The first year in an MBA (semester one and two) aims to build the core competencies of students. The core of the MBA programme does not change. It teaches the fundamentals of business. The core subjects focus on 3Cs:
- Constructive knowledge
- Case-based learnings
- Collaborative learning models.
The core subjects are compulsory despite the specialization chosen by a student. They polish a student’s:
- Decision making skills
- Problem solving abilities
- Analytical & Critical thinking
- General management skills
The core courses taught under the MBA core curriculum are:
- Accounting
The areas covered are:
- Analyse and process key financial statement information
- Implications of financial statement information
- Financial accounting
- Various accounting methods
- Estimation
- Managerial accounting
- Managerial economics
- Analyse profitability
- Cost controlling
- Ethics and Business Accountability
The areas covered are:
- Professional responsibility
- Business ethics
- Social and corporate responsibilities of organizations, leaders, managers and workers
- Legal aspects of business
- Finance
The areas covered are:
- Investments
- Corporate finance
- Risk analysis
- Capital budgeting
- Asset valuation techniques
- Modern capital markets
- Financial policies
- Initial public offerings
- Marketing
The topics include:
- Product strategy
- Distribution channels,
- Advertising, communication and promotion
- Segmentation
- Pricing
- Branding
- Selling strategies
- Consumer behaviour
- Operations Management
- Standardized distributions
- Operations planning and control
- Purchasing
- Logistics & Supply chain methods
- Business strategy operations
- Simulation & optimization
- Statistical estimations
- Sampling distributions
- Organizational Behaviour
The areas covered are:
- Human resource management
- Organizational strategy, design and development
- Negotiation
- Leadership and managerial skills
- Group dynamics
- Analyse business strategies based on human behaviour
- Strategic Management
The topics include:
- Corporate strategy
- Strategic processes, planning and implementation
- Behavioural strategy
- Strategy implementation
- Environmental analysis
- SWOT analysis and studies
Note: The terminology may vary for every college and / or university. The fundamentals remain the same.
After completing the first-year, students are expected to undergo mandatory industrial training. After an 8-10 week summer internship, students can focus on specializations during second year (semester three and four). They can choose from a wide range of electives. The electives help specialize in one or more functional areas studied during the first year.
MBA students can choose from a variety of elective courses like -
- Big Data
- Data Analytics
- Business Analytics
- HRM
- Corporate Management
- Global Leadership
- International Finance
- Economics
- Contracts
- Negotiation
- Digital Marketing
- Entrepreneurship
- Project Management
- Communications.
It is interesting to note that the core curriculum subjects are the same across international business schools and local b-schools.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ1. Does the PGDM core curriculum differ from the MBA core curriculum?
Ans. PGDM courses are offered by autonomous institutes (or bodies). The institutes have complete authority while designing the core curriculum. The PGDM courses are trimester-based (three month each), unlike MBA, which is semester based. The core curriculum is on similar lines.
The advantage or the plus point of choosing a PGDM degree is that the curriculum is frequently updated and flexible. PGDM curriculum is industry relevant.
FAQ2. Are all students taught the same MBA core curriculum despite the specialization they choose?
Ans. The first year covers the MBA core subjects like finance, accounting, organizational behaviour, operations and ethics. All students are required to study the specific subjects under each functional area. During the second year, students can choose a combination of electives and specialize in one or more fields.
FAQ3. What are the typical ways of delivering the MBA curriculum?
Ans. Some popular pedagogical tools adopted by b-schools are:
- Case-study teaching & learning
- Classroom lectures & discussions
- Presentations & brainstorming sessions
- Inbound and outbound classroom learning activities.
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