Tips for MBA Students to Make Themselves More Employable

A simple graduation was all that it took to get employed in the 80’s.With growing competition and the rise for skilled talent, that bar was raised to an engineering degree in the 90’s.

Until recently, it was the MBA that was doing the popularity rounds. But with the dawn of the new millennium, even the reputed MBA (with exceptions of those from the pedigreed institutions) seems to be falling short in providing employment to the fresh graduates.


Also Read : How to Get Internship at Google

 Just getting a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree is not enough to get your dream job in modern job market. In this time when MNCs opine that 75% of MBAs are proving nothing but just another brick of wall, they are not employable, one need to have something more than just academics to prove himself unique in crowd. Since the corporate world is too competitive, demanding and dynamic, there are other skills that you should be proficient enough to secure the job of your dreams with a handsome salary. Here are some tips that experts suggest every MBA student, in order to help him/her out to make a better career.

1) Enhance Your Soft Skills – Its Important: It is very important to enhance your communication skills, presentation skills and soft skills. For those who're not confident about their soft skills, joining a finishing school to develop your personality, body language, inter-personal and social interaction skills will be beneficial.

2) Knowledge Building: You should be updated with latest trends in your field. It is important to keep on doing courses to update your knowledge. Participate in all kinds of group activities like group case studies, simulations, industry interaction programs and inter- college level academic and extra-curricular competitions to keep yourself updated.

3) Develop Corporate Awareness – It’s Necessary : An employer is not only looking for a MBA degree but also the application orientation of the student. Students in B-school study the concepts of management in their classes but hardly understand how this knowledge can be applied in real business scenario. Thus there is a gap between theory and knowledge. To be able to bag the coveted job you must understand what business is all about and how you can contribute to the growth of any organization.

4) Develop Leadership Skills: Since you will be hired at a managerial position after completing your MBA, it is very important that you're able to manage a group of people. For that you need to develop leadership skills.

5) Learn to be a Team Player: It is very important that you can work in a team, coordinate with your colleagues, communicate with them effectively and make proper adjustments.

6) Strong Network: To be a successful professional, you must be well connected and have a strong networking with people in your field. Having a good network and being active on social networking sites will be useful for you.

7) Carefully selecting internships and placements: You must select a good/ reputed company in your field for internship as it is the only opportunity where you can exhibit your skills by translating them in performance. At the same time, you learn about a particular industry, how it functions and its operations in detail. Ensure that you select an internship in the same profile or industry you intend to work in future.

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MBA vs PGDM

The Admissions 2011 season is in full bloom. One of the key questions that is striking the minds of many management education seekers at present is: Should I join a PGDM programme or a MBA programme? The aspirants are most often in a dilemma with respect to these two terms ‘PGDM’ and ‘MBA’, as many of them have no clear idea on the exact differences between the two.
With MBA admissions over at university B-schools like JBIMS, FMS Delhi, the PGDM admissions are also getting into the final gear at present. Although the top league PGDM institutions, such as XLRI, MDI, IMT, BIMTECH, and others have announced the final list of selected candidates, the admissions are on at other B-schools across the country.
This is the peak time to apply and gain admission to a PGDM institute or another option is to start preparations for gaining admissions to university B-schools next year for pursuing MBA.
Come, lets see, how MBA is different from PGDM.

The Differences 

How are PGDM programmes different from MBA programmes?
Explaining the differences between PGDM and MBA, Fr. PT Joseph, Director, XIMB said, “PGDM programmes are Diploma programmes, which are granted by the institutions that are recognized by Government of India through the Ministry of HRD or AICTE. The MBA programmes are offered by business schools which are mandatorily affiliated to a University, usually a technical University of their respective states.”
“The PGDM programmes are offered to students under the CAT/XAT/MAT, etc entrance examinations while the students undertaking MBA are admitted mainly through the respective State Government’s Joint Entrance Examination. PGDM Programmes are more flexible and customized while MBA programmes are University run and therefore its adaptability is difficult at short notice,” added Fr. Joseph.
PGDM is autonomous, MBA is affiliated. Curriculum for PGDM is dynamic and can change every term even. MBA curriculum has to follow University Syllabi and can change in several years.

USPs of PGDM
“PGDM programmes usually provide more scope for learning as the course curriculum is customized to the needs of a specific institute’s students. It also provides flexibility in pedagogical systems, teaching-learning process, examination schedules and timely evaluation and convocations, whereas the MBA programmes are stifled due to the University hierarchy which takes longer period of time to amend its curriculum and policies and thereby curbs innovation and creativity in the academic culture,” said Fr. PT Joseph, Director, XIMB.
The PGDM institutes have the best of faculty, infrastructure and have the capacity to invite best of people from industry for mentoring, lecturing the students.”
The unique selling proposition of a PGDM programme is the structure of the curricula: it is dynamic and undergoes changes according to the needs of the industry. PGDM scores some brownie points over University MBA. PGDM Institutes are flexible in the conduction of examinations, assessments of the students pursuing their PGDM programme and in summer-internships and final placements too. Assessments or conduction of examinations or even for that matter, their management of summer projects and placements of MBA in University systems are iron clad. Therefore, PGDM is always a better alternative.

Which one is the superior
Highlighting the superior aspects of PGDM programme when compared to MBA, Fr. PT Joseph, Director, XIMB said, “PGDM programmes are superior especially due to their contemporary approach, flexible modules and industry relevance whereas the MBA programmes suffer from outdated syllabi and lack of customized approach for a particular segment of students. The PGDM programmes are dynamic in nature while MBA programmes due to their affiliation to Universities are marred by bureaucratization.
It is really difficult to say whether MBA is superior to PGDM or vice versa, since it may be possible to have innovative approach to conduct MBA programs too. However it is clear that more autonomy to the PGDM programs results in a program delivery model that results in management graduates gaining more industry acceptance.

Final decision lies with you
Giving his advice to the student aspirants Fr. PT Joseph, Director, XIMB said, “My advice to the aspirants who are intending to undertake their careers in business management is to opt for PGDM programmes from reputed institutions like the IIMs, XLRI, XIMB, MDI, FMS and similar institutions and make sure that equivalence to MBA is given to that program by AIU. They should opt for CAT, XAT, MAT as entrance examinations and ensure that they score well across all the sub-sections of the test. They need to prepare effectively and showcase their strengths at the Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds. They need to brush up their communication skills and exhibit positive attitude and team-work.”

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VOCAB Through roots-2

Having a strong vocabulary is a boon for all CAT 2010 takers. But what about those who are not armed with the word power? Do they not stand a chance to clear the Verbal Ability section of CAT 2010? They certainly do, if they utilize the remaining time left for CAT 2010 in working for a strong vocabulary base.

By now, you must have a fair amount of words in your vocabulary account. As our experts had suggested, there are several ways to bundle up your stock of words such as going through dictionaries, vocabulary books, using flash cards etc. But the most basic of them is to learning words through its roots.

Let us first consider the root Ver/Veri. “This root means ‘true’ or ‘genuine’. These are derived from Latin.

• Verify: To check the accuracy or truth of something-could be a statement, some data, fact or figure etc

• Verifiable: Something that can be checked-the accuracy can be ascertained etc

• Veracity/ Veracious: These words mean something that is correct, truthful, genuine or accurate

• Verisimilar: Something that appears to be true

• Verily: Something that is true or certain, correct or accurate

• Veridity: Something that is genuine and true

• Veritable: Again, this means something that is true

The second root is Chron. “Whenever you see the root, ‘chron’, you should immediately think of ‘time’ for that is what the root means.

• Chronology:  This means “of, relating to, or arranged in or according to the order of time”

• Chronicle:  A record of events in a chronological sequence (in order of time when they occurred)

• Chronic:  Means occurring at frequent intervals of time

• Chronometer:  A device used to measure/ keep time. A clock is therefore a chronometer

• Anachronism:  Something that is out of place in time/ chronologically out of place. For example, if you see someone wearing a dress that was usually worn only in the medieval period, you could call that an ‘anachronism’

The third root which is considered is ante. “This root means the same as the well-known prefix, pre means i.e. it means ‘before’.

• Ante-room:  A room that leads to a bigger room (literally, a small room before a bigger one)

• Antediluvian:  Literally, of or belonging to the period before the great Biblical flood, generally used to refer to someone or someone who is old-fashioned, out of date or antiquated

• Antebellum:  The root ‘bell’ means aggressive (think of the words ‘bellicose’, ‘belligerent’ etc). ‘Antebellum’ therefore literally means ‘before the war’ (here the reference is generally to the American Civil War)

• Antedate:  To be of an older date than something else, thus precede in time

• Antecedent:  refers to a preceding circumstance or event; thus a precursor or fore-runner.

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Craze for MBA Admissions or Just Blind Rat Race

Pure science, arts seems to have become a passe and engineering seems to be an incomplete degree. Welcome to the MBA generation. There is a rat race for B-School admissions in the country, from MBA in Delhi to MBA in Hyderabad students are going to lengths and breadths of the country to complete their MBA. For those who are little better off and do not want to face this neck breaking competition in the nation going abroad for a management degree has become a craze. From MBA in Singapore to Sydney, students from India are flocking all educational destinations abroad.

The demand has grown so much over the last few years that top notch institutes haven't been able to cater to this growing demand. Many management institutions have come up in different parts of the country. The newspapers are full of advertisement 'MBA in Delhi' and likewise. The ground situation is so bad that students are opting for the course without even verifying it's brand value in the market.

Barring a few B-Schools in the country that have the infrastructure for management courses, most rely on their placements which is a result of good contacts in the industry rather than a good academic program. There is little emphasis on the course content and most of them even lack a state-of-art campus in spite of tall claims.

Many students choose to pursue an MBA degree as this qualification guarantees them a Job. Or so is the perception amongst the student community. This has led to a rat race in the country for B-School admissions. Although most of these students come out with a degree in hand, a very few of them get what they were promised at the time of joining the course. To make things worst management being one of the costliest streams of educations in India costs the student and their families a fortune.

If you are an aspiring MBA student in India there are a few things that you should keep in mind while seeking admission to a B-School:

•    Do not get fooled by catchy advertisement as the claims on infrastructure and placement in many cases are completely false. Rather verify the credentials of an institute by doing an online research on them both through their websites and other social networking sites.
•    If the institute claims to have recognition from some educational body try verifying it from the website of the educational body itself.
•    Look for their faculty and their background. An institute might be relatively new but with a team of experienced faculty they can create a brand soon. Do not get fooled by the list of impressive Board of Directors as they generally have little control over how an institute is run.
•    If possible try seeing the infrastructure through your own eyes rather than learning them from newspaper and magazine ratings. These ratings aren't a full proof indicators of the actual conditions.

It is a fact that a management degree is the door to opportunities in today's world but students should not let themselves be cheated in the name of doing a management course.

Source - Webpages

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Quantitave Ability - Averages

 

An Average is a measure that tells us information about a group of things rather than data about individuals.

Mean, median, and mode are all types of averages, although the mean is the most common type of average and usually refers to the arithmetic mean. There are other kinds of means that are more difficult.

The arithmetic mean is a simple type of average. Suppose you want to know what the numerical average is in your math class. Let’s say your grades so far are 80, 90, 92, and 78 on the four quizzes you have had. To find your quiz average, add up the four grades: 80 + 90 + 92 + 78 = 340

Then divide that answer by the number of grades that you started with, four: 340/4 = 85. So, your quiz average is 85. Whenever you want to find a mean, just add up all the numbers and divide by the number of numbers you started with.

But sometimes the arithmetic mean doesn’t give you all the information you want. Suppose you are looking for a job. You interview with a company that has ten employees, and the interviewer tells you that the average salary is Rs. 20000 per month. That’s a lot of money! But that’s not what you would be making.

For this particular company, you would make half of that. Each employee makes Rs.10000 per month, except for the owner, who makes Rs.110000 per month. Nine employees make Rs.10000, so adding those up is 9 x 10000 =90000. Then the owner makes Rs.110000, so the total is Rs.110000 + Rs.90000 = Rs.200000. Divide by the total number of employees, ten, and we have Rs.20000/10 = Rs.2000. Because the owner makes so much more than everyone else, her salary “pulls” the average up.

A better question to ask is, “What is the median salary?” The median is the number in the middle, when the numbers are listed in order. For example, suppose you wanted to find the median of the numbers 6, 4, 67, 23, 6, 98, 8, 16, 37. First, list them in order: 4, 6, 6, 8, 16, 23, 37, 67, 98. Now, which one is in the middle? Well, there are nine numbers, so the middle one is the fifth, which is 16, so 16 is the median.

Now, what about when there is an even number of numbers? Look at the quiz grade example again: 90, 80, 92, 78. First list the numbers in order: 78, 80, 90, 92. The two middle ones are 80 and 90. So do we have two medians? No, we find the mean of those two: 80 + 90 = 170, and 170/2 = 85. So 85 is the median.

Now look at those salaries again. To find the median salary, we look at the salaries in order: 10000, 10000, 10000, 10000, 10000, 10000, 10000, 10000, 10000, 110000. This is an even number of salaries, so we look at the middle two. They are both 10000, so the median is Rs.10000. That’s much better at telling you how much you’ll make if you accept the job.

But the median doesn’t always give you the best information either. Suppose you interview with a company that has 10 general employees, 7 assistants, 3 managers, and 1 owner. For this company, the mean salary could be Rs.5000, and the median Rs. 4000. But you are applying for the position of general employee, whose starting salary is Rs. 1000.

The mode is the type of average you want to know in this situation. The mode is the number that occurs most frequently. In the example for median, 6 would be the mode because it occurs twice, while the other numbers each occur once. In our employee example, the mode is Rs. 10000 because that number occurs ten times, which is more than the number of times any other number occurs.

The most common value found in a group consisting of several readings is called as the ‘mode’. A group of observation can have more than one modal value.

± Mean, median and mode are all good types of averages, and each works best in different types of situations.

In the following example, we will measure the central tendency (that is mean; median, and mode values) of the given group of readings; and later we also will try to understand how these measures of central tendency may change when we add more values to the group of readings.

Example:

A person wrote down the time he spent on the exercises in a week. These readings are as follows.

Day             Exercise time

Monday             20 min.

Tuesday             30 min.

Wednesday        20 min.

Thursday            35 min.

Friday                25 min.

The graph of the data is as shown below.

GRAPH

1. FNow we calculate the mean.

Mean = Sum of the readings/Number of readings = 20 + 30 +20 +35 +25/5

Therefore Mean = 130/5 = 26 minutes

Now we calculate the median, after arranging the given set of numbers in the increasing order we get,

Exercise time: 20, 20, 25, 30, and 35

The median (middle) value is 25 minutes.

Now we calculate the modal value. To calculate the mode we need to see how many times each number is repeating. And then the mode is the number that is repeating for the maximum.

Number 20 is repeating 2 times. Numbers 25, 30 and 35 are repeating only once. Therefore the mode is 20 minutes.

• ± the mean, median and mode must have the same unit that is associated with the given set of readings.

Let’s say the person adds Saturday in the exercise schedule. And on Saturday 30 minutes are spent on the exercise. To calculate the new mean value, add up all the readings and divide the sum by total number of readings.

Mean = 20 + 30 +20 +35 +20 + 30/6 = 160/6 = 26.66 minutes

Or, what we can do is multiply the original mean by the original number of readings to get the sum of the original readings.

26 x 5 = 130

We add the new value of 30 to this to get 160 and divide it by 6 to get the new mean. To calculate the new median, we rearrange the numbers in the increasing order. Therefore we now get,

Exercise time: 20, 20, 25, 30, 30, and 35

However in this case we do not have one single middle value. Instead we have two numbers in the middle that are 25 and 30. In this case we take the average of the two middle numbers to find the median. Therefore average of 25 and 30 is (25+30)/2 = 27.5 minutes.

Therefore the new median value is 27.5 minutes.

To calculate the new mode, we observe that numbers 20 and 30 minutes repeat 2 times. Numbers 25 and 35 minutes repeat only once. Therefore this set of readings has two mode values and the two modes are 20 and 30 minutes.

Example: Find the measures of central tendency for the following readings.

-2, 350%, 12, (-3)2, -80%

Solution: To compute the mean, median, or mode all the readings must be presented in the same number form.

Therefore we will need to convert the percentages into decimal form.

Therefore after converting the given set of readings into same number form, the new set has the following values.

-2, 3.5, 12, 9, -0.8

Now, mean = -2 + 3.5 +12 +9 − 0.8/5 = 21.7/5 = 4.34

Now median of the readings is the middle value of the set after arranging the numbers in the increasing order, which is

-2, -0.8, 3.5, 9, 12

Since none of the numbers repeats more than once, the above set of readings has no mode.

The concept of averages can be applied to problems in slightly different way.

Example: During the week, John watches TV every night after he finishes his homework. The following table shows how much time he spent last week watching television.

    Day          Entertainment time

Monday                 1 hour

Tuesday                 30 min.

Wednesday            30 min.

Thursday                45 min.

Friday                      2 hours

John decided to include his TV time for Saturday and Sunday as well. When he did and recalculated his mean, mode and median he discovered that only the mean had changed. What can we say about the TV time for Saturday and Sunday that would produce this situation?

Solution: To proceed with the numbers, they must be converted to the same units. After rearranging the numbers to get the increasing order for entertainment time, we have: 30 min, 30 min, 45min, 60min, 120 min

Therefore, mean = 285/5 = 57 min and median = 45 min.

Since number 30 repeats 2 times and other numbers repeat only once, we can say that mode = 30 min.

We need to find additional possible values for Saturday and Sunday that will not change the median and mode.

Let us look at the number sequence.

30, 30, 45, 60, 120

If 45 should remain as the median (in the middle), then if we write a number to its left, we must write a number to its right side also. And if number 30 should remain as the mode, then the two more numbers, representing Saturday and Sunday, that we will include into to the data set must be different from 45, 60 and 120.

Therefore we can say if 45 minutes should remain the median value for the entire week, then if John spends more than 45 minutes but neither 1 hour nor 2 hours watching TV on Saturday, then on Sunday he must spend less than 45 minutes watching television. (The amount of time spent on TV on Saturday and Sunday can be swapped).

Average properties

1. If each number in a set of data points is increased by a certain number x, then the average will be increase by x, similarly for incase of decrease it will decrease by x, and in case of multiplication it will be multiplied by x.

Example: In a class of ten students, where the average weight is 50 kgs, if weight of each student is increased by 5 kg what will be the new average?

Number of students = 10, average = 50,

Total weight of class = 500 (50 × 10)

In case each student’s weight is increased by 5 kg, excess weight = 50 (5 × 10)

Total weight of the class will become = 500 + 50 = 550

Average weight = = 55, so average is also increased by 5 kgs

2. The average speed in case of a journey from X to Y at speed of A m/sec and returning back to X at a speed of B m/sec, is m/sec

Example: Sunil travels from Delhi to Noida at the speed of 40 km/hr and returns at the speed of 50 km/hr. What is the average speed of the journey?

Using the formula,

=

= = 44.44 Km/hr

Always remember the units, in what units you have started and in what units you are ending.

Alternative way is by the basic principle of mechanics,

Speed =

Which means Time =

And Average Speed =

Suppose distance from Delhi to Noida is A, therefore

Time while going, T1 =

Time while coming T2 =

Total time = =

Total Distance = A + A = 2A

Average speed = =

=

=

= 44.44 Km/hr

Here are some concepts of various kinds of mean, students are requested to go through the concepts and understand the applications rather that cramming the formulas. There is no direct question expected in CAT on basis of these formulas, But application may be used widely in many concepts especially data interpretation.

Arithmetic mean: As the definition given above, The AM of n numbers X1, X2, X3 …… Xn is denoted by X and calculated as

X =

X =

The S is called sigma, which represents summation, from values 1 to n.

For many values it is difficult to calculate mean using this formula. There is an easier formula for that using two concepts, Assumed mean (a) and Deviation (d) from the Assumed mean

X =

Here di = Xi – a

Example: AM of 20, 30, 40, 52, 96, 34, 36. Let the assumed mean be 40

Xi di

20 20 – 40 = – 20

30 30 – 40 = – 10

40 40 – 40 = 0

52 52 – 40 = 12

96 96 – 40 = 56

34 34 – 40 = – 6

36 36 – 40 = – 4

S di = 28

Mean, X = 40 + = 40 + = 40 + 4 = 44

Weighted AM: If there are two values, a and b, have weights (or frequency) of x and y, then the weighted arithmetic mean is given by

WAM =

What is “weight” in weighted mean?

The weight is the relative strength of a data point, lets take respective an example:

Strength: Suppose there is a paper with four sections of 100 marks each – Maths, English, Social studies and History. Now there are different weightages assigned to each that is Maths – 40%, English – 20%, Social studies – 20% and History – 20%. If a student gets following marks (Maths –60, English – 60, Social studies – 50 and History – 50) in different subjects, what are the net marks out of 100?

Here to get net marks out of 100, the respective marks in subjects have to be treated with its weights as per following table:

Subject Marks Net marks

(marks*weight)

Maths 60 0.4(40%) 24

English 60 0.2(20%) 12

Social studies 50 0.2(20%) 10

History 50 0.2(20%) 10

Total (out of 100) – Mean Marks 56

Let’s also understand what is frequency?

Frequency: The concept of frequency is not the same as weight but can be treated in the same manner. Suppose the marks in English for a class of 10 people are 50, 60, 50, 51, 65, 60, 50, 36, 60 and 65. Here 50 have occurred 3 times, 60 has occurred three times etc, so the times a data point occurs in a set of data points is called its frequency. Now for the above give data points, the following is the frequency and mean calculation:

Marks Frequency Total

50 3 150

60 3 180

51 1 51

65 2 130

36 1 36

Total 10 547

So the mean here is = 54.7

If Weights W1, W2 …..Wn are assigned to the values X1, X2 ….. Xn, then the Weighted AM

WAM =

Example: WAM of 10, 15, 20, 25 with frequency 1, 2, 3, 5

Xi Wi Wi Xi

10 1 10

15 2 30

20 3 60

25 5 125

10 225

S Wi = 10 S Xi Wi = 225

WAM = = 22.5

Mean of means: If the means (M1, M2...) are given along with numbers (N1, N2...), then the mean of means is given by using the Weighted Arithmetic Mean formula, where weights are replaced by respective number:

Mean of means =

Example: The mean marks scored by 60 boys are 80 and those scored by 100 girls are 60

Mean = = = 67.5 Marks

Geometric mean: The other mean is the geometric mean, which is given by nth root of the product of n numbers.

GM of A1 , A2 , A3 , ... An =

Example: GM of 2 and 8 is = = 4

Properties

1. The AM of given set of data points is always equal to or greater than their GM, that is AM =GM

Example: Find the Geometric mean and Arithmetic mean of 2, 8

Arithmetic Mean = = 5

Geometric Mean = = = 4

2. If the geometric mean of one group of “a” numbers is x and that of another group of “b” numbers is y, then the geometric mean of the combined groups is:

Harmonic mean: The Harmonic mean is give by

For two numbers a and b Harmonic mean is given by

HM =

= =

For N numbers (a, b, c … n),

HM =

Harmonic mean is used to calculate average speed, with different speeds for same distance.

Example: Ajay travels from Delhi to Shimla at the speed of 50 km/hr and returns at the speed of 40 km/hr, what is the average speed of the journey?

Using the formula of Harmonic Mean,

=

= = 44.44 Km/hr

Weighted Harmonic Mean: The Weighted Harmonic mean is give by

For two numbers a and b with weights x and y it is given by

Weighted HM =

This is used to calculate the average speed when different distances are covered at different speeds.

Example: A man covers his first 6 km at an average speed of 10 m/s, another 4 km at 8 m/s and the last 3 km at 5 m/s.

Average speed = weighted HM =

Mode: It is the number that occurs most frequently in a given set of numbers.

Example: In set of numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 5, the number 5 occurred the maximum number of times, so the mode is 5.

Median: It is the middle value of a set of data points arranged in an ascending or descending order.

If the number of data points is odd, the median is value.

If the number of data points is even, the median is give by the average of the two middle values, suppose the medium values are a and b, here median is given by .

Here

a = and b = + 1

Example: Median of numbers 25, 22, 30, 29, 36

First the values need to be arranged in the ascending order 22, 25, 29, 30, 36

Median is the value Þ 3rd value, which is 30

Example: Median of numbers 25, 22, 30, 29, 36, 38

First the values need to be arranged in the ascending order 22, 25, 29, 30, 36, 38

The two middle values are = 3 and + 1 = 4, the 3rd and 4th values are 29 and 30

Thus median = = = 28.

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The Effects of Early CAT- The Predictions

As we all know that , the Common Admissions Test (CAT) 2010 will begin in last week of October, a month earlier than the usual November-end. After CAT 2009, CAT has lost its charm but still, aspirants are hoping for the best this time.We all are expecting that this year the MBA aspirants well face glitch free CAT. They will have a better experience of CAT unlike previous Year. As there are a lot of changes in CAT 2010 including early schedule unlike previous year(2009). There are a lot of predictions about early questions. For eg;

How does an early CAT 2010 affect  preparation of aspirants?

 What will be pattern of questions?

Will it be easier paper?

And many more…..

Here are  some predictions by the experts.

1. Lesser  Time To get Prepared to Bell The CAT –  As the CAT will start in OCTOBER this year, preparation time has been reduced by a whole month. Which means that  the students will have to advance their ‘final push’ by about 30 days and concentrate more on studies now. Coaching institutes will hasten to finish their theory classes and move to a full-test practice schedule sooner. If you are person with a job and juggling your CAT preparation with a fulltime job, you should be doing now what you otherwise would have done after one month.

Let's see the other face of coin, the ‘preopening of 30 days’ is more psychological than real. The exam seems like it has been proponed, but you could also be taking the test after November 15, in which case your preparation schedule would be the same as in previous years.

There is a high chance that when it comes to selecting a testing slot during CAT 2010 registration, a large number of applicants will try to book a slot closer to November 23 than to October 27. However, since the slots will have limited seats, there will be a rush to get the later slots and only a few lucky/early ones will get them. Late registrants will have to accept a slot closer to October 27. It would help to keep this in mind when planning your preparation.Those who will be able to get registered for exam on later dates will have some extra time to get prepared well, but still you need to be careful too, as last year many students had reported that the test was very tough. So you need to be careful and prepared for any surprise too.

With the CAT being conducted earlier, the students are advised to take fewer simulated tests but ensure that the self-analysis between two tests is rigorous enough to help you peak at the right time before the CAT,

2. Is CAT 2010 Going to be Easier – The plan for CAT 2010 will require Prometric and the IIMs to create 40 tests with a total of 2,400 questions(assuming 60 questions per paper as CAT 2009). Creating 2,400 questions of high difficulty is a humongous task and as the CAT has been outsourced to PROMETRIC with a purpose to free up faculty time in first place so its quiet less probable that the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) faculty is going to create them.  Professors at IIMs and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) already tend to have their hands full with consultancy projects and at most they may be involved in approving questions but not creating them. Which logically means that the questions would largely be prepared by Prometric who in according to experts opinion  don’t have the wherewithal to create 2,400 high-difficulty questions. So they will end up making an easier paper with replicated questions which will be more formula-based than logic-based.

Prometric, has however said earlier that they “work closely with IIM professors along with specially trained subject matter experts from other well-regarded Indian universities (for question creation). Each exam question is written, edited and reviewed in an iterative process. All modifications and approvals are tracked electronically in an audit trail.”

Experts implies that although this might be the stated process, it does not seem like it is practicably followable. Mind you, this is just a speculative prediction, though an interesting one to ponder upon.

3. More frequent mock CATs – Even in the case of early CAT, coaching institutes are not going to reduce the number of mock CATs, but they would have to alter the schedule. With lesser time on their hands, one might see more working professionals sign-up for websites that offer online tests anytime and any place at one’s convenience rather than use coaching institute mock CATs which are held on scheduled dates.

4.More prep time for other entrance exams – Those appearing for CAT 2010 in the earlier slots will have a month or even more to prepare for the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) entrance test, Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) and Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), the latter two of which usually take place in December. The most benefited ones will be those who have not had a satisfactory performance in the CAT and are setting their hopes on the next set of exams in line. SNAP has been scheduled on 19th December 2010 and IIFT on NOVEMBER 28th.

5. Shorter window to buy other B-school forms – Business schools accepting CAT scores such as MDI Gurgaon or IMT Ghaziabad traditionally end their form sales about a week before the CAT exam date. This helps them sell more forms, even to candidates who otherwise might not buy them after experiencing a bad performance during the CAT. In previous years, these institutes have closed their form sales around November 20.

With the CAT 2010 starting on October 27, these b-schools will now have to stop selling forms in October itself. But still we should not forget that IMT, Ghaziabad had started selling the forms again after CAT almost every year.

So the best advise for all the MBA aspirants is - Please study, and leave rest of the things for these about 100 precious  days. Everything will be alright. :) :) :)

For more information, help and support, stay connected to www.mbainformer.tk  .

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MBA Course Adding Values to a Candidates Knowledge.

In India as well as abroad, a variety of MBA courses are available and students having varied background are opting for it. Some go for normal two-year courses while those who are engaged with businesses or jobs opt for Executive MBA programs and part time MBA courses.


Now the question arises, WHY MBA??
Why people are giving more preference to MBA rather than other courses. Even students from institutes like IITs opt for MBA to make their future as well as well settled employees in well known corporate houses as well as businessmen are giving preference to Executive MBA. Even some good corporate houses are making their employees to go for Executive MBA.
What is the reason which is making student from varied backgrounds to change their stream??
What is special in MBA which is attracting well established businessmen as well as employees with good experience to it??

The answer is here. Let’s check what experts say about it:-

An MBA education broadens and enhances knowledge and is viewed in a sense of building up skills. It is utilized to find solutions to business issues.MBA courses imbibe in the students the capability and skills to maximize individual and organizational productivity. These MBA courses prepare the students to meet the demands of the marketplace. Dr. P Chandra, Director, IIM Bangalore, says, “Enrolling for different MBA courses is the best way for the candidate to learn how to build and mould innovative organizations. It teaches the learners how to go about analyzing management techniques and paves the way for building managerial perspectives. It also elucidates how the economy works within a society."

The case methodology, practiced by almost all MBA institutes is a thing that leaves the students with a great understanding of practical management knowledge and solutions. The Case-Method creates a classroom in which students need not only to absorb the facts and theories, but also the need to exercising the skills of leadership and teamwork in the face of real problems.

The age of management education is barely 50 years in India. In 1950s it began as a part-time education for practicing executives only. After that only a few universities offered full-time management degrees. In 1961, the Government of India established IIM Calcutta and Ahmadabad in collaboration with the Sloan School of Management, MIT, and the Harvard Business School respectively. A full-time PG degree program of international quality in management was launched at the IIMs in India. By 1990, 82 university-based departments and schools of management were functioning in the country. Post liberalization, MBA education sector saw a massive growth. According to experts, there are close to 1800 MBA institutes operating in all parts of the country at present. The reason is:-
MBA courses equip the candidates with adequate skills to face the challenges of a corporate career. IIM Ahmadabad graduate Santosh Desai, who's now CEO, Future Brands, says, “The wonderful thing about the MBA is that one will not just be the manager, but also a creator. I think the most important future challenge would be how you are going to transcend the act of managers. In management institute, you are given the freedom to think and to face the challenges. It will be new because all the things are in you but nothing compels you to think independently as does the good MBA course."
Former Director of IIM Indore Dr S P Parashar, says, “MBA education is critical for the development of a country. If you look around at the CEOs across the country they are all the alumni of these great Indian MBA institutes. Many academic leaders in top-tier MBA institutes in India are themselves from IIMs."

But some experts believe that the value addition of these MBA courses largely depends on the candidate himself. Dr Venkat Ratnam, Director, International Management Institute, says, “Many students go through the same education but the outcome is different in each case. You and I may get admission into the same MBA institute for the same course, but the outcome for both of us will not be the same. A candidate's mental makeup makes a lot of difference in what he or she is able to extract.”

So, the MBA is not just a degree, much more in fact. It helps one to find himself and the capability within him. This is why almost every person who is looking for a bright career is moving ahead on the ROAD TO MBA.

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Batch timings at institute keep on changing? Why accept it ?

Dear friends, do you remember the very first day you had went for joining your coaching institute for MBA entrance test prep.?

Do you remember the option of selecting class timings {morning, afternoon or evening} and the batch {weekend or weekdays}?
If you had not been to any coaching institute yet let us tell you that, when ever any student visits a coaching institute then he/she always have an option to select. He/she has option to choose whether he/she would like to attend weekday’s classes or weekend classes.
Now, did you ever notice that there was a difference between the fees which was to be paid for joining the batches? If you want to join weekend batch then you need to pay more and if you wish to join weekday’s batches then you will be charged less.
The reason for this difference is that, according to the institute, in weekend classe they give extra time to the batches. They say that the class duration is more than those of in weekdays.
Maximum candidates select weekend batches, as it seems suitable to them. They plan for weekend batches because they have to go to their colleges or workplaces. They also prefer to select evening time for classes.
The aspirants put their option and they pay more than normal fee too as they have selected weekend batches.
But, do you know the reality behind these weekend batches??
Why it is arranged???
They show that they are providing you classes as per your convenient. It’s ok... but it never continues till last.
As the days pass, after some classes, you might have been noticed that many of weekdays students are coming in weekend’s class and many of weekend batches are merged with weekday’s classes.
This is the motive of the institutes. They charge high for weekend batches, promises to provide classes on weekends but what happens. They merge the batches by telling you that it’s for your convenient. But the reality behind this merger is to start new batches on weekends so that new students can join and again they can get that extra money per student.
Whether one has joined weekdays or weekend batch just after a month or two all can be found studying in the same batch. Sometimes if the students say that they cannot come on weekdays because they have to go to college, the institute suggest them to take leave from the college. Now if the student has to suffer loss in both the cases. If he chooses college, he will lose coaching class and if he chooses coaching class then he is going to lose his college classes and attendance too.
It is not where the story ends. They keep on changing the timings too.
Finally what happens; due to these changes the student feels uncomfortable to come to coaching. He misses some classes too and finally the gap in the studies occurs. He ask for weekend classes again and he is advised to join a new batch and thus due to the greed and lack of management abilities of the coaching institute, the student suffers.
He pays more for the classes but he is called in weekdays where the fee is low and he is suffering too. Why???
Why the students suffer due to the institutes. These institutes make the innocent students fool easily. It is the student who suffers due to frequently changing batch timings and merger of batches.
Please answer a question:-
If the batch time of the institute keep on changing then why to accept it?
Why to accept it even in the case you are going to bear the loss?
Thank you...

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Why MBA ????

Dear friends, at the time of PI( Personal Interview) almost all the aspirants face a common question- WHY MBA???


Have you ever thought about it. Almost all of you might know the answer too but still there are so many students who get confused when they are asked - “Why do you want to be an MBA?”
As the GD/PI session of various colleges are going on and you may also face the same question, so let us help you in order to get the answer.
TODAY, almost all the students, no matter he/she is B.Tech., B.B.A., B.Com., B.A. Or any other background; look for MBA or management education as a panacea for success in corporate and professional life.
Do you know why??
There are some reasons for making MBA or management education such significance in today’s world. Those reasons are as follows:
First of all, corporate structures are changing with change in time and market: happenings like start-ups, mergers and acquisitions are now an expected part of the corporate life-cycle.
Secondly, the new corporate environment is in process of shifting from the familiar competitive model to a more collaborative model that values performance of teams’ as much as individual contribution. So for this one needs to be able and flexible enough to cope up with these changes.
Finally, an understanding of technology and information systems, including the internet and other communications advances, is extremely vital to be successful. Thus one needs to understand these things too.
Management programme (or the MBA) covers these areas thoroughly. Hence, management education can contribute to a successful career. MBA degree gives an edge over other employees or candidates for managerial positions. In fact, some companies require managerial candidates to get a management degree to qualify for a management position.

Some would argue that management education is a waste of time and money, and that one can succeed without a MBA tag in one’s curriculum vitae. Although a management degree is just one of many contributing factors in career success, graduate degrees such as an MBA have their own merits, and would prove to be an advantage when one is vying for a managerial position.
The following are some of the other reasons why management education would make good ‘business’ sense:-
Young professionals with MBA degrees or pursuing management education are viewed to have more potential for promotion to leadership or managerial positions than other candidates, which can easily be translated to savings and profits on the cost of staff hiring and training.
Those with MBA are considered to be serious about their career growth. People holding a management degree are considered as forward-looking professionals who step ahead of their peers, and are innovative, creative, and visionaries. Management professionals are considered as good and well-informed business decision makers, who value statistics, careful studies, and planning while taking calculated risks. Those with management education are found to be aggressive and tenacious in any undertakings.
But it is not so easy to be an MBA too. Getting an MBA is a result of hard work and perseverance in itself because of stringent requirements than a bachelor’s degree. As there is a mob which is holding MBA degree, so becomes difficult and challenging to prove yourself. That’s why; candidates prefer to be an MBA from one of the best B- Schools.
So, please think before joining any B-school that is that B-school is going to help you in being efficient enough as the market wants you to be.
Thank you

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