My Views
On
The minimum number of credits needed to Specialize
On
The minimum number of credits needed to Specialize
Having an area of specialization leads to all kinds of turf wars and the
unsuspecting student is the final victim. Besides, let us face the facts.
Let us say we decide that by taking 5 or 6 extra course in a certain area
will make the student a SPECIALIST. Now from my experience I have
found that number of courses do not guarantee specialization. I think the
quality of input is more important than the quantity of input here.
Besides our basket of courses may be different from what other
Institutes may have to offer. Now a specialist in Operations from XIM
will therefore be different (Academically) from a specialist in Operations
from IIM or IIT or MIT. Needless to say that some of them do not award
any specialization. For some of them their program is, therefore, oriented
towards satisfying the needs of their own customers. This irons out the
Academic difference.
unsuspecting student is the final victim. Besides, let us face the facts.
Let us say we decide that by taking 5 or 6 extra course in a certain area
will make the student a SPECIALIST. Now from my experience I have
found that number of courses do not guarantee specialization. I think the
quality of input is more important than the quantity of input here.
Besides our basket of courses may be different from what other
Institutes may have to offer. Now a specialist in Operations from XIM
will therefore be different (Academically) from a specialist in Operations
from IIM or IIT or MIT. Needless to say that some of them do not award
any specialization. For some of them their program is, therefore, oriented
towards satisfying the needs of their own customers. This irons out the
Academic difference.
For us it has to be different. Since we do not have any definitive
information about what our customers (i.e., the Companies coming for
placement) want from us, I suggest we make them more involved in the
placement screening process. This can be achieved by removing the
specialization tag (from the Cover Page of all resumes). This way the
companies will be made to probe in depth to find out the caliber of our
students. They will be then forced to take part in shaping our young
managers right from the beginning. I have also seen how (for various
reasons related to uncertain market forces) students remove these "tags"
to apply for jobs in Areas where they have NOT specialized. By
removing specialization, the student will be made to present his/her own
attributes in a more thoughtful manner (there are ways of presenting
attributes in a single A4 size paper at the PGDM level). It is then left to
the student to best convince how he/she can deliver the goods. Besides,
there is an added advantage of absorbing the uncertain market forces.
Several time in the past it has been an unpleasant experience for all of us
to see our finished goods inventory (of various majors) NOT MOVING.
information about what our customers (i.e., the Companies coming for
placement) want from us, I suggest we make them more involved in the
placement screening process. This can be achieved by removing the
specialization tag (from the Cover Page of all resumes). This way the
companies will be made to probe in depth to find out the caliber of our
students. They will be then forced to take part in shaping our young
managers right from the beginning. I have also seen how (for various
reasons related to uncertain market forces) students remove these "tags"
to apply for jobs in Areas where they have NOT specialized. By
removing specialization, the student will be made to present his/her own
attributes in a more thoughtful manner (there are ways of presenting
attributes in a single A4 size paper at the PGDM level). It is then left to
the student to best convince how he/she can deliver the goods. Besides,
there is an added advantage of absorbing the uncertain market forces.
Several time in the past it has been an unpleasant experience for all of us
to see our finished goods inventory (of various majors) NOT MOVING.
Also if we look at the corporate world, there is a serious concern for
breaking down all kinds of departmental barriers. So why take so much
trouble for awarding a specialization. As such, please note that our
decision to award the requisite number of courses is based on the
availability of faculty (which is sometimes done on an adhoc basis).
breaking down all kinds of departmental barriers. So why take so much
trouble for awarding a specialization. As such, please note that our
decision to award the requisite number of courses is based on the
availability of faculty (which is sometimes done on an adhoc basis).
These are my views. Maybe my colleagues might have their own
experiences to share on this.
experiences to share on this.
Also please see these articles (available with Prof. K. Sahu):
From the Alumni Archives: XIM 2001 & Beyond(http://home.ximb.ac.in/~kaushik/place/Alum2k1.htm)
Placement 2001 - Suggestions
Reengineering the Placement Process
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