How To Choose The Right B – School

How To Choose The Right B – School

actors that count for the institute:

Faculty:

For a B-School, highly educated and PhD holders my not suffice. The faculty should consist of professionals, who are successful and have made a mark. Because it is a market oriented course, knowledge about the same and personal experience narration, that is teaching of theories along with examples of personal experience stories, is essential. The ratio of number of students to teachers, is also a big determinant of the quality of education. 

Placement:

You can distinguish between a good and not o good college on the basis of the placement scenario as well. The number of students who get placed, the companies that come for placements, and the average package offered to students, are deciding factors. A good college will have the best and highest paying companies picking up its students year after year. 

Exposure provided:

Is the study only bookish, or is there room for practical training? Are there trips and seminars? Do eminent professionals from all walks of life come for lectures? Thee are some questions you should find answers to before joining any institute. 

Expense vs Placement – the balance:

From data available of the institute, you should try to find out if your degree or diploma is worth the amount you have spent. Also, the job that you get at the end of it, what is the ratio of the expense to the salary. These will help you gauge the worth of your education. 

Institute credibility:

The institute you want to apply to should be credible, that is it should be recognized and known in the market. This helps in higher education and also while looking out for a job. Companies prefer students from reputed institutes, as it automatically means that the quality of training is premier and apt. 

Academic facilities:

Academic facilities like a well stocked library and reading room, frequent seminars and talks, placement talks and training, activities related to education, field trips etc, make an institute more viable and a better choice. 

Factors that act against the institute:

Direct admission

An institute which directly admits you without any test or interview should be seen as dicey. A management course requires certain skills and aptitude, and thus demand certain category of students. A direct admission means this is not useful for the institute and it only wants to fill seats. Another determinant of negativity is taking in all who apply, no criteria or selection. This indicates to a money making venture. 

Placement scene blur

An institute that does not have a proper placement department, or data available of previous placements, should be avoided. If good companies do not approach it and the proportion of students getting through a good company is miniscule, then it is of little use joining the college. 

No official website and proper information

A college that does not have an official website, and no reliable information is available, should be ticked out of your list of preferred institutes. One that has no particular date for admission or course commencement nor end, is a gamble that should not lure you. 

Too many associations – companies and individuals

Because of lack of anything substantial, many institutes somehow acquire a number of associations that are featured in the brochures, publicity material and website. The information about course, faculty and placement may not even feature. Avoid such institutes.

Management Studies / MBA : Who Should Apply

Management Studies / MBA

Following are some of the shortlisted qualities that an MBA aspirant should possess, or is expected to possess. 

Communication skills

This is of great help in professional life, to solve issues, negotiate, and put forth your ideas and plans. Not only should you be well versed in the language, but your tone, use of words, sentence formations, also make a difference. You may be good at writing and giving speeches, but the day-to-day communication with the management, colleagues, and clients has to be grounded yet firm, confident and humble, and to the point. You have to be diplomatic but not manipulative. Negotiate but not harm.

Leadership

An efficient leader is one who can inspire to work, get any work completed on time, as well as be someone for whom the subordinates love to work. There will be cooperation issues, difference in opinions, and ego clashed. Only a good leader is able to resolve these and make work the priority so that each and every one performs best to abilities. Also take care of the ones under him. 

Empathetic

Empathy comes to play here. As a manager, you have to know other people’s capacities before allocating work. You have to imagine yourself in their position and circumstances. Some may have certain concerns which you will have to understand. Your subordinates are human beings who also have limits. You need to respect this. If you are able to understand such issues, then winning over your juniors will be an easy task and getting work done quite a smooth ride.

Dedication

A hundred percent commitment to work distinguishes a successful individual from the rest of the crowd. This is one quality that will set you apart and rain success and fame. 

Discipline

The way you behave, conduct yourself, and treat others, makes a great impact on your professional future. your being punctual, courteous, organized, well mannered, soft spoken, goes a long way in making you popular and for growth. 

Motivation

Under all circumstances, be motivated. You may have to witness failure, upheavals, an irritant boss, etc. But if you are self driven, no hurdle will appear big enough to cave in your growth. Only a motivated individual can make others around him be as enthusiastic as himself. 

Inspiration

You can have someone you admire for his/her achievements in life, character, or qualities. Or you can be self inspired. Inspiration is a drug that boosts your immune system to perform better and always strive to excel. If you idolize someone, you inherently get motivated. The downturns do nit upset you as at such times you have someone to look up to. Follow a role model and be the one who has the ability to be one too. 

Honesty

Though dishonesty, corruption, and disloyalty have become the norm of professional life of people today, it is the honest who truly succeed. Make an effort to fight such evils and be honest to your employer, colleagues, clients and the organization.

 

Role Of The School Counsellor

A School Counselor

A school counsellor is a qualified and professionally trained individual holding certification to exercise his skills on the educational front. Holding the responsibility to respond to student academic, personal, social, and career-related issues, a counsellor is an advisor, a creator of structured curriculum, analyzer of the generated response, and introducer of the new and enhanced school curriculum of academic activities. The four-fold process followed by a professional counsellor involves:

Step 1: Building the foundation

One of the most crucial roles of a school counsellor is to recognize the hidden beliefs and personal values specific to students. Based on this analysis, a counselling program is generated so as to properly direct the enhancement, application, and assessment of the student goals and beliefs at personal and academic levels. The counselling program is framed with the school mission clearly sketched out in mind and thus, the realization of social, personal, academic, and career-related goals appears as a target easy to achieve.

Step 2: Delivering values

The role of a school counsellor runs beyond students to teachers, parents, and the overall school community. Delivering values is a big initiative undertaken by this advisory person and involves a number of processes.

Framing of a logical school curriculum: This process is related to the structuring of lectures that are designed to provide competent knowledge and skills to students. A professional counsellor analyzes the existing school curriculum well and also records the level of impact that it has. Based on this analysis, he looks for the loopholes in the process and works to strengthen the weak areas in the process.

Helping students plan their activities: Each of the students has his own mindset towards the achievement of personal and academic goals. The role of a professional counsellor is quite crucial here as he has to gain a clear insight of what the student has in mind and has to make positive suggestions so as to quicken the process of timely achievement of goals.

Proper structuring of response: Sometimes, a student may require a properly structured counselling session to help him achieve the right goals with the right effort. There are a variety of counselling sessions that m required based on the type of problem and the severity of the situation. The one-on-one session, group counselling, joint session with parents and teachers, counselling with peers and other referrals are the most common activities undertaken by a counsellor to solve a potential social, personal or academic issue.

Step 3: Management Undertakings

Professional school counsellors are not just responsible for structuring the curriculum to streamline the various academic undertakings. They are also responsible for laying down a set of concrete processes including:

  • Agreements are prepared on receipt of mutual consent between the counsellor and the board of directors of the institution.
  • Plan of action clearly stating how the strategies have to be implemented in the real-time environment.
  • Analysis of student response to the set down standards so as to determine the effectiveness of a certain plan and introduction of changes based on this response.
  • Allocation of 4/5th of the working time to deal with student queries and issues.
  • Proactive arrangement of counselling activities on a timely basis to assure that students, management, teachers, parents, and other concerned personnel stay in constant touch.

Step 4: Measuring Performances

The design of the school curriculum may differ from institute to institute. Even within one premise, this curriculum may change based on the response generated. Professional counsellors drive changes based on the performance metrics that comprise various important enactment factors.

Mismanagement – How To Curb The Damage?

Mismanagement

It’s well said that managing your work on time is the key to success. Time management can be defined as the process of planning and exercising control over the amount of time spent on specific activities. Nowadays, a hectic schedule sometimes makes strong time management seem impossible. However, developing good time management habits also takes enough time and hard work. This article shares some tips that will help the students to improve their time management. Some of the measures to curb mismanagement of time are mentioned below-

Planning work-specific schedules
Poor time management skills may be the outcome of overconfidence. For instance, if you are applying the same techniques that you have used for small projects and workloads to a larger address space, the result can be drastically unpredictable. So, with the increase in the level of responsibility, your level of efficiency and effective management should also enhance. Remember, same time management techniques cannot be applied to all projects and you might have to take out time to plan specific activities. You will have to estimate the time required for completing a particular work and it is better to create milestones for your work and achieve the same.

Know the required resources
In order to practice effective time management, you must possess the ability to think about what resources you need to achieve your targets. For example- if you are studying or preparing for an exam, you need to reduce the time for non-work-related activities such as sending emails to family, operating social networking sites, chatting with friends, etc. You must always try to schedule a certain period of time for all your tasks and stick to strict deadlines that will help you to complete and submit the work without any delays thereby curbing any signs of mismanagement.

Plan your day
You must plan your day ahead of time in order to complete all your important tasks within the pre-defined time constraints. Try to draft out the schedule for the next day the night before. You can take a paper or a diary and note down your priority tasks for the next day. This method will surely help you as you will not be wasting your time on unnecessary activities and will keep you focused on your goal.

Avoid procrastination in your schedule
If you delay things for a much later time, you could do a lot to cause time mismanagement. For instance, if there is any strong need to delay an assignment just because of a seminar presentation, then it’s all right! However, you must make sure that you do not postpone any important task for the less important one. Understanding the priorities is the skill you must possess.

Assign priorities to your work
The most effective approach to time management is to do the most important things first. Do not spend most of the early hours watching a seasonal film during exams time. However, film watching at a minimal level will serve as a relaxing tool and you can even allow time for that to release your stress. Sometimes, if you realize that a particular chapter or course is taking so much time, you can put it aside for some time and come back to it later when you feel relatively free. You are sure to understand the concept. The hardcore schedule may not be properly followed in this process but you are the one to decide what is best at what time.
To avoid any mismanagement of time and studies, you must plan and make the schedule of your tasks beforehand. Your goal must be to help yourself and become aware of how you use your time effectively. Remember, time once lost can never be regained. So, utilize it to the fullest!

Multinational Companies And Their Professional Atmosphere

Companies Professional

A corporation having its assets and other facilities in at least one country other than its home country is known as a multinational company. MNCs have offices in different countries and have a centralized head office to organize the global management. These companies provide an ever-changing environment to their employees. People who work hard are motivated and rewarded. MNCs provide enormous opportunities to their employees to grow and develop their careers but it is up to the individual to take the advantage of these opportunities. They pay amazing salaries to their employees. Also, they take good care of their employees as well as customers. The employees fall thus give in their best because they love the company by heart.
The Management of Companies and Benefits to Employees
The management of the MNCs is friendly, nice, and fairly flexible for those who may pop in from time to time. These companies have good HR policies and offer competitive salaries to their employees. Other benefits offered by the MNCs to their employees include experienced and professional workgroup, international professional exposure, on-the-job training, and good career development. The knowledgeable seniors share their experiences with the juniors. In some MNCs, the employees remain too close to the high management. In addition, these companies offer good job stability and high job satisfaction if the employees are hardworking and knowledgeable.
The Professional Atmosphere at MNCs
Almost every multinational company provides a professional atmosphere as well as strong values and morals to its employees. Some maintain their startup-like cultures such as free food, casual dresses, fun outings, and free sodas. However, almost every MNC wants to hire talented people. They hire skilled people with good personalities. You may be a very high-level expert in your field but the MNCs will not hire you if you do not have social skills that are vibrant enough to draw the aura towards you. Experience, as well as real-world skills, are very important if you want to secure your job in a multinational company.
The atmosphere in multinational companies remains good and the colleagues can discuss various aspects of their professional as well as private life with their peers or friends. These companies provide ample opportunities for their employees to grow. The professional and open atmosphere of such firms motivates all the employees to grow. This stimulates the employees to give their best for the benefit of the company and its clients. In addition, these companies provide good training, great health plans, high salaries, good vacation benefits, etc. to their employees.
The Success Path
You manage your own success in MNCs because these companies offer rewarding jobs. They provide their staff with a cheerful environment and amazing benefits. Hardworking coworkers, supportive managers, and tasty food of MNCs encourage the employees to do their best.
A multinational company allows you to work with smart and talented people. Most of the seniors have transparent communication, great knowledge, and a lot of advice to offer to their juniors. You will be greatly rewarded with a huge bonus if you are a hard worker. You get the opportunity to work on exciting projects with a team of intelligent and professionally skilled people. You are constantly being pushed in to improve your skills. However, you will also find room for a lot of fun with your co-workers.
International companies give a lot of importance to the professional work environment. These companies provide a friendly atmosphere and work culture so that their employees can work with more concentration and with less stress. These companies offer better career growth opportunities both in terms of money as well as skills. MNCs offer a great balance between work and life. The only thing needed to survive in an MNC is to do what you have been asked to do and the rest is likely to fall your way.

Supply Chain Management And Its Career Benefits

Supply chain

The continuous growth in logistics makes a good supply chain quite imperative. For almost any kind of trade or service to take place, there is a requirement of movement of merchandise or goods. This requirement shows no signs of ever going down; if anything it is spiking dramatically. The term ‘Supply Chain Management’ stands for the process of physical management of business goods from procurement to storage and transportation. The key lies in the safe handling of the merchandise from end to end. It creates a chain between the producer, supplier, and distributor. It is often described as “Supply chain management is interested in everything that happens to a product from cradle to grave.”
It is a rather upcoming industry in India and has a bright future. The estimates are reaching figures like a hundred billion dollars in the coming three-four years. Companies like Wal-Mart have made it a strategic imperative for the business. This industry is growing at a rapid pace and changes are being introduced at a steady pace to make it more profitable and efficient.
Benefits of this career
An increasing number of companies are creating space within their infrastructure for this department and various posts closely related or directly pertaining to Supply Chain Management which gives you that extra edge on the desirability part.
Supply chains are being initiated and strengthened globally and an increasing number of educational institutes are now offering Bachelor’s and Masters’ Courses in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
Most companies are steadily reorganizing around supply chain management and the supply chain manager positions are becoming increasingly available.
You can easily target large-scale companies since their logistics and supply chain requirements are huge and steady.
It is relatively easy to rise in this core industry as the competition is not that tough just yet.
Even in times of recession, this one industry cannot afford to slow down, so chances are that you will be able to sail through it all.
Shipping and Aviation are two large sectors that use this expertise and knowledge extensively and both are good paymasters.
All the recent studies and research point to an imminent boom in this particular sector.
Since this is a relatively new area of expertise you can make your mark and prove yourself rather easily and won’t have to fight of hordes of competitors for the same slice of the pie.
Caution
Most firms have established their own Supply Chain Management Programs and tend to recruit from their own pool.
Since the market is low the companies are asking for industry and functional experience even at entry-level jobs in some cases.
Make sure that the certification that you are going for is acceptable in the market
Certifications are not really required but proficiency in Enterprise Resource Planning and software packages like SAP, Oracle, and i2 can really enhance your chances of growth in this sector.
The overall outlook for the future of this industry is pretty robust, all you need to do is go for the right course and company to start your career in Supply Chain Management.