Future in different Specialization

[curtz-imi]

Originally Posted by kaptivate

Hi curtz,

but im not so sure abt the general mba thing u wrote. agreed that for laterals one needs a holistic perspective but i think now is not the time to be a generalist. domain expertise is more important . but again this is a personal view and ppl might disagree.


laterals already means u have relevant work ex . if it can be polished by specific subject knowledge,, its a better deal

hope i 'l get sum posts which may add to my understanding here

regards

Hi,

My opinion from what i have seen in mba/work life, a guy who has 4 - 6 yrs of work ex and then decides to do his MBA, has a domain specific knowledge, may be an IT Specialist, a pre sales guy, domain specialist, if he/she has done sales, then he might be a Territory Manager handling just sales part of the biz, if he/she is into fin, may be as an CA or into purchase et all..in all they are doing a domain specific activity and if they dont do an MBA, they will keep on growing in their specific domain but when it comes to a genralist management profile, they will hit a glass ceiling.

Thats the reason they should do an MBA, to break that glass ceiling, to grow their acumen in some other field, if you are looking from a recruiter p.o.v, he knows that the target already has expertise pre mba in a specific field, recruiter is looking at someone, who is maybe 28 -30 year old may be more...who can manage a team, be a leader, solve cross functional demands.......for that recruiter will look at someone who has knowledge to be a manager/leader not an specialist.

And i do feel that knowledge can only be accquired if you carefully select the electives, which more or less gives you a generalist profile, in the end you may end up with may be 4-5 fin papers, but you should have 2 quality ops paper, 2-3 quality ops/scm paper...2-3 systems paper...3-4 HR and Marketing Papers.......i just gave a dilbert blaberring abt the combination....the combination should be supporting each other and also support where you want to see yourself 10 years down the life...for someone who will pass out of MBA course when he/she is 28 - 30....down 10 years the ambition should be country head, nothing less.

ciao..

[uRmad]

Instead of selecting a few papers of your specialized lot, look at the whole gamut of papers available, think what you would like to do 10 years down the line, then pick from the basket the select few, which you weave together a ladder for you to climb. This task is a difficult task and i have been asked this question by scores in the past 2 years, while deciding on your specialization papers, question yourself on each paper, what value addition it'll give you? will you lose anything if you dont take it?. Do a Cost Benifit Analysis for every paper, coz a paper you miss you miss it forever. Consult the profs/alums/seniors/peers group for all decisions

In the end would just like to say, always have a goal on where you want to be 5 yrs - 10 yrs down the line, then try to find out what expertise you will need to reach there, play out different roles that different specialization will entail you to do in your work life, find out whether you are enjoying it, after you have gone through the whole process, you will see that the process of selection has become a lot more simpler.

And i do feel that knowledge can only be accquired if you carefully select the electives, which more or less gives you a generalist profile, in the end you may end up with may be 4-5 fin papers, but you should have 2 quality ops paper, 2-3 quality ops/scm paper...2-3 systems paper...3-4 HR and Marketing Papers.......i just gave a dilbert blaberring abt the combination....the combination should be supporting each other and also support where you want to see yourself 10 years down the life...for someone who will pass out of MBA course when he/she is 28 - 30....down 10 years the ambition should be country head, nothing less.

Saikat, you really meant that when you said that I'd beg to differ with You here......I'd go with your point #2 since that in a nutshell captures what should be, imho, the approach by a first year student.....Having long term goals, working towards them are all fine...And if you are really committed towards a single goal, then MBA or no MBA, trust me, you'll achieve the same....But to base something as choice of subjects to study on a goal which, for a lot of people, keeps changing along with life, isn't, imho, the best of ways forward.....

Learning across functions always helps, but again, being a generalist for the sake of being one isn't going to help your cause...Make sure whatever you learn can be converted to practical steps...

Cheers

ps: For those who love running away from numbers, trust me when I say, it ain't for your good doing so....I speak from personal experience

[curtz-imi]

Dear Subbu,

Opinions differ

As you rightly mentioned goals differ as you move on in life, but if i dont think it keeps on meandering so much that you will repent your basket of papers. Only some will become more obsolete or some more important, but then thinking that "my goals will change and therefore i wont plan the future" doesn't help.

What i meant was a more structured step towards selecting your specialization paper, rather than selecting papers for some lame excuses like i hate this or i cant do this or most of my peers have taken that or this sector is booming kinda...

Also what i have mentioned is that for laterals with ppl having more than 5+ ex, dont you think, doing a core mktg specialization or a core fin specialization is perceived less benificial by an org than someone who has carefully weaved a bouquet of papers which justifies his strengths and goals in life. When i talk about generalist, i purely mean, selcting the best according to your strengths and what you will love doing

but then thats moi 2 cents which keeps on fluctuating in the opinion index

ciao..

[Sky'sLimit]

Originally Posted by modani

Hi Nishant

Thr should b some other options like Fin+Mktg
well current scenario seems to b tilted in favor of Mktg/Fin but most of the recruiters r mainly from Systems Domain
wht do u say guys

Reg,

Ashish Modani
NMIMS 07-09

I would quite agree with Ashish that an option like Mkt+Fin must be there in poll...Nishant try to put it...will help a lot of ppl like me and many r looking for this combo now a days...

PS: @Nishant- At last I Posted in ur thread

[Sky'sLimit]

Originally Posted by modani

Hi Nishant

Thr should b some other options like Fin+Mktg
well current scenario seems to b tilted in favor of Mktg/Fin but most of the recruiters r mainly from Systems Domain
wht do u say guys

Reg,

Ashish Modani
NMIMS 07-09

I agree with Ashish that an option like Fin + Mktng shud be there...souls like me are not able to decide from the given options...and 2dy more and more ppl are opting for this.

PS: @Nishant - Atlast I have posted in ur thread.

[arorasid]

well,
puys have really discussed a lot on the issue of specilization
and yes it depends on the type of person u r
but I will like to make few general points
1 Fin guys get the best starting salary
2 Fin+ Mark is considered to be a perfect match
3 IT or Systems is losing out nowadays as most of the people with work ex entering B Schools r from IT background and they do not want to go there
4 Strategy is always a great option but it is not a specilization in most of the institutes
5 Operations is still considered to be like a shop floor work and only guys wantng to go for SCM go for it (though I disagree here)
6 HR is something where females r preffered by the industry

well these r general views which I heard from some friends and collegues
my views r
1 Operations is meant for guys who really want to be innovative (Stat is as relevant here as Fin)
u interact with lot many people here and u deal with problems and solutions which r understood by many guys (SCM is something which even a layman knows a bit, if not everything then atleast logistics part); it's a field which can never die and is requred everywhere especilly in all manufacturing firms. The best part if u work in a manufacturing firm most of the guys will be knowing ur company's name and yes nearly all other specialization guys will be trying hard to get projects from ur firm.
The gusy in operation have to deal with Fin (component costing), Mark (selling to internal customer), Systems (IT used in manufacturing), HR (dealing wih people), and of course Strateg
2 Fin is again a challenging Specialization, u need to do lot of mathematics and also be ready with new tools and formulations (till the time we have money we have fin guys) this is real challenging one and so highest payer as well.
3 Mark is again a branch which requires innovation as to how u can reach to ur customers, here u need to read a lot to know ur customer, and might even require personal interation with people, this is one branch where u always need to be first to cut ur competitors
4 Strat is something which is required in every industry and so it is not a specilization at most of the places
5 Systems is very relevant today as the world is going for IT and so this branch is beoming relevant for most of the industries and more so in Indian Senario as Indian manufactruing companies still lag behind in IT and so the services firm can rely on them now if the US market saturates
6 This is perhaps the most interesting branch as u read about people and u work and interact with many of them, but there is more to HR then hiring and firing; it is all about doing the right jobs for right people and there comes the challenge as u cannot keep everybody happy. But yes everybody is scared of HR guys.

[akhil_agrawal]

Me too have taken Fin + Marketing which is missing in this poll

[smith_hp]

can any one plz explain, what is a typical business analyst does in software industry

abhishek mondol

pgdm,kjsomaiya

[ygdrasil24]

HI all,
I want anyone to guide me in detail abt various MBA specializations. I ll be applying for Spjain so for that i need to know the specializations.

Btech in Industrial Production Engg. (2007)Currently placed in Infy ,but no joining dates as yet.

1. While filling out Sp form should i mention Work-ex for by the time I ll join i ll have 5-6 mnths of work-ex.

2. My inclination is towards Industrial Engineering,Operations Research.But after reading re choosing specializations( one needs to see where he ll be 10 yrs down the line) I think i ll have to re-think .Also one of my cousin from ISM told me not to go for operations cause nt much return.

3. I am caught up in dilemma, I m plannig to NITIE, i have also heard placements are quite satisfactory.

Thats why i just want to read in detail what these specializations actually mean!

Someone plz help me out.....soory for pestering!!!
thnx
Abhinav

[ygdrasil24]

sorry it was ISB