What happens Behind that Wall...Part 2

I would start from where I left off in the last post where I mentioned about Operation courses. The topics covered in operations' subjects include solving network and flow problems which are not very uncommon in the logical reasoning section of written tests. These could be asked in written tests because no specific knowledge is required and pure logic would solve the purpose. So now you would fairly agree that there is some logic which governs what is asked in the written examination.

I haven't talked so far about the verbal section of written examination because its not governed by any specific subject or area. Different exams tests students on different type of questions but the common type in all sorts of tests is the reading comprehension section which I think is probably the most important thing required during and after MBA. The whole course is designed to be completed in just two years whereas the subjects covered make a big list. Thus one is required to read a lot of stuff including academic/theoretical things. I have separated out academic stuff just to specify that the other portion reading includes lot of cases which by their nature are not theoretical but still pose a challenge. Comprehension is tested in a big way here as on an average cases are longer than 20 pages and contain lots and lots of information much of which is not required most of the times. Therefore one needs to comprehend what is required and what is not, which I think is tested in RC's of exams. I think many people would agree that of late the questions other than RC's have focused on checking logic and comprehension, at least CAT has moved in that direction. By now I have discussed correlation between written exam and what happens in and after MBA.

Time to discuss about the second stage i.e. GD and PI. Well PI is something which is required to know the person and hence a way to judge whether the aspirant is actually ready to take on the challenges ahead. PI is probably more justifiable as compared to the GD's especially considering the chaos we generally create in a GD. I used to and I still hate GD's because they have been one of my weak areas and I have found many people who feel the same way just because results of that 20-120 min discussions are many times pretty arbitrary. However theoretically speaking GD's do test a important thing which is how one behaves in group. Testing this is important because one has to work in teams in the corporate world and that's precisely the reason during MBA their are plenty of group tasks to be done. So a group is situation is simply unavoidable in this field and that's why GD or GT make sense however the chaos created by desperation for a seat always leave a bad taste.

Whole selection process thus have some reason behind it. One more thing which is necessary to be told here is that the fact all my professors rate us highly but at the same time they expect a lot from us. Here at IIM's they believe we belong to the 'cream' of country so expect quick as well as thorough analysis. This belief is also one of the reason that duration of program is short. So subjects are taught pretty rapidly to cover maximum possible things.

I mentioned about the subjects belonging to the three core areas but there are many other which are equally relevant. Organization Behaviour is the subject which deals with aspects like organization structure, team behaviour, individual's behaviour, factors which motivate people etc. I find these subjects pretty interesting as I am able to relate most of the things with my work experience. Many things are sort of obvious in this subject but there are many things which we perceive in completely wrong way so its knowledge is a plus point. OB is followed by Human Resource Management which I expected will cover only behavioral aspects but it turned out to be pretty deep. It had decent level of mathematical application and lot of business logic. All in all, OB and HRM add a different flavor to the MBA education.

Another very interesting subject is Information Tech & Sys. We all know how IT has impacted our lives. IT is also not only an area which absorbs majority of engineering graduates but also a major recruiter in B-schools. These facts make it imperative to have ITS as subject. The subjects introduces us to SaaS (Software as a service), Open Source, Business modelling etc. This is perhaps the subject which shows us the true capability of a MS Excel, a tool which all of us know far less than its full potential.

Any firm can be affected by internal or external factors. For better understanding of all these factors we are taught Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. As the name suggests microeco discusses things related to internal factors i.e. things which firm can fully control and macroeco discusses things related to external factors. Understanding of Government actions/policies can be gained through macroeco. Another subject which is liked by many here is Indian Legal System as it introduces to Corporate Law, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Consumer Court etc. No one can run a business while neglecting the legal aspects, so it is not only interesting but essential to know the legal framework.

Another important thing to know here is that the structure and topics of each subject is updated regularly. Its not like what I experienced in my engineering i.e. outdated topics or things which are not at all used in practical world. Each professor put in lot of effort to keep things updated and try to relate things with recent happenings

In sum, MBA education is very interesting and is worth giving a try! Although B-schools are mainly considered 'placement agencies' they do have some relevant things going on the other side those walls.