PGPM introduces General Management track, offering candidates an overview of all functional areas in a balanced manner.
General Management track has been one of most sought after skills in the business world. There is a need for individuals capable of making decisions in complex and volatile environments by understanding the linkages between different functional areas. This need is visible through the requirements for generalist emanating from consulting firms and strategy/EA to MD/corporate planning/General Management track etc roles in traditional firms. General Management track at PGPM aims to equip tomorrow’s managers with strong problem solving skills, decision making under uncertain conditions, building leadership and team management capabilities that will enable the participants to excel into senior management positions in future years.
Academic structure
All PGPM participants, including those in General Management track, study common General Management courses in the first semester. In the second semester, each specialization pursues courses in their own functional area. Each participant in General Management track will be required to undertake:
- Mandatory capsule courses that covers advanced fundamentals in each of the following areas: Operations and Supply chain, Marketing, Finance, Information Management & Strategic Management.
- In the elective phase, the participants will have options to select from a variety of courses across Business Analytics, Finance, Information Management, Marketing, Operations & Supply Chain. In addition, there will be a few earmarked courses for General Management in areas of Leadership, Strategy, Problem Solving, Change Management etc., which participants of General Management track will have to necessarily opt for
How is General Management track different from specialisations?
The other specializations at SPJIMR i.e. Business Analytics, Operations and Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance and Information management dive deep into each domain. For e.g. someone specializing in Business Analytics will develop a thorough understanding of Natural Language Process, Neural Networks OR a participant from Operations & Supply Chain will have a deep understanding of strategic sourcing or strategic cost management. Participants opting to specialize in these domains normally seek to leverage their past work experience and develop deep understanding for excelling in one functional area.
A participant opting for General Management track, will develop an overview of all functional areas in a balanced manner. While depth will be compromised as compared to participant opting for any other specialization, the participant will develop an appreciation for a breadth of functional area. This skill would help participants excel in business decision making that have an impact spanning multiple departments. The capabilities developed in the General Management track specialization will also come in handy for participants seeking to enter into start-up ecosystem that warrants a holistic approach on business decision making. Ability to build/manage a team along with comprehensive business approach would also position candidates well for senior leadership positions in future.
Is General Management track appropriate for you
As participants choose General Management track, they need to be aware that immediate job opportunity from campus may still take into account their past work experience. It is hence a trade-off: would you want to continue in your existing functional area and build depth in the domain or are you seeking to diversify and willing to compromise depth for breadth. While General Management track will give participants a flexibility to diversify, firms may not be willing to give participants the same amount of leverage if there work experience has been in a different area than the one that they are applying for. However, for consulting industry, the same may not be as much of a case.
It is important that the participants choose General Management track carefully, so as to make the most out of their PGPM experience
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