Management Career

Career Management is the combination of structured planning and the active management choice of one's own professional career.The outcome of successful career management should include personal fulfilment, work/life balance, goal achievement and financial assurity. The purpose of management is to make the best use of available resources (human, physical and monetary) in order to achieve an objective. The work of business management professionals covers basically all areas.
They can, however, be trained in several specialist areas. These could be the areas of International Management, dealing with international trade and business, and technology transfer; Public Service management, which includes management of public enterprises, non-governmental organizations and co-operatives; Technology Management, which specialises in all aspects of technology, including policy, financing and marketing; and Rural Management, which is concerned with management of rural resources, environment, agricultural produce and so on.

Area of work

There are broadly 5 functional areas of work for professional managers and students can try and specialise in any of them. These areas are:

• Personnel or Human Resource Development : The function of Personnel Management/Human Resource Development (HRD) is to make the most effective use of an organisation's resources, people in particular. The responsibilities are handling, recruitment, placement, training, manpower planning, staff welfare, industrial legislation and labour relations. Other specialist areas in which HRD personnel are involved, include compensation and benefits for the staff, health, safety, and other welfare aspects, staff welfare schemes, handling management of change and so on.

• Finance Production or Operations : Management executives in the area of Finance are responsible for their organisation's financial health. They handle budgets, execute financial programmes and conduct profitability appraisals.

Production is a vast area that directs coordinates and controls the operational aspect of an organisation, and the efficient utilisation of men, machines and materials. It is the process by which the physical output of an organisation is planned. Depending on the scope of operations of an organisation, production can also include planning, purchase and control of materials used, and the maintenance and depreciation of equipment.

• Marketing and Information Services : The Marketing & Sales department directs the flow of goods and services from the producer to the end user. Marketing Management, therefore, involves the planning of strategy to deliver goods and services efficiently and at the least cost, to the customer. The work here also involves research and analysis, which would include devising means for collecting information on current and future needs of customers and interpreting their results, planning, testing of new products or services and sales forecasting. Sales is linked to marketing in that it is responsible for putting the marketing strategy into action. This means finding and dealing with customers for the particular goods and services produced by an organisation.

• Information Services : Management Information services is gaining importance as it involves the collection, processing and dissemination of information of significance for the increase in efficiency of an organisation.

Entry

There are basically two ways of entering a career in management:

• By becoming a specialist in any one of the cross-functional/specialist areas.

• By starting as a trainee in an organisation that offers a career in management. This, however, usually requires some previous qualification or experience. Moreover, most organisations give preference to qualified management graduates. So, professional training is essential for entering the management profession.

Course Details

Courses in management are offered mainly at undergraduate, Post Graduate degree/diploma levels, by private and government management institutes. Generally, 10+2 pass candidate can pursue the undergraduate management degree such as (BBA, BBS, BMS). For post graduation courses (MBA, PGDBA), a graduate in any discipline, with clearance of the entrance selection process gets eligible for the programmes like MBA, PGDM, Managerial economics, etc. The cut-off percentage might differ slightly among institutions, but the minimum aggregate considered for admission is usually not less than 50%. Candidates in their final year of graduation may also apply for admission. Courses at Post Graduation level are mainly offered with a specialization in the specific field. There is also an Executive MBA programme, offered to the working professionals. Part time management courses are also offered in limited institutions.

Selection Most business schools follow a standard selection pattern. A written examination called the Common Admission Test (CAT) is held in December every year organized by the IIMs and some management institutes; other institutions hold separate entrance exams, such as the Management Aptitude Test or (MAT). Major newspapers carry an advertisement stating the method of application and the place, date and time of the test which gauges verbal and problem solving abilities, comprehension and data interpretation.

The CAT or MAT exam is essentially an elimination procedure that analyses the candidates' personality and intelligence. There is no fixed structure of the papers which is set in the objective type format. To help candidates prepare for the CAT exam, a book called CAT is published every year. Local coaching schools also prepare students for such entrance tests held by different management institutions.

After clearing the written exam, candidates may apply on prescribed forms to one or more institutions of their choice. They are generally selected on the basis of their participation in group discussions (GDs), which is followed by a personal interview (PI).

Duration The duration of Under Graduate courses is 3 years. However, the duration of Post Graduate courses is 1-2 years.

Institutions The great demand for MBA degrees / diplomas has led to increase in business schools around the country. Some institutions offering courses in business management are:

• IIM located at Ahmadabad , Calcutta , Bangalore , Lucknow , Indore and Kozhikode ( Calicut ).

• Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

• Xavier's Labour Relation Institute, Jamshedpur .

• Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi .

• Narrsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

• Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.

• Institute of Business Management, National Council of Education, Bengal , Kolkata.

• International Management Institute, New Delhi .

• IIFT, New Delhi .

• MDI, Gurgaon.

(The list is indicative only)

Job Prospects With the advent of liberalization, privatisation and globalisation, numerous opportunities have lined up for effective managers. More and more MMCs are coming to India and more Indian companies are going for joint ventures abroad, this has resulted in a lucrative career option for the qualified managers in running and managing organisations. Along with the need of highly skilled professional in this field, there has always been a great demand for management graduates. For such graduates are there are prospects in the following fields:

• Business houses/ corporations

• Multinational corporations

• Industrial houses/Manufactur-ing companies.

• Manufacturing Organisations.

• Financial concerns.

• Banks

• Public Sector Enterprises.

• Advertising Agencies.

• World Bank, UNICEF and other UN bodies.

• Consultancy/Self Employment

• Teaching/Research.

Skills and Talents Required 

Most managers have both a specialized background and a set of managerial skills. You need to expertise in a specialized activity, such as marketing, operations, or manufacturing to get started. As you work your way up from an entry-level position and demonstrate potential for learning and achievement, and gain managerial skills, you can get promotion to managerial ranks. To become a manager you must demonstrate competence in three areas:

• Technical – Knowledge and understanding of the mechanics of a specific job.

• Human relations – Understanding of people and being able to effectively work with people.

• Conceptual – Ability to think and see the relationships between various parts and the whole.

Human relations skills are necessary for all levels of managers. As a manager, you spend the majority of your time with people and getting work done through people. Thus it is not too surprising that a core set of skills necessary to be successful, centre around interpersonal skills.

• Oral and written communication

• Constructive listening

• Honest and direct dialogue

• Sensitive to what motivates others

As you move up the career ladder you will rely less on technical skills and more on conceptual skills.

Required Skills:

Communication skills — Very High

Flexible and Adaptable — Very High

Energy Level — High

Ability to Synthesize — Very High

Work Ethic — High

Honesty and Integrity — High

Initiative — Medium

Business Judgment — High

Self Confidence — Very High

Technical Skills — Medium

Leadership Ability — Very High

Decisiveness — Very High

Problem Solving Ability — Very High

Remuneration:

Remuneration in the field of management largely depends on the organization structure, the candidate's qualification and nature of work.

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