Understanding emerging markets – A focus on the EMBA in India

As the demand for Executive MBA programs continues to rise in India, top tier institutions in the country offer various industry-focused programs with strict entry barriers to filter top talent. Diptiman Dewan from MBA Universe takes a look.

The history of one-year Executive Programs In Management in the tier-1 B-schools in India goes back to 1987 when the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, started the National Management Program (NMP) as a 15 month postgraduate program for practicing managers to acquire skills from a wide range of traditionally segregated domains. Other Executive MBA programs available today include PGPMax, a management program for senior executives, started in 2009-10 by the Indian School of Business as well as PGPEX — IIM Calcutta’s one-year residential program for executives, which was established in 2007.

Additionally, top tier institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad offer the PGPX — a one-year fulltime residential program for executives leading to a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives. The list goes on to include programs such as: the ExePGP, offered by XLRI, Jamshedpur; an Executive Post Graduate Program in Management (EPGP), offered by IIM Bangalore; a one-year Executive Education Program in General Management (EEPGM) offered by IIM Kozhikode; a Post Graduate Executive Education Program (PGEMP) offered by S P Jain Institute of Management and Research; an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program offered by the School of Business Management, NMIMS. All are amongst the other top B-schools of the country.

Here is a snapshot of the Executive MBA programs offered by the top B-schools in India:

As seen in the table above, for most top tier institutes in India which offer Executive MBA courses, the minimum work experience required is between five to seven years, the only exception being ISB which has an entry requirement of ten years or more professional experience for its PGPMAX program for senior executives. The majority of programs are one-year long, barring MDI, whose course spans 15 months, as well as the NMIMS EMBA, which spans between 15-24 months.

The pedagogy of executive programs often includes some or all combinations of pre-course reading materials, classroom learning, online modules, industry speakers/interactions; simulations and a capstone experience. The capstone experience gives participants a chance to experience cross-functional integrated decision-making through complex and rapidly evolving scenarios where business acumen is tested and enhanced through modelling, analysis and strategic planning.

On the unique selling points of the PGPX program at IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA), Professor Satish Y Deodhar, Chairperson, PGPX, IIMA, explains, “At an average experience of more than 10 years in a variety of sectors and with an average GMAT score of 717, the profile of the students on this program is one of the very best in the world. Despite having been away from academics for a reasonable time period, the students are required to go through and withstand the famous intellectual rigor of IIMA. The design of the program based on a vigorous debate among industry leaders from public and private sector organizations and a 15 member strong IIMA faculty, is quite unique in the world. It is no surprise that within six years of its launch, for the second consecutive year, the PGPX program has been ranked 11th and first in the world by Financial Times for overall rank and career progress respectively.”

In her message to aspirants, Professor Runa Sarkar, Chairperson, PGPEX, IIM Calcutta, says, “The one-year Post-Graduate Program for Executives (PGPEX) offered by IIM Calcutta aims to prepare mid-career professionals for top management roles in industry through transforming them into dynamic ethical leaders. This program does not restrict itself to any one stream of pedagogy; it employs a participant centred learning approach using methodologies ranging from traditional lectures, case discussions, active interactions with CEOs and top management, individual research and group project work and cross-cultural learnings through an international immersion program. Keeping in mind its orientation to prepare managers for international business, an average of around ten courses is taught by visiting faculty from International Business Schools.”

Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIM Bangalore (IIMB), opines, “India is going through very interesting and challenging times both economically and socially. This gives us at IIMB a vantage point that is most exciting for any researcher today - new assumptions, new questions, new theoretical constructs to explain many phenomena. Our programs are competitive to enter, challenging to go through and cutting-edge on relevance and rigour. Our response to changes in society around us is research-based. Our models for issues of growth are development-oriented.”

According to the Indian School of Business (ISB), its accreditation by the AACSB and a global curriculum created by some of the best minds in management education gives the executive program an edge over the others. Besides this, peer group learning and networking with classmates who are from varied academic and industry backgrounds provide participants with insights into corporate practices different from their own coupled with a strong alumni network and a world-class campus with state of the art facilities that helps hone the skills and knowledge of its PGPMAX students.

What makes executive education impactful, thus, is the combination of theory and classroom learning with real-time work experience of participants and a chance to network and gather cross-functional and cross industry insight. Participants are able to relate what is taught in the programs to the scenarios in their workplaces and better implement what they learn in the program as well as lessons and insights from their peers, when they return to their respective organizations.

Despite global economic upheavals and a slow domestic growth, executive management education is being vouched for by management institutions in the country today as a game changer for India which has tremendous potential for growth and a growing requirement of trained and skilled managers who can take organizations to the next level of growth.