Top MBA colleges in South India

This gauntlet doesn't sweep South India alone. The past few decades have been witness to a remarkable rise in the demand for business-oriented management education. A great part of this obsession has been fed by engineers, perpetrators of an established obsession.

Neel Mehta, a MBA graduate from a top MBA colleges in South India and a B.Tech graduate from a private university in Noida explains why engineers find the need to pursue management courses. ‘Anything a person ever does is based upon a motive. I did my B.Tech in IT from a relatively average university in Noida.

After the completion of my course, I got placed in a regular IT company where I burned my heels for two years. At one point of time, you consider a move which could springboard your career or keep changing jobs hoping for a steady rise every year. I choose the former.

Like Neel, many engineering graduates choose MBA as a career building exercise. Even IIT graduates who arguably get the best deal in terms of placements after graduation tend to go for MBA entrance exams. Most start preparing in their final year of engineering itself while some choose to work for a while before delving into MBA preparation.

Career counselor Nina Bhatia explains the appeal of an MBA degree to an engineering student. ‘Most students in India choose engineering since they consider it a safe bet for the future. An MBA degree attached to a B.Tech is very attractive to most employers. Besides indicating proficiency in both technical and management aspects, an MBA and a B.Tech degree put together has a glamour of its own

When asked whether the skewed percentage of engineers getting admission to IIMs is a cause of concern, Nina agreed. ‘Compared to commerce and arts graduates, engineering graduates are much more adept at establishing a key strategy to clear MBA entrance exams.

IFMR has emerged as one of South India's top MBA colleges

Most commerce and humanities students are found lacking when it comes to building a coherent long term plan for an entrance exam. Engineers on the other hand have fried bigger fish before such as JEE Mains, JEE Advanced and other major entrance exams.

This is a worrying trend. An MBA entrance exam such as CAT, XAT, CMAT or MAT may not favor an engineering graduate topic wise, but gives him/her a key psychological edge. Preparing six to eight months continuously for an exam is no mean task. This is the reason why engineering graduates are more successful in MBA entrance exams than their counterparts from commerce and humanities backgrounds.

Branches of MBA

When asked about the different branches of MBA, many management aspirants draw a blank. Pursuing a course without even knowing the courses on offer and the different aspects of each course suggests blind obsession of the first order.

Like most other major fields of study, MBA has a few core branches of its own. Some of the MBA specializations have been discussed below.

1. MBA in Finance

In the current market climate, an MBA in finance is almost equivalent to a B.Tech in Computer Science. The most popular stream in management studies, a MBA in finance essentially teaches efficient methods for effective use of a company's funds.

Aspirants with a keen eye for analytics and numbers are most suited for this course. The reason behind the immense popularity of the course is the lucrative job prospects it brings along. With prospects in professions such as investment banking, asset management, financial analysis and auditing up for grabs,

it is no surprise that finance gathers the most clamor amongst other branches of MBA.

Besides the lucrative fields mentioned before, the banking sector is a major recruiter of Finance MBA graduates. The scope of the banking sector in India is obvious, considering the room for development in many areas of banking.

Other fields which requisite a keen sense of analysis such as insurance companies, risk management companies, mutual funds industry, stock exchanges and consulting hire graduates from the finance stream.

Average CTC of PGP Finance graduates from ISB Hyderabad

2. MBA in Marketing

Marketing is one of the most difficult jobs in the management industry, as it requires skills which represent certain flair in creative and eccentric thinking. Unlike finance which is premised upon data-driven analysis, marketing is based upon understanding consumer behavior to enhance the company's profits and brand value.

Unlike finance which can become a bit officious, marketing is a field predicated upon understanding the most basic patterns exhibited by potential customers of a given company. Marketing is a very competitive field as it is very objective-oriented in nature.

Managing customer acquisition strategies and brand awareness programmes are a key part of marketing. While earlier marketing was often sublimated in conjunction with the sales department, the current scenario has changed dramatically from years past. Marketing has evolved further into digital marketing and brand management.

Besides having a pulse for the customers on the ground, marketing professionals are further expected to formulate strategies to strengthen the brand name of a company. While single brands dominated the market until a few years ago, increased competition across all products has made marketing professionals indispensable in the industry.

3. MBA in Human Resource Management

As the name suggests, HRM is essentially the management of the work force of an organization. A general job description of an HR manager is to handle portfolios such as recruitment, talent acquisition and retention, reward programmes and talent management.

Like finance graduates handle monetary aspects of a company, HR managers are entrusted to handle employees as assets. Some key attributes of a solid HR manager are good communication skills, favorable personality and exuberant confidence.

In any organization operating in the modern industrial complex, having an HR is an absolute necessity. There is no dearth of job prospects or potential employers, making this branch extremely attractive to many MBA aspirants.

4. MBA in International Business

As the red tape surrounding businesses in India is slowly being lifted, international business has become a very lucrative option for many MBA aspirants. An MBA in IB focuses on the operations of a few global conglomerates as these very companies end up being recruiters eventually.

An MBA in International Business is more than simple brass tacks about business operations overseas. It offers professionals the chance to get acquainted with different cultures and traditions while travelling abroad.

Some key aspects of IB include export and import management, international logistics, international finance, foreign exchange management and international marketing. Many major businesses employ IB graduates for positions such as International foreign policy manager, business development director, international trade and customs manger, and multinational manager.

5. MBA in Operations Management

Operation Management (OM) MBA graduates are usually employed in a manufacturing unit setup. Graduates from this field are expected to constantly improve the operational aspect of production as the emphasis lies purely on efficient use of every resource.

For MBA aspirants with engineering background, operations management is a great option. Besides being adept and understanding and designing products, engineers with OM on their CV are well versed with methods to improve process optimization, product development and design integration.

Manufacturing companies are major recruiters for MBAs in OM.

6. MBA in Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is a very unique field of business administration. While operations management deals with the production aspect of products, supply chain management deals with the maintenance and transportation aspects of these products.

A country like India where every facet of running a business is met with complications, supply chain managers draw their knowhow to deal with issues regarding warehousing, inventory management and transportation costs.

Key aspects of supply chain management include logistics, transportation, supply chain models, international logistics, global supply chain management and supply chain strategy.

Major recruiters for supply chain are from the manufacturing industry, as was the case with operations management.

7. MBA in Health Care Management

The functioning of hospitals and medical centres has become a very tenuous task due to improvements in the medical industrial complex over the years. MBA executives in heath care management are essentially tasked with bringing together all the different blocks to form a cogent and functional medical establishment.

Besides being execs at hospitals, opportunities in this field are also present in sectors like health and life insurance. The primary recruiters however remain hospital chains.

While choosing an MBA stream, students should always consider their field of graduation. For instance, economics and commerce majors are more suited for finance as they are more proficient at handling statistics and raw data. Engineers on the other hand are more suited for operations management and supply chain management. Humanities and arts students should naturally consider HRM as it requisites a good set of soft skills.

Top MBA colleges in South India

After discussing the various specializations in MBA, we move on to ranking the top B-schools in South India. A key factor to note before checking the rankings is that government institutions such as IIMs and FMS haven’t been included. This has been done because most MBA aspirants are well aware of the popularity of the IIMs. Populating another B-school rankings list with their name on the top is nothing but a redundancy. This way, students can also get more information about some good B-schools they otherwise hadn't heard of.

Great Lakes has slowly garnered a place for itself amongst India's top management colleges

The States

The states being considered for the rankings are listed below

The Factors

The factors to be considered while ranking the top private B-schools in India are:

 College perception

 Alumni reviews

 Academics

 Placements

Top private MBA colleges in South India are listed below: