBA turns out to be a great milestone for the professional growth of a person.
As per the GMAC survey, one of the main reasons individuals pursue graduate management education is to increase their salary potential. More than half (57%) of job- seeking business school graduates view the total compensation package offered as the top attribute they seek in future employment opportunities.
Management continues to rule the race when it comes to career choices. The changing industry has generated a plethora of opportunities for management graduates. This in-turn is leading to burgeoning job opportunities in the management sector. With the projected growth of the MBA sector, it is only fair to say that MBA is in its golden phase, with more job opportunities and better packages. The management institutes have also evolved to a great extent and are offering a better course structure, better course options, better mediums to pursue the course and better placement opportunities. Gauging the market trends we can assure that investing a career in management would promise you with a great and secure future.
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