MBA experts opine that factors for choosing specialization areas should lie in passion and interest. External reasons like market demands should not alter specialisation choices.
A typical two-year MBA program, the first and the second year of which is separated by the summer internship, orients the students to the field of management in a holistic manner. The first year is more generic in nature where the students get an idea of all that they must know regarding various management functions. All introductory MBA courses are taught in the first and second tri-semesters during the first year. Later in the first year, they are also introduced to the specialized areas.
In the second year, the students have to choose from a variety of specialization choices. There are five main specializations that are offered by almost all MBA institutes. They are Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Development, Operations Management and Information Technology.
Which Specializations?
SP Parashar, former director of IIM Indore says, "MBA courses do not provide many choices during the first year. Students generally learn core subjects in the first year in all MBA courses. But at the end of the first year, the choice of specialization should become pretty clear."
IMT Ghaziabad Director, Dr. Anwar Ali said that the second year of elective papers and specialization are designed to give the students an in depth knowledge about a particular field as well as the industry. “The second year provides them with a lot of exposure to the practical field also, as they have to do a lot of project work and case studies.”
Talking about the criteria of choosing the area of specialization, Dr. BS Sahay, Director of MDI said, “In the second year, the students take elective or optional courses to specialize in a maximum of two functional areas. These areas are: Finance, Information Management, Marketing, Strategy and Operations Management. To specialize in an area, a student must take a minimum of five elective course credits offered in that area.”
Making a choice
If you are interested in dealing and managing people then Human Resource should be your specialization choice. Likewise, a candidate with more quantitative likings can choose Finance. There are students who are keen on observing the marketing situation and can analyze the customer behavior properly. Marketing is the right field of specialization for such students. Those who have major interest in logistics and are process oriented can choose Operations Management. Dr. C S Venkataratnam of IMI said, "If you are good with numbers, go for Finance. If you are good with people, go for Marketing. If you are good with technology, go for Information Technology. If you are good with all three, consider what is most dear to you."
IIM Ahmedabad provides specialized MBA programs like Post Graduate Program in Agri Business Management and Post Graduate Program in Public Management and Policy. “The Post Graduate Program in Agri-Business Management (PGP-ABM), equivalent to MBA, is a unique program specially designed to enhance the quality of management in the food and agribusiness sector, and help this sector meet the challenges of the evolving market place,” IIM Ahmedabad said. For the Post Graduate Program in Public Management and Policy, IIM Ahmedabad said, “It has been designed to sharpen skills and to broaden the perspective of civil servants; managers of government, public enterprises, and NGO's; and executives of private sector firms engaged in public management.”
Specialized MBA institutes offer some specialized options too. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) provides specialized MBA in International Business. The MBA program is also called MBA (IB). While recommending international oriented programs, KT Chako, Director of IIFT said, "Indian businesses are now going global in a big way. Indian companies are now fully participating in the globalization process. Today’s business executives need to be equipped with understanding of international business and trade."
MBA experts recommend that passion and interest should be the key, rather than external reasons like market condition and job prospects. "Choice of specialization is a function of your aptitude and what you want to do in future. Don’t let short-term market forces drive or alter your specialization choice. Having a long-range perspective about one’s career helps students make the right choices. Marketing opportunities are more and in service sector, the experience will offer potential for cross sector mobility as well," Dr Venkataratnam, Director, IMI said.
While doing an MBA program, the specializations should be chosen on the basis of your passion, choice and capability. The first year is the time when you will have the hunch regarding choosing your specialization subject. The MBA institutes can only introduce you towards the various domains of an MBA program. But you have to be your own judge to take decisions regarding specializations.
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