Helping Middle Level Managers See The Bigger Picture: Executive PGDM at IMI, Delhi

SPONSORED STORY

It often so happens that a corporate employee at the middle management level finds the need for a comprehensive programme that provides him or her the necessary knowledge and hence the leverage to climb up the ladder with ease. Understanding this need, the International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi, the country’s first corporate sponsored B-School, provides an Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Ex-PGDM), awarding this degree to both corporate and self sponsored candidates who meet the necessary criteria.

Providing a little background about IMI, it works towards the broad minded motto of ‘shaping global leaders for tomorrow’. True to its intentions, the Institute runs programs like Management Development Programs (MDPs), ITEC (which is supported by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India) programs which have professionals of various nationalities and diverse backgrounds in the campus.

This facet of IMI exposes the students of Executive PGDM to the cultures of various places around the world which they might have to visit in their future endeavours. Also, this simple fact might be a great boost in the same direction as it would expand the contact base of the students (middle level managers). Added to this, IMI’s association with the World Bank, UNDP, ILO, UNCTAD, etc. would be of great help in widening the learning perspective of the Ex-PGDM students. The Institute is ranked among the top 10 in the country (Business World, 2014) and is particularly known for its Intellectual Capital in which it is ranked third.

The Director General of the Institute, Padmashri Dr.Bakul Dholakia is a distinguished personality in the field of education and has served various important roles such as being the RBI Chair, the Director of IIM Ahmedabad for five years (2002-2007)besides being a Professor of Economics at IIM, Ahmedabad, the country’s topmost Business School. He is known to have contributed greatly to establishing the International face of IIM-A when he was the director. This would not just sustain the existing International affiliations but also seek new international affiliations for the college which would be firm steps for taking the institute to the next level. The course would also be more inclusive and hence provide increased value, for in a B-School, diversity is a facilitator of good peer learning experience.

The faculty at IMI teaching the Ex-PGDM Students have solid consulting experience themselves. Some of them have provided training to corporates through their course of experience. Strategy is something which would be a skill addition to the middle level managers. Though they might be implicitly using Strategy in their everyday management affairs, studying Strategy as a course helps managers get a direction in the cluttered industry in the age of ‘information overload’. India being in its development phase would need Strategic Managers at various levels to carry out the goals and vision which would directly or indirectly figure in the larger scheme of things as visualized by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the recently concluded Economics Summit.

When US President Mr.Barack Obama visits the country (as the guest of honour for the Republic Day), he is reported to be accompanied by an entourage of CEOs of some of the Biggest Companies in the world. The economic agenda set straight with a roadmap for development in various facets of the Indian Industries of diverse sectors, it is only logical that there would be a requirement for smart managers who could take the development agenda forward. There would also be a demand for entrepreneurs, or better, ample opportunities to set up enterprises because of the various needs in variegated industries at different levels of the economy. The already existing entrepreneurs with a background of family business would add on and continue contributing as they have been doing for generations, only better because of the Ex-PGDM course. From time to time, students of this background have also carried the benefit of this programme home to their respective businesses. Some of them have also started ventures of their own, with or without the financial backing of their existing concerns.

The programme can be chosen with or without the International module. The former involves course work of 12 months spread over 4 trimesters of 11-12 weeks each with a field research project of 3 months at the end of it. The corporate sponsored candidates would carry out their project in their respective companies.

All this is the same with the latter option too. The main difference would be the 5 week course carried out at ESCP, Europe. ESCP Paris is the world’s oldest business school, established in 1819. It is Triple Crown accredited (EQUIS, AMBA, AACSB) and has urban campuses at Madrid, London, Berlin and Torino as well. The Ex-PGDM Programme is accredited by South Asian Quality assurance System (SAQS) and Association of MBAs (AMBA).

The Ex-PGDM students have a good rapport with the students of PGDM as well: this creates a blend of youth and experience, which is a time tested success formula. The programme in general would be a different experience for the middle level managers as they would easily relate to whatever they study and assimilate it all quite easily. In fact, the gap between Ex-PGDM and the industry would be lesser than that between the PGDM program and the students because of the extensive experience of the Ex-PGDM students.

PSU’s regularly send their managers to be students of this course. This proves the consistent value addition provided by the programme to its students. The programme evolves as constantly as the industry in general and management practices in particular. The management of sectors like Power and Oil and Natural Gas has to be revamped on metrics of efficiency to aid in the growth of the economy lest these vital elements become bottlenecks in the process of growth.

In the bigger picture, Ex-PGDM not only helps organizations get their middle management’s efficiency improved but also, in the process, contribute to stabilizing and sustaining the Indian Economy.

SPONSORED STORY AUTHORED BY IMI