Saritha is mega thrilled after the recent MBA counselling when she got a seat allotted in one of the better MBA colleges in Hyderabad. She thought that life is easier now and there is no looking back. However, her happiness was short lived. Two days into the college, she came to know from her seniors that the placement is not good and there is anxiety all around. The general feedback is that the college did not train the students adequately so that they can safely land in a lucrative job.
Ramakrishna is a middle level Executive in a private insurance company. His dream was to secure his son a decent job in one of the multi-national companies. He motivated his son to study well and personally paid attention to his studies. But his son Sudhakar got a very low rank in MBA Entrance Test and ended up in a MBA college attached to an Engineering College not having good reputation. Ramakrishna’s enquiries revealed that the college does not have proper infrastructure and the quality of faculty is below the required standards, so the aspirations of students are pretty low. He cannot afford to put his son in well known business management schools. He is worried that his dream of a lucrative career for his son in a multinational company may not come true.
Now that MBA counselling is over and the classes have commenced for the MBA program, experiences such as the above are common. A realty check is all that it takes. Many of the MBA colleges in the State are below par in terms of infrastructure, academic facilities and placement support. Quality of faculty members is suspect. The institutions do not have focus on developing well rounded management graduates who can secure placements in reputed corporates with minimum hurdles. Most institutions lack industry orientation and cutting edge curriculum. Generally colleges do not focus on student development to cater to the industry needs. Instead their focus on passing the examinations and award of a degree. As a result of this, the proportion of suitable graduates who are employable is abysmally low.
Should the dreams of the aspiring students taking professional studies be shattered due to lack of focus on quality of MBA education offered in your college? Should parents be disappointed and leave it to the fate of their wards. The answer is ‘no’. Students who are aspiring for professional courses in general and MBA program in particular need to have a plan of their own, should the plan of college in which they are studying does not work. It is always the early bird which catches the worm. If you want to be successful and not settle down for disappointments, you should be proactive and keep your plan ready. Here is a map for drawing your own plan for success.
Begin with the End in Mind
When we begin with the end in mind, we have a personal direction to guide our daily activities, without which we will accomplish little towards our goal. It helps to take control of our own lives. It helps us to take responsibility for the outcome. According to Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis, “Management is doing the things right; Leadership is doing the right things.” Whether it is managing your life or managing a business, you need to focus on three major aspects. First is leadership – what do you want to accomplish? Second is management – how best can you accomplish? Third is productivity – doing it. A good starting point is beginning with the end in mind that will help you develop a personal mission statement. It will help you to be focused and drive you to achieve what you want to be.
Visualise what you want to be
Remember that you have joined the MBA program for a purpose. It could be to join your family business, to start your own business, to serve the society by joining a non-governmental organization, to serve corporate sector or government sector organization. Whatever it is, you need to package yourself with the needs of your dream career. Be clear about the purpose of your joining a professional course such as MBA and stay focused. If you keep on visualising your goal all the time, it sets your direction and pace of progress right.