In the first place is the United States. Ever since the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration established the world’s first MBA program in 1908, the US has been a favourite destination. In the business school rankings too, the US continues to maintain its supremacy.

While the 1-year full-time MBA programs and several online versions have been making headway, the 2-year program continues its dominance. The advantages cited are that a longer period helps students acquire a more in-depth knowledge, develop networking with peers and the alumni and also gain valuable work experience from the summer internship.

A sizable presence of international students brings the much-needed diversity in the cohorts. Some of the programs also include stays abroad.

1. Click here to Read More About MBA in USA

In the first place is the United States. Ever since the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration established the world’s first MBA program in 1908, the US has been a favourite destination. In the business school rankings too, the US continues to maintain its supremacy.

The United Kingdom is second with London as the main destination. The city is known as the world’s most competitive financial centre. Unlike the US, the 1-year MBA programs are more in favour here. UK has some of the best-known schools including the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, the London Business School (LBS), Cambridge Judge Business School, Imperial College Business School and Alliance Manchester.

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Canada comes third offering both quality business schools and employment opportunities. The schools include Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University and Schulich School of Business, York University. As in the case of the US, 2-year full-time programs are popular in this country.

3. Click here to Read More About MBA in Canada

In the fourth place is Australia. Among the best-known schools in the continent are the University of New South Wales (UNSW), The University of Queensland (UQ), University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and Monash University.

Australia’s location near the fast-growing Southeast Asian business centres enables students to make full use of the learning and exchange opportunities.

4. Click here to Read More About MBA in Australia

Germany is fifth on the list. The country has several well-known institutions including the Mannheim Business School, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management, University of Cologne – Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences and ESMT – European School of Management and Technology.

5. Click here to Read More About MBA in Germany

France is sixth on the list. From HEC Paris to INSEAD, ESSEC to Emlyon, the country offers a wide variety of programs. Paris apart from its charm as a cultural centre is also a major financial and business hub of Europe, remaining one of the favourite destinations for MBA aspirants.

6. Click here to Read More About MBA in France

Spain is placed seventh. The country also attracts international students, especially from Latin America with linguistic ties to the country. The major schools are IE Business School, IESE Business School, ESADE and EU Business School.

Singapore, being an important international business hub in Asia, makes it to the list in the eighth spot. The major schools in the island nation are Nanyang Business School, Singapore Management University (SMU) and NUS Business School.

Ninth-ranked Switzerland, globally known for its banking and financial institutions continues to be an attractive destination for MBA aspirants. Among the well-known schools are IMD, EU Business School and the Geneva School of Business.

Tenth on the list is The Netherlands. The country has several internationally known institutions including  Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University, Amsterdam Business School, Maastricht School of Management (MSM) and Nyenrode Business Universiteit. Apart from being a business hub, the Netherlands has one of the highest percentages of startups in Europe.

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What is International Immersion?

International immersion is an integral part of the PGDM (Executive), a full-time AICTE approved and AACSB accredited 15-month program at IMT Ghaziabad, aimed at high-performing professionals with work experience.

The immersion, in association with leading business schools across the world, helps the participants develop a global perspective. The 4-6 week Global Career Accelerator (GCA) is held with specific customization focus, at one of IMTs European partners.

An IMT Ghaziabad spokesperson told OneYearMBA.co.in that as per the structure of the PGDM Executive program, the students spend one term with the partner institution as part of their curriculum.

The students gained awareness about the highly competitive business scenario in Europe– how various European companies (majorly Swedish) function to stay ahead of the competition.

The students of the previous batch had been to EM Normandie, France, IESEG School of Management, Paris and Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Asked about the experiences of the students at the immersion, the spokesperson said they found it to be “an excellent opportunity to get exposure on international business settings, They are able to better understand and appreciate the diversity of consumer groups.

“They are able to build up an understanding of the global marketing environment and learn different approaches to handle employee performance,’ she added.

About the students’ key learnings or takeaways, she talked about data visualization using Tableau, a data analytics and visualization tool. They also learn about expanding into international markets, that is, market entry strategies, competitive matrix, market attractiveness, stages of globalization etc.

The students gained awareness about the highly competitive business scenario in Europe– how various European companies (majorly Swedish) function to stay ahead of the competition. They also received fair learning on major corporate entities such as Ericsson, IKEA and Volvo.

The students are awarded scores while participating in the immersion modules. Asked if any changes or improvements were being contemplated in the immersion programs, she replied in the negative. “The immersion program in the current form is best suited to the program architecture. We are not contemplating any changes,’ she added.

Alumni Views on the International Immersion 

IMT PGDM Executive alum Vineet Sreedharan, currently leads the Business Process Re-engineering and Knowledge Management verticals in the IT department at Trident Group, a billion dollar textile conglomerate.

“The immersion program is a game changer as it provides an experience of living a culture that was hitherto unknown to us. Apart from broadening our understanding of the world around us, it also teaches us various facets of cross-cultural collaboration and connects with technologies and practices that are still to be implemented large scale in our country”

He has an overall work experience of 6.5 years with a special focus on strategizing and implementing digital transformation projects, describes the international immersion as the “cherry on top for the 1.5-year course”.

“It was an approximately 40-day program as part of the international immersion term and thanks to IMT’s strong network and partnership with the best B-schools in the world, we managed to visit a fantastic business school called EM Normandie, in Normandy, France,” he said.

“Six courses were included in the program, which included cross-cultural visits to important places in and around Normandy such as Etretat and Mont Saint-Michel. Since the costs were included in the course fee and IMT helped take care of the Visa and stay formalities, it helped us a lot during the travel and transition to an international environment,” he added.

“The course was well structured and taught by eminent faculty from the school. There were well-placed breaks in between, which allowed us the opportunity to explore a few more countries around France, such as Spain, Belgium and Netherlands,” he said.

Asked about his favourite course in the international immersion, Vineet said two courses practically stood out. These were Brand Management by Prof Olivier Kovarski, Director of Executive Education & Associate Professor in Marketing and ‘Doing Business in Europe’ by Prof Eleonore Mendel, lecturer in Intercultural Marketing and Management and a Consultant in cross-cultural marketing.

Asked about the takeaways from the immersion experience, he said, “The immersion program is a game changer as it provides an experience of living a culture that was hitherto unknown to us. Apart from broadening our understanding of the world around us, it also teaches us various facets of cross-cultural collaboration and connects with technologies and practices that are still to be implemented large scale in our country.”

“For example, we got to witness the best of eco-friendly transport such as the large scale preference for cycles at Bruges and Amsterdam and the best implementation of smart cities through the use of smart cards at Barcelona,” he said.

Vineet said the exposure to international students and working methods “changed our understanding and helped us appreciate the importance of several things. These include punctuality–how Europeans treated time as money and how essential it is to be on time at the right venue in the right manner.

“Secondly, the work-life balance–how necessary it is to close work so that adequate time could be spent at home with loved ones. Thirdly, environment consciousness-reducing wastage and promoting environment-friendly ways to commute,” he added.

Asked about what advice he would give to students to make the best use of international immersion, he said, “Keep all inhibitions aside and fully soak yourself in the international immersion program, it is always worth it. And a word of caution. Respect the country’s rules as well as give equal importance to learn too, as there would always be a lot of takeaways that you gain.”

For MBA aspirants and current students, his message is to be “A constant learner lifelong and constantly upgrade your skills. Technology is adapting at a fast pace and we must learn to keep up with it.

“You have to keep networking with people, share your knowledge and help them through good deeds as a way of giving back to the world.

Alumni Views on the PGDM Executive Program

Vineet Sreedharan, endorses the program for three reasons.

First, for the “wonderfully structured course curriculum”, secondly for the affordability of the program, which included one international term and thirdly, for “a fantastic faculty team and alumni network.”

Another alum, Piyush Singh, Chief Manager, Credit cards at Kotak Mahindra Bank, was in the PGDM Executive, Marketing & Information Technology 2012-13 batch.

He regrets that the international immersion facility was not there at that time, but is full of praise for the program.

Prior to enrolling for the program, Piyush, who had completed his B Tech. Production Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Surat in 2003-07, had worked as Associate System Engineer, IBM Global Services and as Senior analyst at Cerillion Technologies.

After completing PGDM, he joined ICICI bank through campus placement. About why he chose the one year program and IMT, Ghaziabad he said, “Preparing for MBA, I got decent CAT scores and looked at various options in the market. A few of my friends had done the two-year program at IMT and liked it. Since I had 5 years of work experience, a two-year program (mainly for those without work experience) would not have been suitable for me. So I chose the one year program.

“It is academically well designed, very intensive and a really good learning experience. Apart from studies, there were plenty of extra-curricular activities. I enjoyed the time spent over there and made good friends,” he added.

“It is a good opportunity for people looking to diversify their job. If you have some 5 plus years’ experience, it will help in changing over to a different work profile. You can go into the management stream and increase your salary compensation as well,” he added.

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With the Covid under control and the students back on the campus, the Director of an academic institution was taking a vote in the faculty council meeting to find out how many faculty members would like to take classes online and how many offline. Everybody raised hand to vote for offline mode except one. When the concerned faculty was asked by the Director as to why he did not want to take classes offline, the faculty member replied, “I don’t have trousers.” A huge laughter erupted in the room. Guess what happened after that. A very heavy, dry and dull environment suddenly became fresh and lively.

Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas observed, “Research shows that leaders with any sense of humour are seen as 27% more motivating and admired than those who don’t joke around. Their employees are 15% more engaged, and their teams are more than twice as likely to solve a creativity challenge — all of which can translate into improved performance.

Humour works as a social lubricant to build and sustain harmonious relationships. It is much better way to raise sensitive issues. It is accepted as a socially appropriate means to express aggressive feelings or negative emotions. It helps in giving a very subtle message.

A professor in a college wanted to get an AC installed in his office because it was difficult to work during summers. He requested the principal for the same by arguing that it will help him write more research papers during summers. The principal quipped, “But Professor tell me one thing – how many research papers you write in winters?” Mary Hirsch said, “Humour is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”

Humour relieves stress and diffuses tension. Humour has an important role in peoples’ lives by helping them to live better and to deal with day-to-day adversities. The literature on humour provides ample evidence that humour reduces stress. Michael Kerr, president of Humour at Work explains, “Humour offers a cognitive shift in how you view your stressors; an emotional response; and a physical response that relaxes you when you laugh.”

Humour just feels good. Many of us may relate to high-anxiety situations where a joke feels like a much-needed outlet. Consider a serious problem at the workplace being reported by a person to his friend in this way, “I always go the extra mile at work, but my boss always finds me and brings me back.”

Humour helps in building relationship. We want to be around people who make us smile, laugh, and overall raise our spirits. Studies show that employees who have three close friends at work are 96% more likely to be “extremely satisfied” with their lives. Humour allows both employees and managers to come together. Shared laughter accelerates a feeling of closeness and trust. It puts others at ease. Humour is a way to break through the hierarchy. Humour is a great icebreaker and removes the walls that exist between leaders and followers. When an employee asks his manager do you have a minute and the manager says, no, I have 60 seconds, you are likely to be more comfortable reaching out to such a manager.

Humour is not always good. Martin classified humour into four categories – affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating. Of these affiliative and self-enhancing styles are considered to be positive while aggressive and self-defeating as negative. Affiliative humour is used to enhance one’s relationships with others in a way that is relatively benign and self-accepting. Individuals who use affiliative humour tend to attract others, bring them together, and in doing so, reduce interpersonal and intra-group tension. Self-enhancing humour is used to enhance the self in a way that is tolerant and non-detrimental to others. Users of aggressive humour typically have little regard for the feelings of the targets of their humour; they are more concerned with getting a laugh and feeling superior. Self-defeating humour involves excessively disparaging humour or attempts to ingratiate oneself or gain the approval of others by doing or saying funny things at one’s own expense. One should make sure that you choose humour appropriately.

Some of the most respected corporations have created fun workplace environments. Zappos, Warby Parker, Southwest Airlines, Chevron, Google have made their mark for creating the culture of fun. These companies have used humour and a positive fun culture to help brand their business, attract and retain employees and to attract customers. In some of these companies a sense of humour is a way to judge the suitability of a candidate for a job. A candidate was asked a question during his interview, “What one thing one should never do at work?” The candidate replied, “Work.” A follow up question, “What one thing a candidate should always do at work?” The answer, “Keep exploring other options.” I am told that the candidate got the job.

Let us pay some attention to Oscar Wild who said, “It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.” “People who take themselves overly seriously are often, ironically, taken less seriously by the people around them,” said Michael Karr.

The author, Kamal K Jain, is Professor – Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at IIM Raipur. First published in ET HR World dated 7th October

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I called her to wish her.

She picked up the phone and said Thanks!…but then, just a moment later, followed it up with “What’s there to celebrate?”

This is not the first time I had heard someone say this. I have retorted similarly in the past myself. I was almost in tears when I turned 30.

For the first time in my life though, I had more to offer than an awkward nod of agreement.

With 40 peeping around the corner, and grey hair peppering my crown with much less discretion, I maybe even had an answer to her question.

It went something like this.

When we are young, birthday celebration are all about commemorating the day we were born.

As we get older, arriving on the planet seems a day long lost in history. Birthdays soon become markers of aging.

The body gets weaker every year, and the mind does not relish the prospect of weakening bones and lost energy. It’s easy to feel that celebrations are out of order.

But this comes from ignoring the purpose of our life.

And the way I see it, the purpose of life is to grow.

Think about it. In this life full of impermanence, have you in true terms gained anything besides growth? Anything else that you gained through the good times and the bad times alike? Anything else that you once gained, always stayed with you, while everything else – success, fame, money, love – came and went?

Isn’t growth then the only meaning of life?

Seen in this context, how bad does the sixtieth birthday sound? How bad is it to celebrate 60 years of growth? How bad is it to celebrate a lifetime of being polished by life’s many forces?

Every year on this treadmill called earth, our eyes may lose a bit of their glint, but our soul shines brighter –  gaining perspective and getting rid of its karmic dross.

The day we came on earth isn’t important – the journey we have covered is.

And that, mom, is certainly worth celebrating.

Happy birthday!

Your son,

Shikhar Mohan

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