What Does Business Management Teach?

You’ve heard about business management. You know there are courses to learn business management. However, do you really know what “exactly” business management is? More importantly, have you found an answer to your question -What does business management teach? If you are a student, chances are, you must have gone through a lot of articles, websites and college pages to get this answered. If you are a working professional, interested in studying business management, you must have asked your colleagues, co-workers or even picked up a brochure for a course in business management.

Simply put, business management is the art and science of managing a business. Businesses can clearly be outlined in two categories; a) for-profit businesses, andb) non-profit business. In either case, there are a lot of functions and elements which need to be taken care of while running a business. Business management tries to bring in theoretical and practical approaches to make a business successful. Business management essentially focuses on the daily activities associated with running a company by strategizing, planning, organizing, leading, controlling and executing.

Image Ref: www.sesidw.com

Most business management courses nowadays, try to make a person capable of answering the growing needs of a business by educating and testing them on various topics. Business management courses, theoretically, consist mostly of the following six, core subjects.

Read the complete article at: CourseKing.in

Right Skills Are in Demand in UK

The trend of universities overseas expanding their reach in India and collaborating with Indian universities continues. Nick Petford, vice-chancellor, University of Northampton, was in India recently to explore opportunities in collaborating with universities as well as the government on vocational education and environment management.

“Vocational education is the strength of our university which has about 15,000 students on campus. We specialise in skill development and making people job ready,and are exploring opportunities for collaboration with educational institutions in India to ensure that students are equipped with the right skills, have industry inputs and can align with the industry,” says Petford.

With the Union budget 2012-13 doubling allocation of funds under the National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and the launch of a credit guarantee fund for skills development in India, the university is looking at using its expertise in vocational skills development to work with organisations like the NSDC and government.

In terms of research, the university specialises in areas like history (hate crime, terrorism, soldiers and soldiering ), leather technology, environment and sustainable waste management, English literature, special needs, and in maths and science for students in the primary education level in the UK.

The university has also signed an MoU with the University of Madras to conduct its online MSc programme in international environmental management from January 2013. “University of Northampton has specifically designed this course jointly with the University of Madras to meet the needs and ever growing sustainability demands of India and other such developing countries,” said Petford.

Read the complete article at: MyEducationTimes.com

Best B-school Ranking

Choosing the best B-school is a huge task when you decide that you want to do an MBA. Doing an MBA not only means a considerable investment of money but also considerable amount of time. Hence it is most important to analyse and decide the colleges you want to target. The tricky part in the rankings is that invariably you will find that a b-school which is highly rated may not figure in the top 10 list in another ranking. Hence it is always good to do some due diligence. I have put down MBA rankings from some reputed publications which may help your cause.

Best B-schools 2011 – The Economist

Rank	Business School	Country
1	Dartmouth College – Tuck School of Business	United States
2	Chicago, University of – Booth School of Business	United States
3	IMD – International Institute for Management Development	Switzerland
4	Virginia, University of – Darden Graduate School of Business Administration	United States
5	Harvard Business School	United States
6	California at Berkeley, University of – Haas School of Business	United States
7	Columbia Business School	United States
8	Stanford Graduate School of Business	United States
9	York University – Schulich School of Business	Canada
10	IESE Business School – University of Navarra	Spain
11	Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT Sloan School of Management	United States
12	New York University – Leonard N Stern School of Business	United States

 Best B-Schools in Asia and Australia – The Economist

Rank	Business School	Country
1	Melbourne Business School – University of Melbourne	Australia
2	Hong Kong, University of – Faculty of Business and Economics	Hong Kong
3	Queensland, University of – Business School	Australia
4	Curtin Graduate School of Business	Australia
5	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – School of Business and Management	Hong Kong
6	Nanyang Business School – Nanyang Technological University	Singapore
7	Macquarie Graduate School of Management	Australia
8	Yonsei University School of Business	Republic of Korea
9	Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad	India
10	National University of Singapore – The NUS Business School	Singapore
11	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
12	China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)	China

Source: Economist

 Global MBA Rankings 2012 – Financial Times

Rank	Business School	Country
1	Stanford Graduate School of Business	United States
2	Harvard Business School	United States
3	University of Pennsylvania: Wharton	United States
4	London Business School	United Kingdom
5	Columbia Business School	United States
6	Insead	France/Singapore
7	MIT: Sloan	United States
8	IE Business School	Spain
9	Iese Business School	Spain
10	Hong Kong UST Business School	China
11	Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad	India
12	University of Chicago: Booth	United States
13	IMD	Switzerland
14	University of California at Berkeley: Haas	United States
15	Northwestern University: Kellogg	United States

Source: Financial Times

Scholarships for studying abroad

Quality education in this day and age comes at a premium. Many of the Indian students often are sceptical about pursuing further education from a good college both in India and abroad due to lack of funding. However there are many benevolent institutes which offer scholarships, interest free loans to deserving students. In addition these days most of the colleges also offer scholarship in a bid to attract quality students. However, there are certain things that students need to keep in mind before applying for these scholarships. The most important among them are to apply within the time-frame when these institutes are seeking application.

Some of the most prominent scholarships programs to study in the UK are listed below:

British Chevening Scholarships:

The flagship scholarship scheme of the British Government, The Chevening Scholarships are one of the world’s top scholarship schemes and provide scholarships to around 1000 leaders from over 130 countries to study in the UK every year. Read more

Charles Wallace India Trust:

The Charles Wallace India Trust (CWIT) is an arts, heritage conservation and humanities scholarship fund. It enables Indians in the early or middle stages of their careers to spend time in the UK, helping to achieve their artistic, professional or academic ambitions and make wider international contacts. Read more

Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships:

This is an annual scheme made available to all Commonwealth countries by the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission. The India programme is managed jointly by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU, UK); Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India and the British Council. Read more

Other scholarships

KC Mahindra scholarship for postgraduate studies abroad

Eligibility: Interested candidates are required to possess a first class degree or an equivalent diploma of the same standard from a recognised Indian university. They must have secured admission or have applied for admission to reputable foreign universities for courses commencing in September 2012 but not later than February 2013. Read More

Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Scholarship for Standford University

Reliance Industries Limited and the Stanford Graduate School of Business today announced the creation of the Reliance Dhirubhai India Education Fund to support promising Indian students with financial need in obtaining an MBA at Stanford. Read more

JN Tata Endowment for the Higher Education of Indians.

The J.N. Tata Endowment was set up in 1892 by the Founder of the Tata group, Jamsetji N. Tata, to encourage young people to avail of higher studies at some of the best universities in the world. It is the first Tata benefaction in the field of education, and possibly, the first of its kind, anywhere. Read more

Narotam Sheksaria Scholarship

The Narotam Sekhsaria Scholarship Programme is the Foundations endeavour to promote academic excellence in India. The objective of the Scholarship Programme is to evolve a group of young professionals and leaders of higher calibre imbued with values of entrepreneurship and ethics. This programme therefore goes beyond financial support and has a unique aspect a mentoring programme to nurture and motivate scholars. Read more

These are only a few options that I have been able to bring out. There are number of other scholarships offered which one can find easily. It is my sincere request to everyone who reads this to come forward and share any other scholarship program they know of.

Choosing a Career

A lot of people today are unhappy with their professional life, they are stressed and this adversely affects their personal life as well. They feel overworked, unhappy and frustrated with life in general. Making a wrong career choice or sticking to a wrong profession makes you feel exactly as described above.

We live in an age of information and today we have a large number of career options. Making the right career choice is a daunting task and a wrong decision could have significant impact on your overall well being. Career choice is an important decision and needs to be made with restraint and lot of thought.

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the British CA

In my last blog I discussed about the CFA and different aspects of CFA this week I will analyse ACCA.

For starters ACCA – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is quiet less heard of in India but it is very popular and highly respected within the finance industry globally. ACCA is the global body for professional accountants, with over 424,000 students and members in 170 countries. It is headquartered in London and it has an extensive network of over 83 offices and active centres.

ACCA is popularly known as British CA also. It enables students to become member of the Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants of the United Kingdom.

What does ACCA program include?

Fundamental Level (9 Paper)
Knowledge Module
F1	Accountant in Business (AB)
F2	Management Accounting (MA)
F3	Financial Accounting (FA)
Skills Module
F4	Corporate and Business Law (CL)
F5	Performance Management (PM)
F6	Taxation (TX)
F7	Financial Reporting (FR)
F8	Audit & Assurance (AA)
F9	Financial Management (FM)
Professional Level (5 Papers)
Essential Modules (All 3 Papers)
P1	Professional Accountant (PA)
P2	Corporate Reporting (CR)
P3	Business Analysis (BA)
Options Module (2 Papers only)
P4	Advanced Financial Management (AFM)
P5	Advanced Performance Management (APM)
P6	Advanced Taxation (ATX)
P7	Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA)

Eligibility:

Students who want to pursue ACCA need not have any prior accountancy knowledge and accounting degree. If you have an accountancy degree, you may be eligible for exemptions from some of the ACCA examinations.

Exemptions:

ACCA allows exemptions from certain subjects in case when a student has studied that course previously. In case students have covered exactly the same subject, at the same depth previously and it had been assessed in the same way then that student can get exemption in that particular subject.

In addition to passing all the papers Students also need to gain practical experience through working in an accountancy-related position. Unlike Indian CA, ACCA recognises experience gathered before, during or after your studies. This means, if you have prior relevant experience it can count towards your three years’ mandatory practical experience requirements.

ACCA can be studied in colleges and universities as well as with distance learning providers. ACCA conducts exams twice a year once in June and once in December.

All you wanted to know about CFA

What does CFA stand for? What is it all about?

CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is a mark of distinction that is globally recognized by employers, investment professionals, and investors as the definitive standard by which to measure serious investment professionals.

Who can become a CFA?

The financial sector is getting more dynamic with each passing day. This has resulted in great demand for experts in the field of finance with knowledge in diverse functional areas. Hence there is a acute need for finance professionals who are specially trained and possess sound financial knowledge and aptitude to handle complex issues. A CFA Qualification is a specialisation that provides an individual distinct advantage over other in his/her field.

Who is eligible for the course?

Fresh graduates and also students in the final year of the Bachelor Degree course are eligible for the admission test. The pre qualification of a graduate degree is waived in the case of Commissioned defence personnel who have five years of experience. High comfort level in handling numbers is also one of the traits essentials for students aspiring to be CFAs.

What does CFA Qualification prepare me for?

The CFA Program equips you with the practical and fundamental knowledge you need for a wide variety of career choices in the investment profession. CFA charterholders find that earning the CFA charter provides them with a passport for working within numerous investment specialties and markets across the globe. It also better equips them to change specialties as their careers evolve.

What does the CFA Curriculum cover?

• Ethical and professional standards
• Quantitative methods
• Economics
• Financial reporting and analysis
• Corporate finance
• Equity investments
• Fixed income
• Derivatives
• Alternative investments
• Portfolio management  and wealth planning

 What is the format for the exams?

There are three levels that student needs to clear to be a CFA. Each level of the exams is six hours long and is divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The Level I examination consists of 240 multiple-choice questions. The Level II examination contains 20 “mini-cases” or vignettes that describe investment challenges practitioners are likely to encounter. Each item-set contains six questions based on the vignette. The Level III exams contain constructed response (essay) questions in the morning session and 10 item-sets in the afternoon session.

How long does it take to complete the Qualification?

On an average it takes four years to achieve CFA Qualification.

What are the career prospects?

CFA’s are employed by Investment Companies, Mutual Funds, Wealth management advisories, Hedge Funds, Banks, Insurance Companies, Pensions and Foundations companies, investment banks, Research firms etc.

Source: www.cfainstitute.org/