Choosing a specialisation

analyses, use these inferences and take de-

cisions.
The number of students opting for fi-
nance is high in almost all institutes. This
is mostly due to the impression that an
MBA in finance would enable them to
cherry-pick any job. This, sadly, is not the
case. Unless one has an innate flair for
numbers and an analytical mind, feels at
ease with data and is capable in handling
complex finance tasks, one should not
choose this specialization.
MBA-Marketing: An MBA in marketing
is something that is frequently associated
with glamour, media and advertisements.
Students opt for marketing specialization
owing to its fun and glamorous nature,
but soon come to face data, research and
creativity issues, not to mention the ever-
looming targets. many students feel that
after an MBA in marketing, one would be
heading a team of salespersons, giving
them targets and monitoring sales.
Surprisingly, even an MBA in Marketing
has to begin his work with selling, which
is an integral part of marketing. Dirtying
your hands in rural markets, at bazaars or
going from company to company for B2B
sales is something that comes as a rude
shock to many. A bubbly personality and
a flair for the languages are not enough to
be a successful marketing professional.
Not all MBA-Marketing students end
up in media houses or advertising agen-
cies. Most go on to sell products from
across categories like automobiles, elec-
tronics, seeds and fertilizers, pharmaceu-
tical products, lifestyle products, sports
equipment or even ERP or security solu-
tions.
The ability to think out of the box is a
pre-requisite for any marketing profes-
sional, one which cannot be taught but
can very well be learnt. He must be able
to spot opportunities where none exist, be
aware of competition and have latest in-
formation of strategies that work or dont
work.
It helps that he/she has excellent com-
munication and convincing skills, has
enough perseverance and is also a good
motivator. If selling is not what you like to
do, then think twice before choosing this
stream. The world out there looks at an
MBA as not just one with the required
knowledge of theory, but one who can get
things done and show results.
He or she is expected to plan, budget,
execute and deliver in a given time frame.
He is expected to be an enabler, a doer, a
go-getter. One can meet a career counselor
or even take personality assessment/ apti-
tude tests to get a better understanding of
ones innate capabilities before making
that crucial decision of choosing the spe-
cialisation.
I
t is that time of the year when MBA
students in their second year are re-
quired to choose their areas of spe-
cialisations. The generic specialisa-
tions offered in India are the triumvirate
of Marketing, Finance and Human Re-
source Management (HR). Making the
right choice decides the course of our ca-
reer to a large extent. But this appears to
be an unnerving task for many. There are
some things one must bear in mind before
making the right choice of specialisation.
Understand your strengths and weak-
nesses thoroughly. Not being good at
something should not be the basis of ones
reason for elimination of a certain special-
isation. Students should not choose HR
because they are weak in accounts or
choose Marketing because it appears easy
and consists mostly of theory subjects.
This application of the law of elimination
can go wrong many a times. For example,
the HR stream seems to consist of only
theory and very little of finance. However,
modern day HR managers need to work
deftly with spreadsheets and know ac-
counting as well as the finance guys to bet-
ter handle wage bills and make projections.
MBA-HR: Human Resource is all about
dealing with people, although of late, it in-
volves much more than that. A student
can choose HR if he or she has the incli-
nation to talk to people, a knack to see be-
yond what one portrays, a keen sense of
human psychology and a flair for coun-
selling.
A shy person or even a dominant one
who always likes people to listen to him
cannot become a good HR manager. HR
requires one to possess the quality of em-
pathy, good listening skills, helping nature,
ability to counsel neutrally and in general
be non-judgmental.
It also requires a thorough knowledge
of labour laws, compliances and skillful
handling of union matters. An HR profes-
sionals role is not all about interviewing
and selecting candidates. It involves much
more: Like conducting induction pro-
grammes, employee engagement
schemes, legal compliances, appraisals
and could also involve layoffs and retrench-
ment. In such cases, one must tactfully
handle people while keeping the compa-
nys image intact.
They also play the role of a buffer be-
tween the management and the employ-
ees. In todays era where trade unions are
fast dissipating, the HR manager has come
to play the role of a union leader in many
cases.
HR professionals today, also find work
as consultants, they can handle HR tasks
outsourced by companies including pay-
roll work, run recruitment agencies to
whom many prominent companies out-
source the recruitment functions or at
training institutes.
MBA- Finance: Finance is an extremely
dynamic area which requires dexterity
with numbers. In MBA Finance, a student
studies accounting, the dynamics of merg-
ers and acquisitions, derivatives, stock
market nuances and the like. He or she
also becomes adept at corporate taxation
and budgeting.
A finance professional is expected to
understand the accounting process, derive
ratios and their implications, deal with
banking operations, taxation issues, IPOs,
stock market, dividends and receipts etc.
He has to be thorough in working with
spreadsheets and other universally accept-
ed accounting packages like SAP, Tally etc.
Additionally, he must be adept at analysing
raw data, derive logical inferences through
LOOK DEEP Swatee Jog tells you to look beyond those superficial misconceptions while
picking a specialisation in your MBA
NOT BEING GOOD
AT SOMETHING
SHOULD NOT BE THE
BASIS OF ONES REASON
FOR ELIMINATION
OF A CERTAIN
SPECIALISATION.