The PGP Programme

Management Development Programmes

1. The PGP Programme

The Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in management is designed to rest on three supporting pillars: a proper balance of theory and practice, aligning of courses to match continuously with industry requirements, and an abiding concern for the larger society. The institute believes that each pillar is equally important, and required for the all-round development of students.

The Curriculum:

A judicious mix of different teaching methods, evolved using feedbacks from students and other programme participants, is employed at the institute. The emphasis is on learning processes and learning outcomes for enhancement of managerial competencies. Problem-solving and analytical skills are honed through case studies, which are part of the pedagogy in most of the courses. The management development programmes offered by the institute provides a link for updating the PGP curriculum so that the students are equipped with the necessary skills to respond to the changing challenges posed by business and industry. The postgraduate programme also provides direct student links with industry and enhancement of application skills through projects undertaken for industry by students.

The programme stipulates that students undertake summer projects of 8 to 10 weeks duration at the end of the first academic year. Once at the project location, the students apply the various concepts imbibed during the first year of formal studies, and learn to appreciate organization-specific complexities and implementation problems and bottlenecks. The project work executed by the deputed IIMK students has been highly appreciated by the industry leadership, resulting in 'best project' awards presented to them in several instances.

The PGP concentrates on subjects in diverse functional areas during the first year, equipping the student with basic skills and knowledge needed at the managerial level in any organization. In the second year, the students select subjects in their area of interest, and have an option of dual specialization.

Electives are offered in finance, marketing, information technology and systems, and in general management. Multidisciplinary courses offering state of the art analysis such as 'enterprise resource planning' and business process reengineering' are also available for the taking. The students can choose topics from any or all of these streams. If at least 18 credits are chosen from any one area, the student is deemed to have majored in that branch of management. Typically, choices are made from at least two streams so as to major in two areas, thus obtaining a 'dual' specialization. The students can also allocate choices so as to obtain a minor specialization by obtaining 9 to 17 credits.

Management in a Dynamic Environment

Innovative and successful management is about challenging the status quo and prevailing paradigms, so that change is positive and continuous. The role of the strategist, and the mind of the manager equipped to deal with change, is brought to the limelight in the programme through handpicked courses in the second year, after competence has been gained in the functional areas. These courses, such as on 'Knowledge and Intellectual Capital Management', 'Organizational Development and Change' etc., are designed to prepare the candidate both for managing the process of change itself, and for managing the physical and the human capital assets which help to bring about such changes. The curriculum serves the needs of the professional manager and that of the entrepreneur equally well, with electives such as 'Laboratory in Entrepreneurship' offered by successful industrialists affiliated to the Institute.

Grooming Managers for the Twenty-First Century

It would be thus refreshing for the well-wishers of the Institute to note that the academic programme has shown ample evidence of innovation and change Emphasizing combinations of theory and practice, shrewd business judgment and idealism, the students are progressively groomed into the role of a manager in a globalized environment with responsibilities that can overlap across several frontiers, after initiation as a profit-oriented administrator with solely local social concerns. The ever-on-going process of including new courses, fresh subject areas and new modes of faculty-student and industry-student interactions makes this advancement possible, and provides, possibly, the most cause for optimism regarding future developments at the Institute.

Industry Interaction Cell

The other side of such innovation and progress in the curriculum has been the need for additional resources to support such advances. As far as human capital has been concerned, this need has been met partly by identifying and recruiting eminent faculty. Starting from a minimum strength back in 1997, the faculty now numbers a comfortable twenty-three odd members.The Institute leadership, faculty and the students are unanimous in acclaiming the advantages that have been reaped from such close industry-institute interaction, which will be accelerated further in the coming years, and could take varying forms. A student IndustryInteraction Cell, with six highly motivated members, has been set up to facilitate this process further and identify fresh avenues for interaction.

Industry Scholarships

The mutually beneficial co-operation with industry has also found expression in the form of generous scholarships set up by leading industrial houses. Both G.E. capital Markets Inc., and Hughes Communications Inc. have instituted full scholarships at IIMK which cover the entire cost of the two-year programme. The Hughes Scholarship became operational from the beginning of the 2001-2002 academic year, while the GE Scholarship has been already received by two successful students in the past. Most recently, Bharti Enterprises Inc., has instituted a scholarship that generously provides 50,000 Rupees each academic year to a student chosen on the basis of merit as well as financial need.

2. Management Development Programmes

Name of the Programme:-
1 Leadership and Team Building
2 Psychological Tools for Organizational Diagnosis
3 Women and Management: The Glass Ceiling and Beyond
4 Managing a Diverse Workforce
5 Interpersonal and Communications Skills for Managers
6 Personality Assessment Skills for Managers
7 Corporate Leadership: An Ethical Turnaround
8 Compensation Management for HR Managers
9 Research Methodologies for Strategic Marketing Decisions
10 Competitive Marketing
11 Strategies for Consumer Products Marketing to Rural India
12 Qualitative Methods for Management and Marketing Research
13 Strategies for Social and Environmental Marketing
14 Financial Management of Large Projects
15 Information Technology for Agri Business
16 Information Technology Management
17 Competitive Strategies Under WTO System
18 Values, Ethics and Managerial Effectiveness
19 Human Values, Ethics and Organizational Excellence
20 Digital Libraries
21 Electronic Publishing: The New Digital Frontier
22 Medical Informatics: A Course for Healthcare Professionals
23 Public Order Management in the Information Age (Vertical Interaction Course for Senior IPS Officers)
24 Interpersonal and Communication Skills for Managers(For Department of Public Enterprises, Govt. of India)
25 Supply Chain Management (For Department of Public Enterprises, Govt. of India)
26 Induction Training Programme for Mgmt. Teachers
27 Mobile Wireless Networks: Technology, Applications and Management