Dr.Sandeep Narula ,Associcate Professor,IIHMR-Jaipur Page 1

How sectoral MBA is better than vaniila MBA

Today many management aspirants find themselves at an academic crossroads.

On the one hand, a general management degree can ensure entry into any industry and allows

students to keep their options open. On the other, a slew of specialised MBA programmes

cater to a host of industries, ranging from petroleum management, communications

management, systems management, retail management, infrastructure management to

hospital managemen,pharmaceutical management. 

Clearly, they confront an array of choices.

There is a general perception that specialised MBA programmes lack the academic rigour of

a standard two-year MBA and limits the career options of a student. In my opinion this is not

case. I have observed many full-fledged MBA programmes lack academic rigour, while some

domain-specific institutions have exceptionally good academic rigour. Academic strength

comes not from whether an institute is running a general MBA or a specialised MBA, it

comes from the curriculum design and implementation and other academic processes. Once a

 professional reaches a strategic or business policy level, a specialised degree does not matter.

A chief executive who is successful in the automobile industry will do well in any other

sector, as one goes up the professional ladder work gets streamlined.- ―A specialisation is

important at the lower rungs,just to get and entry in the right industry and zoom your career

with pace – a specialization is just a launching pad for the right candidate in right industry

with right people in the right company and in today’s economic scenario- Healthcare

especially Pharmaceuticals is just the right platform to begin a career for a management

 professional.

Today many MBA institutions are offering sectoral MBA programs in following domains:

  Health

  Retail

  IT

  International Business

  Pharmaceuticals

  Banking and Insurance

  Finance

  Event

  Telecom

  Petroleum

There was a time when a BCom or MCom degree was enough to get a jo b. That’s history

now; in a few years now companies will look to hire candidates who are specialists in their

work areas as it is beneficial for a company to hire a candidate with domain specific

knowledge and skills as this reduces the training costs and also lowers the attrition rate.

Eventually, everything boils down to the clarity of one’s thought and the long-term potential

of the specialisation —  if these are in alignment, career opportunities will open up.