Business Management

Business,Marketing and Management Studies

What will I learn?
Degrees in business and management are among the most popular among students. Fortunately, universities have sought to match demand with plenty of courses.

These degrees focus on how organizations operate - what they do, their styles of management and their business strategies. Marketing degrees look more closely at understanding consumer behavior – from understanding the psychology of advertising, to developing a grasp of how the economic climate impacts particular sectors.

There is a diverse range of courses, each with a different emphasis or specialism. For example, some courses will lean more towards commerce or retail, while others will focus on tourism or international business. The common threads of any business degree, however, tend to be looking at finance, marketing and human resource management.

Some business courses will have a more defined vocational element to them, so you'll be working in a team to create a company and market a product before you've finished looking at your reading list. Other courses will make work placements a compulsory part of the degree. Most universities will boast of having good links with business, which means visiting lecturers and the chance to build contacts.

Big business is no longer just about making money and ruthless takeovers, however. Companies are trying to improve their ethical and environmental standing, so expect to see relevant course modules popping up in the prospectus.

What skills will I gain?
As well as an understanding of how things work in business and management, by the time you graduate you should be able to demonstrate an understanding of markets, finance, managing people, operations, information systems, policy and strategy.

You probably won't be afraid of standing up in front of the class to present your ideas or argue your point around the negotiating table.

With group work a key part of many courses, you will have built up your teamwork and leadership skills, and be able to demonstrate your ability to consider all things related to establishing your own business and marketing a product.

You should also have an understanding of the ethical implications of business operations. If your work focuses on retail, you should be able to debate issues surrounding fair trade, for example.

A key part of managing others is the ability to relate to them and understand their needs, all skills you should be developing during your degree.

What job can I get?
A popular subject among students will inevitably mean tougher competition for jobs. And because it's not as specialist a field as architecture or medicine, say, you may find yourself up against graduates with history or economics degrees who decide in their final year that they want a career in business.

That said, the nature of your business courses and the practical experience that you've gained will mean you are well placed to get a job in the City or in one of the top companies that recruit graduates for their annual programmes. These graduate schemes should give you a good general grounding in business and the chance to focus on a particular area, such as human resources, or finance or marketing.

What will look good on the CV?
· Evidence of effective problem-solving and decision-making.
· Self-awareness and sensitivity in relation to business and management issues.
· The ability to address issues at international level.

Distance learning

 Benefits of Distance            Learning

Studying by distance learning has the benefit of allowing you to develop your career without having to leave employment. It also means that you can apply new knowledge and insights to your working life while you are still studying, with many students choosing to tackle work-related topics in their dissertations.

Distance learning isn't just about career progression. It can also be to deepen your knowledge of a favorite’s subject or simply for the pure enjoyment of learning.

Flexibility

Distance learning is a flexible way to study as you are able to choose when and where you study - from home, in the office, or anywhere in the world! There are no timetabled classes to attend which means you can fit studying for a qualification around your other commitments.

Supported study

Self-study is central to any distance learning course. However, should you need it, support is always available from your tutors at the University. You will, of course, have access to the Library’s special service for distance learning students and to internet and database services, as well as to Blackboard - our virtual learning environment.

Our experience

Throughout your course you will benefit from studying with a university that has more than 25 years of experience in this type of learning. Distance learning is a core part of what we do at the University of Leicester and our courses are flexible and of the highest quality, as well as being focused on you and your needs.

Career-changing

A qualification from the University of Leicester is career-changing. It can be the springboard to promotion with your current employer, the platform from which to launch a new career or simply a way to become more effective in your current role. Choosing to study for a degree gives a clear signal to employers that you are committed to developing your skills and knowledge.

And of course, studying for a degree at the University of Leicester is a rewarding and enriching experience that brings about significant personal development.

Besteduonline.in

             Executive MBA from Delhi School of Management 

Delhi School of Management:

(DSM) was established in 2009 with Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) acquiring a University status, being officially renamed as Delhi Technological University (DTU) through a legislature passed by the Delhi State Assembly.

 DSM envisages at developing distinctive future managers, keeping up with the tradition of DCE (and now DTU) by providing excellent world class education. DSM was established with a vision of inculcating a penchant for innovation, research, and experimentation in the aspiring managers. DSM aims at extending the seven-decade long legacy of DCE by incubating and developing techno-managers, who are adept at identifying pertinent and critical business problems and apply their technical skills and competencies in solving those issues.

 In order to train its students to face the challenges of an information and knowledge driven work environment, DSM provides them with the Triple E: Education, Experience and Exposure. DSM strives to inculcate in its students the managerial competence through specialized knowledge and skills, while simultaneously empowering their minds through quality teaching, consultancy, and other professional services in order to fulfill its role of a vibrant and model institution capable of imparting quality education in the area of Management Studies. DSM envisions at developing a knowledge society by providing equitable access to the masses and broadening the span of their participation in the areas of higher education.

 The USP of DSM’s MBA program is its dual specialization. First two semesters focus on developing a strong foundation and right attitude by teaching general subjects of Management. Next two semesters provide the choice of one specialization each from the Technical and Functional area of Management.

In the Nielsen Survey for India Today’s Best Colleges—one of the most respected ranking for India’s premier institutions—released on July 8, 2011, DTU scored 7th Position among the top 10 including the IITs. The MDRA Survey for Outlook’s Best Engineering Colleges for 2011 also ranked DTU at number 8 in the Top 10 Government Colleges. In the Outlook Survey, DTU has also been placed 3rd in the list of "Top 10 Engineering Colleges in Placement", 7th in "Top 10 Engineering Colleges in Selection Process". DTU also earned the 5th Rank for "Top 10 Engineering Colleges In Personality Development & Industry Interface", and 7th rank for "Top 10 Engineering Colleges In Infrastructure & Facilities".

Besteduonline Program

                       Besteduonline Programs

Virtual learning is giving millions of people across the globe a new way to further their education. Students who are not in a position to study full-time due to work commitments, family priorities or financial reasons are able to consider studying from home. The distance learning MBA is gaining popularity, with many of the world’s top business schools developing virtual learning courses that can match up to their existing full-time programs. IE and Warwick Business School are the top two business schools in the world offering distance learning MBAs, but how do they measure up to their full-time counterparts in reality? Read on to discover more about the benefits of distance learning as well as its downsides.

Besteduonline and new technologies

Webinars and virtual learning environments are relatively new phenomena in the distance learning world. It’s only in the last decade or so that new video and interactive technologies have become readily available worldwide and our bandwidth speeds are able to keep up. Unfortunately because of its relative newness, there are the obvious teething problems with distance learning courses. Out of the wide range of people that sit in on these webinars there will always be one, certainly in the initial weeks, who cannot get their microphone or speakers to work and you’re likely be distracted by the regular sound effects from local emergency services from around the globe, which will probably begin to lose its novelty at some point in week three.

To find out whether these problems affected even the most prestigious of universities, the author of this piece sat in on a webinar for distance learning MBA applicants of the Warwick Business School in the UK where it was clear that the majority of people were newcomers to the web chat environment. This led to people talking on top of each other and numerous recitations of the phrase ‘can you hear me now?’ Not exactly the slick, professional atmosphere you would expect from a leading business school.  

Despite these initial problems it is extremely clear from the outset that these classes operate precisely as a real seminar would, with just as much interaction and equal amounts of support from faculty members. There are obvious advantages too; pause, rewind and fast forward are just three of the best examples of how technology makes life so much easier for the conscientious modern student. At a top business school such as WBS there will be just as high a level of intellectual discussion as on a face-to-face full-time MBA course, but it may take a little bit of getting used to the quirks of web based learning. Nigel Pye, assistant dean for the executive and distant learning MBA programs from besteduonline at Warwick Business School asserts that “teaching methods must inevitably be adapted to cater for the online environment, but this can be a benefit since students can choose the methods that best suit them. They can listen to lectures while driving, watch lectures on their computer or download material for reading.”

Lack of face-to-face time in virtual learning from Besteduonline:

The comforting notions of being able to train for your MBA at home in your pajamas is very alluring but there are disadvantages to this comfort, as you do not have much face-to-face training which will help develop your business skills in a real environment where verbal communication is one of the most important skills to master.

This does not mean however that distance learning programs ignore the value of face-to-face interaction. “By the very nature of the delivery method we do not have the same degree of face-to-face contact as with full-time students, but there is the opportunity for regular interaction between the student, WBS and other students.  All DL program related staff – faculty and administrators – receive a daily digest of items raised on the discussion boards so that they can respond quickly to any issues or questions,” Pye explains.

The main thing to realize when researching possible courses, is that a distance learning MBA is very much distinct from an online MBA or a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and because this is the case, your place of study may well require you to be present at a number of learning events. Pye discusses this; “There are three key points in the course where students must attend Warwick Business School; twice in the first year, for four or five days, and once in the second year for one to three days, depending on elective modules chosen.  In addition, a five-day face-to-face module is included in the price of the course.  This module may be taken at Warwick or one of our many worldwide partner universities in places such as Dubai, Singapore, Germany or China.”

So if the main selling point of taking a distance learning MBA for you is the ability to remain alone and anonymous, then it’s likely that Warwick’s program may sound daunting. Despite this, the alternative options of studying a MOOC or a solely online MBA wouldn’t nurture growth in these areas as much as a full-time or even a distance MBA would. Both WBS courses make face-to-face learning a compulsory factor in order to develop solid communication and interpersonal skills which are essential in business.

Home distractions and the virtual learning workload in Besteduonline

Even the most dedicated of students will struggle to stay alert throughout a two-hour long virtual learning session, especially when you’re just one click away from your emails or Facebook or the entirety of the internet. If you’re not using a webcam, the temptation to sneak away to make a killer five-tier sandwich is somewhat powerful, and something you wouldn’t be able to do in a real life seminar – even if you were still tempted to. This is just one reason why distance learners must have a great deal of self-motivation and discipline in the long term in order to keep up a regular routine of studying. And, as you are not required to view lectures at specific times, keeping up with the workload can get hard, especially if you have the added stress of another job.

Pye says, ‘For some students a sudden spike in their job’s workload or family issues may mean they start to fall behind; we have a very flexible program of modules that allows students to defer individual modules or even temporarily withdraw from the program.  It can be done in 34 months but we allow up to 60 months to complete the course.”

Employability in distance learning MBA graduates with Besteduonline

It seems that many prospective students question the legitimacy and the employability power of studying a distance learning course even if it is from a reputed school. Principal teaching fellow at Warwick Business School, Dr Derek Condon tackles this doubt by stating that “if you come to Warwick you'll get a Warwick MBA, no matter how you choose to study." Statistics also prove that employers are similarly as keen to hire distance learning MBA graduates as they are for those having studied a full-time MBA.

Virtual learning is expanding at a healthy pace and according to AMBA’s Intake and Graduation 2012 survey almost a third of all MBA enrollments in the UK are now for distance learning courses. And because of this substantial participation in the MBA student market, distance learning courses are continuing to gain recognition and accreditation within the MBA world and outside of it. Pie concludes with his view on the main advantage of studying a distance learning MBA with Besteduonline. “Perhaps the strongest aspect of the course is the flexibility and the ability for students to advance at their own pace. One of the great strengths of a part-time course is the ability for students to put theory into practice as they apply their learning in their day jobs. They can then use this experience to write their assignments.”

Education School

Are business education and social responsibility incompatible?

Some would argue yes. Studies have shown a correlation between studying economics and selfish behavior, ranging from economics professors giving less to charity than their counterparts in other disciplines, to economic students viewing greed as acceptable. Other research establishes a link between business studies and a lack of empathy and social responsibility, with finance students demonstrating the lowest levels of empathy toward fellow humans in the study. Then there is the issue of cheating among business students, highlighted when Duke suspended or expelled 24 MBA students for cheating on the 2008 exam (though such incidents can be found across all subjects).

But for each study or example depicting the view of dishonesty among business students, there is one indicating students embarking on business education do not show signs of a deficit in terms of social responsibility compared other students, before, during or after the program.

In short, scientific results are inconclusive. But what about deciding to go to business school? Is that a selfish act in itself?  

Candidates embarking on an executive MBA degree are ambitious by nature. They’re determined, motivated, strong-minded and resolute. They have to be to survive and excel in the demanding environment that is the EMBA classroom. Yes, these candidates are studying for an EMBA to better themselves, to further their career, climb up the management ladder and create a profitable business, of their own or their employers. But does that make them selfish by definition?

Upon graduation, when the candidate uses his or her newly acquired knowledge to establish a nonprofit, this can hardly be deemed a selfish act. When the newly accredited EMBA graduate receives a promotion, opening up a position for a fellow team member to rise up the ranks, is this an act of selfishness? What about when the EMBA student’s class project benefits his/her employer, thus establishing a new and efficient system? Selfish or not? Will the MBA ROI be shared around and enjoyed by others?

Top B-School

INDIA'S BEST B-SCHOOLS

India is home to around three thousand institutes offering management education. Of these, only a few schools can boast of imparting education of excellent quality, churn out leaders, and hence are worth joining. Given the large number of institutes, especially with their boastful claims (genuine and otherwise), it is difficult for a student to make the right decision regarding the selection of an institute. That the definition of a 'top B-School' varies between people and across years makes matters greatly complicated. Throw in into this mix is the fact that a lot of B-Schools make exaggerated claims and we have an extremely complex situation that makes it difficult to make the     right decision. To be able to cut through the clutter and identify these 'top B-Schools', it is necessary that one understands the key parameters to be used to evaluate and differentiate between B-Schools so that one can arrive at a consideration set of schools that they can apply to. This is a complex process that needs a lot of research to get the correct information about the required parameters and then the ability to use the information in a meaningful manner. This also requires the ability to cut through the boastful claims of many B-Schools on various aspects. With the objective of helping our students to make the right decision without going through this complex process, T.I.M.E. releases a list of India's top B-Schools annually. This list segregates B-Schools into various categories, thereby aiding the students in choosing the set of B-Schools to apply to. This list is made using a methodology that has a proven track record of over a decade, after months of extensive research by experts who have over two decades of experience in guiding students on Indian MBA admissions. In this context, we bring you two important aspects: (a) various parameters that need to be looked at while verifying the credentials of a B-School and (b) T.I.M.E.'s list of the Top B-Schools in India for 2015. PARAMETERS FOR VERIFYING THE CREDENTIALS OF A B-SCHOOL (a) Quality of students The quality of students on campus makes a huge difference on account of the interaction that students have with their peers. A significant proportion of the learning at any good B-School happens outside class and a fairly significant part of this comes from peer learning. A great deal of learning at any B-School is on account of group activities such as assignments and projects. Hence, better the peers, richer is the learning experience. The quality of the selection process (in terms of the percentile/cut off in the written exam, the rigorousness of the GD/Essay-writing/Interview, profile of the students, etc.) adopted by the institute gives one an idea about the quality of the students it admits. (b) Quality of faculty The quality of the inputs one gets at a B-School is driven by the quality of the faculty. All top B-Schools make significant investments to attract and retain a top-notch faculty team. Most top B-Schools have a judicious mix of full- and part-time faculty members. The full-time faculty team provides the continuity and monitoring that is needed over the two-year period, apart from providing any handholding required by students. The part-time faculty team gives students the much-needed external exposure, especially in terms of contacts with industry and access to real time projects. Many data points about the faculty - their longevity at the school, their research contributions, association/collaboration with foreign schools, etc., along with something as basic as the number of faculty with doctorates – help students get an overview of the quality of faculty at the school. (c) Placements A large number of management institutes boast of a 100 per cent placement record. With management institutes mushrooming all over the country, these claims should not be taken at face value, and should be scrutinized closely. While these claims may not be outright lies, they could be cleverly camouflaged by 'requesting some students to opt out of placement process'. It helps to understand that all companies that B-Schools claim to be recruiters from their campus need not necessarily be picking up students in the final placement process. Some/many of them may be those who hired students for summer internships. Students should make the necessary effort to get a clear picture about this before making their decision, particularly if they are basing their decision on the kind of companies that visit the campus. It requires a fair amount of due diligence before one can come to drawing conclusions about the status of placements in a B-School. It has been noticed that most students, in the excitement of considering the high average salary, miss the average number of offers that each student receives. This parameter is also important as it indicates the amount of choice that a student has in terms of jobs across companies on offer. However, it is also important to note that placement numbers reveal only short-term trends. What may not be obvious are the long-term benefits that the school could offer. Hence, one could make a mistake if one looks only at the placement figures. (d) Image of the Institute It does not need any special emphasis to state the importance of the image/brand-value of the B-School. It is fairly obvious even to a cursory observer of the MBA scenario that stronger the brand, better will the placements be in the short term and more rewarding will the career be in the long term. The 'brand image' of a B-School in the student community and its acceptance in the industry circles is hence one of the key considerations while choosing a B-School. While it can be said that it is natural for older institutes to have a better reputation than the new schools, it cannot always be generalized. Also, the situation is slightly different when an older, well-established institute establishes a new campus. In such cases, the 'parent/guardian' institute certainly helps the new institute through its formative years. This help may include, but may not be limited to, faculty support, admissions support, and most importantly, placement support. The long-term advantages of association with a good brand often overhaul the short-term parameters such as 'salary'. Students should understand that the brand value of B-Schools, for example, that of the IIMs, has the power to open doors in the corporate world; this would mean access to people and in many cases, it would make the difference between a deal and a no-deal. Long after a student has passed out of an institute, he/she will benefit from the power of its brand image – both in career growth and in the day-to-day work/business. Not only students, the image of the school helps in attracting faculty as well. Some students are apprehensive about joining the newer IIMs. They should know that the new IIMs (located at Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Udaipur and Trichy) have been witnessing encouraging placements, including for summer internships. Whether it is the average salary in final placements (around 10-14 lakh) or the reputation of recruiters, the newly established IIMs (set up after 2008) should certainly be preferred over most non-IIM B-Schools, more importantly for the long-term brand advantage that one can enjoy. (e) Location of the B-School  Location indirectly affects the placements on the campus. Placements are better at institutes located in places where there is a concentration of business and industry. This is because companies find it much easier to recruit management graduates from institutes located closer to their own headquarters rather than travel to an institute that is located far away. For this reason, everything else remaining the same, institutes located in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru always score better than institutes based in other cities. Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad make up the next level of cities. The impact of location on the institute becomes more pronounced as we go down the category list. If we look at the six new IIMs again, we understand that in spite of the non-metro nature of their locations, these IIMs are able to attract the best of students and are also able to attract and retain senior faculty. (f) Quality of infrastructure  One of the important things required for an institute to function satisfactorily is the availability of necessary infrastructure in terms of a state-of-the-art computer lab, high-speed internet connectivity, well-stocked library with subscriptions to management journals, and classrooms furnished with audio-visual aids. Any institute that does not have these facilities cannot be called top-class. The fully residential programme of the top B-Schools fosters all-round development as the period of interaction with peers and faculty is just not restricted to the class hours but is an ongoing 24/7 process where the scope to learn is multiplied many times over. (g) Fee  The growth in the number of B-Schools and the lack of commensurate boom in the economy over the last four years has meant that the expectations of students from an 'Return on Investment' (RoI) perspective were not met in some cases. For many schools, their ability to place students has come under question, particularly for those outside the 'top-50' bracket. With the fee being charged by many of them also rising sharply, it is necessary that one needs to ensure that the return on the fee being invested also works out to be reasonable. It could, however, be said that fee is a non-issue in the case of top B-Schools. Loans are fairly easily available to study at these schools and the ability of the students to repay their loans is also high due to the good placements. (h) Programmes offered by institutes There are two major types of programmes: (1) General Management Programme (GMP) and (2) Sectoral Programme. A General Management Programme gives a student the flexibility to join any sector and thus offers maximum diversification and placement opportunities as opposed to a Specialization-based Programme. All the IIMs and most of the other top B-Schools offer this programme. However, some B-Schools offer programmes catering to a specific sector or specializing in a specific area. Institutes like IIFT (International Business), IRMA (Rural/Agri-business Management), MICA (Strategic Marketing and Communication), TISS (Human Resource Management), and XLRI (Human Resource Management) are the best in their respective sectors and students who are interested in these areas should consider these schools as the first choice. These days several new kinds of programmes are on offer, catering to specific sectors and needs of the industry like those in actuarial science, retail, and insurance. The placement opportunities in these specialized programmes are restricted to companies in that sector and as such do not lend the kind of flexibility to one's career that a GMP offers. This, however, should not matter much if one is interested in a specific sector and is hence looking at an MBA programme in that sector. So far so good, but the question remains – what are the top schools in India from which I should select the schools I could apply to? We at T.I.M.E. use our extensive student database, decades of experience in the field and a proven methodology to categorize the top institutes in the country. OUR METHODOLOGY The B-School categorization process adopted by T.I.M.E. is an elaborate, multi-step process where due weightage is given to the statistics available about an institute in the public domain and the opinion of experts at T.I.M.E. This unique blend of expert opinion and objective data makes it the most accurate categorization available. The objective parameters used comprise (a) placement data, (b) cut-off score in entrance test, (c) location of the school, (d) age of the school, (e) programme fee. The rating given by T.I.M.E. experts, based on the brand image of the school, its alumni base and its faculty strength forms the subjective part of the process. Please note that only schools offering two-year programmes, with at least one batch having passed out, have been considered for this exercise. The B-Schools in the list below are divided into seven broad categories: Top 10 category features world-class institutes, such as the IIMs and XLRI, which every student aspires to secure an admission into. Many of these institutes are comparable with the best in the world. These institutes invariably have a 100% placement record. Even the not-so-academically-good students at these institutes manage to get good jobs on account of the 'rub-off' effect of the institute. AAA category of institutes has excellent B-Schools in their own right. They offer high quality of education, faculty, and infrastructure facilities. These institutes have a 100% placement record in most cases. A significant number of the top students at these institutes are able to secure placements that are comparable to those offered at the Top 10 institutes. AA & A categories of institutes offer a high quality of education, faculty, and infrastructure facilities even though these may not be comparable to those listed in the above two categories. These institutes are successful in providing high quality placements to their top students, especially those with good communication skills. They also have a decent brand value and are well recognised by the industry. BBB category schools are also well regarded by the industry but may lag slightly behind in terms of the overall brand value, compared to A category schools. While many students get good placements, these schools may not always have a 100% placement record. BB & B categories of institutes are those that are well regarded at the local level. These institutes may not provide too many national-level placement opportunities but are generally successful in providing placements to many of their students with prominent local companies. Apart from all these, we have also listed B-Schools under the 'Others' category, which has institutes that may be found to be lacking in one or more of: (a) infrastructure; (b) industry interface; (c) faculty; (d) alumni network; (e) curriculum, and (f) placements. However, we believe these colleges are better than the hordes of others that do not feature in our list at all. You are hence advised to get thorough information (by visiting the campuses and speaking with past and current students) about these institutes before taking any decision regarding them. Within a category, there is not much difference between schools. For example, a slight edge that one school has due to placements may be balanced by the advantage on cut-off that another school from the same category has. That would mean that one has to treat all the B-Schools within a category broadly at par while using this list to decide on the schools to apply to. You would observe that the grouping categories do not have uniformity with regards to the number of B-Schools per category. However, this is done to ensure homogeneity (placements, cut-offs, brand value, et al.) between the B-Schools within a category. Keeping in line with this spirit, the 'A' category has been extended this year to include 15 schools from the traditional ten that we have had so far. Also, you would notice that all the new entrants into the 'A' category are better than the schools in the category below it for various reasons – placements, cutoff/profile, brand value of the institute, etc. In other words, it means that the top 50 schools – Top 10, AAA, AA, and A categories – would be the schools to aspire for. Students need to note that as discussed earlier, 'fee' as a parameter becomes increasingly relevant as one moves down the ratings list. We have considered 'fee' as an objective parameter for categorising the schools outside the top 25, i.e., schools from category AA downwards, till B and 'Others'. YOUR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AT THE B-SCHOOL MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE An extremely important factor that students need to keep in mind is that, regardless of the kind of school they get into, their academic performance in the programme plays a great role in determining the kind of benefit (return) they get out of their MBA. It is true that all schools have students who are laggards and their placements may not be the envy of many. However it is also true that the really good performers from the schools in the lower categories may bag the best of placements from their campuses and make the most of their MBA stint. The obvious point that many miss out on is that the students who work hard on campus during the course of the programme, across categories of B-Schools, certainly do much better than the rest. HOW WILL THIS CATEGORIZATION HELP YOU? The list of top B-Schools is a valuable guide that will help students pick their set of B-Schools to apply to. The first question one should ask is, 'How many B-Schools should I apply to?' The answer to this depends on a few factors. The first factor is your 'budget'. With the cost of application for each institute being in the range of 500 to 2,500, an optimal number may be ten to twelve schools. However, it could be slightly higher, if one can afford it. It is strongly advised that you apply to institutes across categories. The second factor is your 'current status'. A final-year student, for example, can afford to be selective as he/she can make another attempt the next year, while a person who has completed graduation and is not working will be keener to get into a B-School. A working professional, comfortable placed with two years of work experience may be selective, while one with over four years of work experience under the belt may not want to lose further time and play it safe by applying to more schools. The third factor is 'your mock-tests' performance'. Depending on your performance, you may want to hedge your risk by applying to more institutes – particularly, to institutes across categories that we discussed above. Once the number of schools is determined, you must decide on the individual B-Schools to apply to. It is a good practice to apply to institutes in three different categories – 50% of the schools in the category where you are likely to land calls for second round, 30% of the schools in an aspiration level – typically one level above your expected range – and 20% in the level below the expected range, to safeguard your interests in case of a bad performance. All students should be applying to the IIMs by virtue of filling in the CAT application form. We would strongly advise you to apply to ALL the IIMs. The time for picking and choosing will come later – once you have secured the final admissions. Here's an example for a better understanding: Let's say that you have decided to apply to ten institutes. First, check how you have performed in the AIMCATs and what your percentile score has been like. If you are in the 85 percentile range, you will need to apply to five institutes from the A category, three from AA and two from BBB.

How to prepare for campus placements: Preparation Tips & Tricks

The campus placements season will start in the next few weeks and I hope all the

who're eligible for campus placements; the ones who are in third / final year have chalked out a plan to prepare for the placements. This placements season is going to be a bit tighter than the previous seasons given the current economic situations and the general slow-down in hiring. Only the best of the best will have the chance at grabbing the jobs and that means, the ones who start preparing earlier will be ahead of the competition.

Tip: If you like the tips presented here, do not forget to share them with your friends on Face book, Twitter, Google Plus etc. There are relevant buttons at the bottom of this article.

I decided to jot down the general preparation tips & tricks that will help you crack the 2013 placements season. The preparation will start with some survey -

1. Which companies visit your college / university for placements? (Viz. Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, ABB, L&T and so on)

2. What are the recruitment procedures for each of the companies?

3. What is the general intake? For example, there are colleges where the big IT companies recruit in hundreds! This will help you decide the level of competition you're likely to face.

4. What are the eligibility criteria? This is very important because it will help you eliminate the companies you should be preparing for.

With all of the above information at your disposal, you may start your entire prep work in following manner -

1. Back to the Roots: A lot of candidates tend to ignore this, but the most important thing in your selection process is going to be your knowledge of engineering topics - that you've studied over the last 2-3 years. All of your efforts will go waste if you lack the basic knowledge of the subjects. Forget mugging up and reproducing - something that you're used to do for the exams. Instead, revise all the subjects 'for yourself'!

2. Pick Your Favorite Engineering Subject / Topic: Interviewers make their job easier by asking you for your favorite engineering subject. Now, you should really be very well prepared to handle this question. Once you tell the interviewers your favorite topic; expect a few questions related to it. It's natural that you should be prepared to answer questions on your favorite engineering subject or topic. If you haven't already decided, it'd be worth going back to all the topics and find out the one which you found the most interesting.

3. Aptitude Tests: This is where the first eliminations will begin - the aptitude tests. Lot of engineering students fears the aptitude tests. But the fact is that there's nothing to worry about because it's *VERY EASY* to crack aptitude tests. All it takes it practice! Yep! You read that right. Just keep on practicing and in a month or two - you will solve all the aptitude questions like a pro. Don't expect to master the aptitude skills in just a week or two. At least 1.5-2 months is the minimum required time.

One thing you can definitely do is skip the harder topics; like for most of the students, questions on permutations and combinations, probability are difficult. So skip them! But at the same time, make sure you're very good at cracking all the other types of questions. You can always discuss questions and quick way to solve aptitude questions with our fellow CEans here.

4. Written & Spoken English: Like it or not; but the Indian job markets demand people who can speak and write correct English. Unfortunately - very few people pay attention to their communication skills. If you think you need to sharpen your English speaking / writing skills; then NOW is the time to do it. It's going to help you in your entire career. Trust me, a lot of people unnecessarily get rejected because they can't communicate or express themselves.

5. Interview (Technical): If you're good at engineering topics (tip #1), then cracking the technical interview won't be a problem. There are several tips here on CE that will help you crack the technical interviews. It's better to ask your doubts in our technical discussion sections ( no matter how basic they are) and get your ideas clear.

6. Interview (HR): If you think that clearing apt and technical rounds ensures that you're selected, the wait a minute - many times, overconfident candidates gets rejected in HR interviews - something that shouldn't happen to you. So take the HR interviews seriously!

But that doesn't mean you should have a serious expression on your face. All you're expected in an HR interview is to be yourself, have a smiling face, don't be over confident and be excited about the things. Don't overdo anything!

That said, if you have any questions or doubts about cracking the campus recruitments season 2013; post them below. Wish you all the best!

For more inquiry just visit: besteduonline.in

Benefits of Executive MBA

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The Benefits of an Executive MBA #5 The Impact on Colleagues and Company

In the fifth installment of its look at the benefits of an EMBA, TopMBA.com looks at how it can impact companies and one's colleagues.

The benefits of an Executive MBA on the individual graduate are often talked about but there is another party reaping the rewards of the EMBA student’s business school investment – the employer.

Company funding for Executive MBAs may be warning in these difficult financial times, but many employers are still aware of the positive impact an EMBA can have on their organization.

The immediate benefits for employers and colleagues rest not only in the applied hard skills an EMBA student acquires throughout the program, but also in the confidence, attitude and new approach to work a newly graduated EMBA employee will likely bring to the organization as a whole.

In addition, the structure of Executive MBA programs mean employees can apply new skills and knowledge into the workplace straight away, thus making an instant impact rather than having to wait until after graduation.

At the forefront of business trends

The EMBA environment presents students with a range of new experiences and impressions. These can be used to make a positive contribution to the workplace. Yet of greatest value is the exposure Executive MBA students receive to cutting edge developments and prospects in the international and global business world. This means they are able to identify new trends and swiftly turn them into opportunities, either for a specific company project or the organization as a whole. The global business environment is one of high dynamism and frequent change and being embedded in a learning environment, such as that of the EMBA classroom, gives employees the unparalleled possibility to find out about and react to these latest trends quickly. This, among other aspects of an EMBA education, results in an EMBA employee being able to think better strategically with the organization’s interests in mind.

Shaping strategy

Being able to shape strategies effectively and innovatively is perhaps among the most valuable benefits an EMBA student can bestow on his or her company. Thinking through complex business cases and problems within the EMBA curriculum, inside and outside the classroom, will often result in greater agility in tackling problems that arise within the work context. Additionally, being exposed to new perspectives and creative input from other classmates and students creates a general outlook of innovation and inspiration.

Developing strong leadership

Employees with an EMBA education will often exhibit innovation, tenacity and forward-thinking. This is particularly inspiring for colleagues around them. As a result, EMBA graduates make for stronger team leaders who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to create and motivate better performing teams. EMBA programs today increasingly focus on the development of soft skills, such as improved communication, a greater self-awareness and the ability to motivate others more effectively. When EMBA-employees directly transfer this knowledge from the business school classroom into the real world, this can make for a very productive, dynamic and rewarding process. Furthermore, the reactions and responses from work teams and employers can be critically discussed back in the classroom, and potential challenges can be addressed. However, the learning doesn’t stop there. The results of these discussions among the EMBA faculty and a student’s classmates can then be fed back immediately into the work environment.

Spreading the skills

An Executive MBA doesn’t just equip students with the most up to date knowledge in the business sector; it also arms them with the tools, methodologies and analytical frameworks to work from. This is yet another advantage the Executive MBA brings to the organization. While an EMBA employee’s fellow colleagues can witness firsthand the relevance of their co-worker’ education, perhaps the true benefit is in the frameworks he or she implements and to lasting effect. This combined with a new perspective and different methods of approaching specific problems on a wider, collective basis can only result in a win-win situation for all involved.

Getting the Most Out of Online Education Advertising

Competition for ad space is getting fierce on the online education marketplace. Check out these tools to get the best advantage.

Online education advertising is quickly becoming the main advertising platform for all businesses. A study by Pew estimates that income from digital advertising will increase by 40 percent between 2011 and 2015. Within the next four years, online education advertising could soon overtake all other forms of promotion. 

Because of this trend, competition is getting fierce as the online education begins to get overcrowded with ads. It is easy for small education platform to get lost in the crowd.

Whether you use Google Ad Words, Face book Ads, content marketing or a combination of everything, you need to make sure you are using them to your best advantage. This will get your education seen and allow you to save money in the process. 

Below are a handful of tips to help you get more from your online advertising:

Use Google Ad Words Features:

There are a lot of features available when you are using Google Ad Words, and there are probably a few that you are not aware of. One of the most beneficial features is ad site links. See many links we can choose proper college. Today many colleges are available. These let you add a few additional links to your website at the bottom of your ad. These links can say anything, like “Free Trial,” “Pricing,” “Locations,” etc.

Most of these features are free to include in your ad and simple to set up. Since adding these features will increase the size of your ads, you will see a boost in your click-through rates. A bigger ad catches the eye (just think of those ads we used to run in the phone book).

Define Your “Negative” Keywords

If you haven’t heard this term before, you’re probably scratching your head. Negative keywords are those that you do not want your ads to appear for. For instance, if you do not offer free trials, free software or free samples, then the last thing you want is for people to click on your ad in search of something free. That will just cost you money for zero return. That is why “free” should be included as one of your negative keywords.

I provide online education  consulting services but I wouldn’t want my ads to show up for a search on “best education consulting ”, so education might be a good candidate for my negative keyword list.

Look through your current analytic detail to help find negative keywords and spend some time using the free Google Keyword Tool or the free Negative Keyword Tool from Word stream.

Be Clear About Your Face book Ad Targets

The more targeted your ads, the more effective they are going to be. When you are creating your Face book ads, you get to choose your targeting options—either broad categories or precise interest. 

Broad categories will get you a larger audience, but not a specific one. You can choose one of the predetermined categories that fit with your audience in a general way.

Precise interest categories are broken down even further to help you capture a smaller, but more specific audience. These categories come from Face book profiles and activities.

Attach Images to Your Face book Calls to Action

The fact will always remain that images draw the most attention. When you need to get people to follow through on a call-to-action, ad an image to it. Right now, the images you can attach are 100 x 72 pixels, so take full advantage of them. Do some testing to see which images get the most response. Typically, when the image includes a person, it performs better than just a brand logo.

Consider Retaliating

Retaliating, or what Google calls Re-marketing, is a feature that lets you reach people who have previously visited your site, and show them relevant ads when they visit other sites on a particular ad network or in the case of Google, the Google Display Network.

Many online education advertising choose to pass over the option of re-marketing when they set up their Google Ad Words account. With this feature, any time someone visits your site, they will be added to a list for re-targeting. Once they leave your page for another that is also on the Display Network, then your online education advertising ads will appear on those other sites. This is a way to keep your name in front of prospects even after they exit your page.

Whatever method of online advertising you choose, remember that it is important to maintain a focus on the best education content. The right content can win over the best education advertising quickly, so always aim for quality over quantity in your advertisements.