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"We have seminars, group discussions, study tours as part of our curriculum but they are hardly conducted. Our study tours are more jolly picnics. The required seriousness is not found in these colleges. Immediately after I came to Bangalore, I was short-listed in the entrance test of a reputed college.
But in the second round, I was told that I lacked communication skills. I even joined a personality development course of one month. Now, I am a lot more serious than I was before," says Somesh.

"It is not that all of us suffer. There are unlimited openings. The private sector demands certain qualities, which we need to possess. How many of us try to inculcate what we lack? Some girls in my college did not know why they were in a management course? With such attitude, it is indeed difficult to dream of success," says Sadashiv. He adds that we never received any campus interviews. An IIM student has a complete and concrete plan of his future. It should be a combined effort of the college as well as the students to look after the benefit of the student. "Every non-IIM student has to work as a trainee without much hope of good salary. The increased number of graduates has forced the selection process to be tougher. We have to be very selective. However, we cannot compromise with the quality as we are answerable to the industry," says Sucheta G. who runs a consultant firm.

We have known it for a while now: when the seven-figure salary itch happens, the MBA is the quickest way to move up from the Dilbertian cubicle farm to the classy corner office with a view. And industry opinion converges on this fact: an MBA is on everyone's radar. Says Shiv Aggrawal, Director, ABC Consultants, "It may not seem like it now, but at some point in the future everyone will consider further study in business at the postgraduate level." Whether to broaden horizons and shift your career focus, to accelerate your progression up the ladder by specializing in a particular field, or to strengthen your CV and consequently, your earning potential, you are undoubtedly aware of the value an MBA degree offers to both prospective students and employers.

Now, however, two things are changing. First, the demographic the degree addresses is no longer the same. It's no longer the fresh graduate who signs up for the course but the experienced professional as well. Second, the traditional two-year course is morphing into a one-year degree.

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* Contributed by -
Oumkar Umesh,
Senior Correspondent - The Observer of Management,
Article Published in Vol. 1 Issue 12 December 2006.