There is a growing discontent among serious executives who have joined part-time management programmes in some prominent private business schools.
Many of them say they feel cheated as there is a big gap between the profile of the class that B-schools promise in the prospectus and what it actually turns out to be.
I don’t blame these working executives. They are being victimized by a new phenomenon that appears to be catching on in private B-schools: filling part-time Postgraduate Diploma in Management, or PGDM, courses with lots of fresh graduates.
For B-schools, especially in metros, India’s business schools regulator, the All India Council For Technical Education, or AICTE, typically sanctions seats for the part-time programme when the infrastructure—class rooms, computers—is being underutilized in the evenings or on weekends.
This is meant for executives who attend classes after finishing their office work. And, when a working executive seeks admission for a part-time programme, there are some expectations besides getting a degree. One of the most important tends to be that the peer group would consist of other “students” holding responsible positions in companies. The idea being that, besides the normal networking, this kind of group also helps in the learning process of these part-time management students.
Examining cases or doing projects in a team is a norm at B-schools. If team members are of similar intellectual level and with work experience, they can obviously relate much more easily to one another and, as a result, each participant in the class gains from the synergy.
The maturity level of such class discussions also tends to be a different plane. While there is a mix of experience and students fresh out of graduate programmes in the daytime business programmes as well, the skew is clearly towards fresh graduates and so are expectations of both teachers and students alike.
B-schools conducting part-time programmes are well aware of the desired profile of the students in such courses. Consider how the prospectus of a well known B-school in Delhi clearly specifies the profile of prospective students: “The three-year, part-time postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM) programme is meant for young individuals who are working as middle/junior level executives/officers in public or private sector organizations, but have not had an opportunity to acquire formal management education.”
But, this very school is pushing fresh graduates into this part-time programme.
An executive I know signed up for this school’s programme a few months ago. He was shocked to then discover that about 70% of the class consisted of fresh graduates. And, even among those who were supposed to be working, there were property dealers or retailers who said they were “helping” their fathers in the business. Since he had already paid the hefty first instalment of fee for the programme, this executive was trapped.
This executive isn’t alone. Many students in other private B-schools are similarly trapped as it is not mandatory for a school to disclose the profile of all the students admitted/short-listed before collecting the first instalment of fee. And B-schools can get away with such irresponsible behaviour as there is no real tradition of students taking such institutes to, say a consumer court. (The AICTE did say earlier this month that students can ask for a refund of fee, after a deduction of processing fee of not more than Rs1,000, in case the student withdraws before the beginning of the programme and a proportional refund if a student leaves the college after joining the course, though it is subject to the vacancy being filled by another candidate.)

More : livemint.com

THORSTEN SEEGER cannot remember what colour his team eventually chose as the background to its presentation. But he does recall that it took several hours for the six aspiring business leaders to agree on it.

Just a week into his MBA course at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, Seeger was confronted with a culture clash. The two Europeans in the team would have had a vote to resolve the issue within minutes. The proceedings were drawn out because the others were Chinese and they wanted to find a consensus.

Seeger said he misread the situation. “For them it was less a discussion about the colour of the presentation, and more of a way to get a feel for each other using a topic of low significance,” he said.

“For most of us Westerners, this was not clear at all and we were complaining to each other about the wasted time. Only several months later did I understand.”

Seeger could hardly be accused of insularity. He was born in Germany and travelled extensively throughout Europe during six years as a management consultant before enrolling on the CEIBS course.

But the 18 months he spent studying in Shanghai, showed him that, to work effectively with people from other cultures, you need to have an open mind.

“That understanding helped me to realise that everybody does business in different ways and that you have to respect people and their ways of doing things,” said Seeger.

It is a multicultural awakening that a growing number of MBA graduates are experiencing. Business schools around the world have reported a surge in applications from foreign students in the past five years.

This trend towards global education offers Britons the opportunity to gain internationally recognised qualifications from top business schools not only in America and continental Europe but also in rising economic giants such as India and China. All offer a mixture of theory and practice across the business spectrum, from finance to marketing. Graduates can expect the salary boost that usually comes with an MBA but they also have a greater global perspective.

More : timesonline.co.uk

MBA : Three Year Evening

Apply Before : February 4, 2002

Prospectus : Rs.300/-
S.P. College of Communication & Management - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan : K.G. Marg, New Delhi-1

Source : Hindustan Times (New Delhi)

MBA : Part Time 2002

Last date for Registration : February 12, 2001

Contact study centre for Registration & Admission :
Shaheed Bhagat Singh College Campus
Central Green, NH-3, NIT, Faridabad.

Delhi Councelling : 805, Arjun Nagar, Block-A, New Delhi. Cell : 9811215032
Admission through entrance test

Source : Hindustan Times (HT Horizons) New Delhi

Offers : 3 Years Part-Time Masters Degree Programme in Marketing Management of University of Mumbai MMM (2002-2003)

Last date for submission of application form : March 8, 2002

Prospectus and application form available on payment of Rs.500/- (non-refundable) and at the time of submission Rs.400/- (non-refundable) towards admission test and GD/PI fees to the office Chetanas Ramprasad Khandelwal Institute of Management & Research
S.No.341, Govt. Colony, Bandra (E), Mumbai-400 051

Important Dates
Written test : March 10, 2002

Source : Times of India (Mumbai)

Join Job Oriented Courses (Evening 6.15 pm to 7.45 pm) One Year P.G. Courses of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Management Courses)

Registration from : 1.3.2002 to 30.3.2002 / Written test held on : 21.4.2002

Prospectus and application forms available for Rs.100/-

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - S.P. College of Communication & Management
Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110 001.

Source : Hindustan Times (New Delhi)

Evening PGPM : A Three Year, Part Time Post-Graduate Programme in Management

Last date of submission of Application Form : 5th April, 2002 (Friday)

Important Date : Sale of Information Bulletin & Application Form: 28th January, 2002 - 5th April, 2002

Admission Test : 21st April, 2002 (Sunday) / Interview : 5th May, 2002 (Sunday)

For details contact : The Administrative Officer (Admissions)
Management Development Institute (MDI) : Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon-122001 (Haryana)

Source : The Hindustan Times (New Delhi)

Offers 3 Years Part-time Masters Degree Programme of University of Mumbai for 2002-03

Financial Management (MFM) / Marketing Management (MMM) / Human Resources Development Management (MHRDM)

Last date for receipt of applications : April 6, 2002

Forms and prospectus available on payment (inclusive of admission test fees) of Rs.950/-

Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management : Lala Lajpatrai Marg, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai-400 034

Important Dates
Entrance Test : April 21, 2002

Source : Times of India (Mumbai)

Invites applications for admission to its seventh three-year evening programme

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (2002-2005) - Commencing July 2002

Last date of submitting the filled application form is April 10, 2002

Admission Test : A written test will be administered on April 21, 2002 (Sunday) at the Institute

For details contact : Administrative Manager,
Nirma Institute of Management : Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad - 382 481

Source : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)

Admission : 3 Year Post Graduate Programme in Management (Evening) for working executives commencing on 17th July, 2002

Last date for receipt of completed applications forms : April 15, 2002

Information brochure and application forms giving detailed information will be available till April 13, 2002 on all working days on payment of Rs.850/- in cash or by DD (Add Rs.75/- for sending information brochure by post in India and Rs.200/- abroad) drawn in favour of :
Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management
Shastri Sadan, Venkateshwara Mandir Marg, Sector-III, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110 022

Important Dates
GD/PI : 4th Week of April, 2002 at LBSIM, Delhi

Source : Hindustan Times (New Delhi)