MBA and PGDM:
Many students wish to know what the two are about.
Here’s the difference

When the wave of economic crises swept over the world a year ago, many who were laid off packed their bags to hit classrooms once again. Many were glad of the time off to upgrade their skills and add more gloss to their resumes.

But when it came to brass tacks, most are still confused as to which one is better — a master in business administration (mba) or a post graduate diploma in management (pgdm). Now, as the name connotes, it is a diploma and because of it, many think it is a lesser degree than an mba.

Education times spoke with a few academicians to find out what really is the difference between the two.

Technically speaking, a post-graduate degree can be awarded by a university, whereas an independent institution can only offer the pgdm. This nomenclature is the creation of the aicte and is given for the two-year full-time programme offered by approved institutes.

Prof subhashish gupta, indian institute of management-bangalore, breaks it down for us. He says: “by law, autonomous institutions like the iims are not allowed to give degrees. That is why our programmes are pgdm. Only universities can give an mba degree.

“Further, the industry does give equal weightage to both, so getting a job will not be a problem. However, if you want to pursue a phd programme, a pgdm will not be recognized. That is why iims offer fellowship programmes that are on par with any phd programme.

“Besides, unless you have a pgdm from a reputed institute, studying abroad may pose a problem. Also if you want to apply for a post as lecturer in any university, a pgdm will not suffice.

Nonetheless, there is no difference in the curriculum in both pgdm and mba save for the quality of teachers and students.’’

“However, the sad fact is many private institutions who do not have aicte approval and those running additional courses (in addition to courses approved by aicte) have used terms like pgpm (program instead of diploma) and many smaller institutes have used deceptively similar expressions such as pgdbm (which is usually an unrecognised one year program or a part time program or a correspondence program) and have created confusion in the minds of general public,’’ argues prof g p sudhakar, nitte school of management, bangalore.

According to sudhakar, the basic difference is flexibility. Courses can be tailored to present industry requirements in pgdm and it focusses on skill building whereas mba is offered by university-affiliated colleges and is examination-oriented.

But are they on par? “they are on par in terms of the content of the theory taught. Normally pgdm programmes also have skill improvement and industry network/ interaction at a much higher scale. Having said that, it still depends on aicte-approved institutes being better and the credibility of the sponsors of the institutes. One needs to check out the institutes and not merely go by the degree offered. That seems like common sense, however, many parents just want an mba degree and will not even visit the institute, understand what is on offer in terms of the course, speak to a few faculty and if possible, meet a few students,’’ he adds. But are they on par with each other? prof j philip, president, xavier institute of management and entrepreneurship (xime), bangalore is of the opinion that a pgdm is not only equivalent to an mba, it is often rated as superior to mba.

According to prof vinay dhumale, honorary dean & lead mentor, manipal mba & animation programmes, the difference between the diploma and a regular postgraduate degree course is the academic rigour, depth, content, projects, associated faculty, industry connect and university evaluation offered by the latter.

He says they both have their respective strengths. A short-term diploma programme gives the flexibility to grasp management concepts and tools, with more focus on hands-on experience and industry focus. An mba on the other hand would give a more thorough approach to the concepts and management theories and offer in-depth insights into management practices.

But what do students prefer? “any day they prefer an mba because of the in-depth course,’’ adds dhumale.

Be that as it may, are industry heads convinced? c mahalingam, executive vice-president and chief people officer, symphony services corporation, bangalore, says there is no blanket endorsement of either mba or pgdm. “each of us (industry/ companies) works out a reputation index of each institute and goes accordingly. But we don’t get carried away by magazine rankings,’’ he says.

Mahalingam adds that industry insiders have a set of indices like admission process, quality and quantity of faculty, infrastructure, state of libraries, teaching methodology, placement records among others, which are used to judge the quality of graduates from that institute. “we also assess students when we visit the campus for guest lectures, when they come to us for summer internships and also talk to previous companies which have employed them.’’

However, a word of caution: “the tragedy is that most students armed with an mba degree do not end up with jobs that the course prepares them for. This is because the university colleges are more interested in institute-building rather than people-building. There is a lack of quality faculty. That is why grads coming out of such colleges are not of industry standards.’’

“The reason is simple: autonomous institutions have much more flexibility compared to the university system when it comes to curriculum, faculty or pedagogy. In addition, pgdm curriculum is usually broader and heavier with considerable emphasis on soft skills,’’ he adds.

So, before writing mat, cat, xat, snap and other entrance exams this year for a shot at a bschool, make sure you know which degree they offer and what it entails.

Regards,
Debasis
(Source:The Times Of India)