Get rid of operations myths

• Q: I am a BSc student who has appeared for the CAT this year. I have been told that operations management is only for engineering students. Is that true?

Suresh Mahajan

• A: Broadly speaking, operations management teaches you how to manage and direct the physical and technical functions of an organisation, particularly one that is involved in development, production and manufacturing.

It is a myth that only those with an engineering background can opt for this branch of management.

Admittedly, operations does involve the use of various statistical and modelling techniques but any student with a good background in mathematics can master this subject, irrespective of the stream from which he or she comes. Also, since computers now perform complex mathematical operations, even non-engineering students can handle them.

Hughes-Escorts Communications Ltd, in collaboration with IIT Delhi, offers a three-month continuing education programme on operations management for working professionals. However, students of MBA, MCA, BBA and architecture can also apply for admission to the programme.

The course, delivered through one-way video and two-way audio, introduces concepts and techniques related to design, planning, control and improvement of services and manufacturing operations, tools used in operations management like forecasting, production planning and control, material requirement planning, enterprise resource planning, scheduling, quality control, inventory and just-in-time manufacturing.
It is offered on the HughesNet Global Education platform that integrates traditional methods of education with the latest technology. For more details, log on to www.dwge.com.

Zoom ahead with an MBA in finance

• Q: I have sufficient knowledge of the theoretical principles of marketing and human resources. But could you let me know what is covered in MBA finance courses?

Ankit Jain

• A: The banking and finance sector has emerged as one of the two most sought-after sectors (along with IT and ITES) among students passing out of India’s leading business schools this year. In fact, banking and finance accounted for nearly a third of all offers accepted by graduating MBAs.

A typical MBA in finance programme at a good business school covers topics such as corporate finance, international finance, investment management and financial services, treasury and foreign exchange, management, merchant banking and financial services, equity research and analysis, and capital markets.

Business schools can’t bar bright humanities students

• Q: I have graduated in political science with history. Is it possible for a student of humanities to get into a good business school?

Sanat Dev

• A: Despite its obsession with optimisation techniques and information technology, management studies essentially remains a social science.

Management deals with people, teams, organisations and social and economic institutions. That is why the study of modern social and economic history and social structures is compulsory at the best business schools.

Ethics and personality development are also other important topics that are taught at many business schools.

Good business schools prefer students from a multidisciplinary background.
Unfortunately, a greater proportion of bright students in India head for pure sciences and technology and this is reflected in the composition of those who ace the Common Admission Test (CAT).

However, in the last decade, brighter students have also begun to opt for the commerce and social science streams and such students are increasingly joining MBA courses.
There is no reason for students from the social sciences to feel they can’t make it, or to believe that business schools discriminate against them.

Schools are always keen to get bright students. Increasingly, numerical and analytical or deductive skills based on mathematical analysis are required in all fields, including social sciences and management studies.

The CAT and subsequently, the MBA programmes only reflect these trends.
Make sure you revise your maths thoroughly and get your fundamentals up to Class X absolutely clear.

Practice solving the questions till you have gathered sufficient speed and confidence.

As a social science student, you must work hard to acquire these supplementary skills to crack the CAT.

But on the flip side, in the group discussion and interview, you are likely to have an edge over your pure science and engineering counterparts who generally have a limited understanding of social trends and issues.