Interested in management career? Some well known names from the corporate world share their views on management courses to help you weave your way through the challenging world of management.
Raveena Desraj Shrestha, Chief Business Officer, Mega Bank
Ashutosh Tiwari, Management Expert and Consultant
Barsha Shrestha, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Clean Energy Development Bank
What options and opportunities do students enjoy when applying for a management course?
Ashutosh Tiwari: I actually do not think that students must indeed go for management courses even if they want to be managers. Yes, a management degree surely opens a few more doors, but that’s primarily at the beginning of one’s career. Likewise, if people want to change career tracks after working for some years, then, going back to university to earn a management degree may help too. But strictly speaking, being a manager is not like being a medical doctor, for which you really have to be a medical school graduate.
All things considered, a management degree certainly helps, but it is not absolutely necessary to be a manager.
Raveena Desraj Shrestha: In my opinion taking up management studies is useful for anyone; be it a housewife, a doctor, engineer or any professional as at the end of the day, management teaches you many things involving financial management, people management, time management, self management, leadership and many other factors all useful to lead a focused, more ‘informed’ life leading to better decision making.
Barsha Shrestha: I will list out four different reasons:
1. There is a demand for managers in almost every sector (healthcare management, sports management, marketing management, agriculture management et cetera). For example, Israeli farmers who represent less than 10 per cent of the total population of approximately 8.1 million produce more than Nepali farmers who represent around 70 per cent of the total population. This is not only due to lack of agricultural experts but lack of management know- how.
2. Globalisation and ever increasing competition have further increased the importance of management disciplines.
3. The above reasons have resulted in greater job openings in the management sector.
4. It is probably the most heterogeneous field of study with numerous degrees available (for example; finance, marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, change management, et cetera)
How does a management degree lead to a successful career?
Ashutosh Tiwari: Courses and studies help, but up to a point. A degree acts primarily as a signal to the labour market that you have studied this and that. But at the end of the day, good management really boils down to a combination of applied common sense and good judgment about people, resources and products. It is also about making use of skills in finance and operations to understand the small details and the big picture. And I would further add that because the world is changing so fast, an ability to continuously and curiously learn, un-learn and re-learn, and to adapt and adjust to new and unfamiliar ideas, concepts, and approaches - these abilities are likely to be more important for long-term success than any fixed modules of courses that one takes.
Raveena Desraj Shrestha: The management profession is a lucrative stream the world over. It enables one to combine one’s innate skills which may be coupled with a subject that one can specialise in like human resource, finance or marketing. Therefore, studying management expands one’s saleability while equipping an individual to better understand the intrinsic facets of all round life management. This betters the chances of professional success and career progression. What more can an individual ask for?
Barsha Shrestha: A management degree can lead to a successful career as:
1. It is a field that provides ample opportunities for growth.
2. It is one of the highest paying fields.
3. The knowledge you gain through this course is transferable in the global context.
source:the himalayan times, 22 sept 2014
photos: Ratna Sambhav Upadhaya/ The Himalayan times
