M M Bagali, Research paper, MBA Faculty, HRM, HR, HRD, PhD in HR and Management

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This article can be downloaded from http://www.ijmrbs.com/currentissue.php

Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014 Chaitra Shetty et al., 2014

PERSPECTIVE ON CAREER RELATED DECISIONS

OF MANAGEMENT STUDENTS: A MODEL OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING

Chaitra Shetty1*, M M Bagali2 and P V Shree Krishna3

Changing pace of management education and demand for talented employees has made thestudents focus on career planning wisely. Thoughtful Career Decision making is important tomake career related choices such as which training or educational program to pursue, whichoccupational field to enter or whether to change occupation or to be an entrepreneur. The factorsthat influences Career Decision making include one's aptitude, interests and ambitions, cultural,family influences, economic considerations, friends advice, educational resources and collegesupport. Choosing a career is one of the most crucial decisions people make in life. Careerdecision making process should not be delayed as, an individual may land up in career thatdoes not fit with ones' values, interests, personal attributes, skills or ones’ goal. It also calls fordeveloping one's competency at each stage of career/life, so as to get ready to take up thefuture challenges. Counseling towards career related decisions facilitates students personaland interpersonal functioning with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational front.Career counseling influences on the brand image of the management school, develops valueproposition and management commitment. Further, transitions in technology, education,demographics have made the management students to reconsider their value proposition andmeet rapidly changing job market. The paper highlights the importance of Psychologicalcounseling for students and a strong need to set-up an exclusive Psychological CounselingCentre. It draws up a model, addressing student's career need and how psychological counselingat right time would be handy for students per se.

Keywords: Career, Counseling, Management, B-school, Assessment centre

*Corresponding Author: Chaitra Shetty � [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Industrial globalization has promulgated the

outlook of employment opportunities in the 21st

century. Rising expectation of the qualitative job

1 Department of Management Sciences, Jain University, Bangalore.

2 Head, Research in Management, Jain University, Bangalore.

3 CERSSE, Jain University, Bangalore.

Int. J. Mgmt Res. & Bus. Strat. 2014

ISSN 2319-345X www.ijmrbs.com

Vol. 3, No. 3, July 2014

© 2014 IJMRBS. All Rights Reserved

seekers in the job market by the employers has

forced the student fraternity to forecast their

career, accept challenges, develop skills,

competencies and acquire knowledge. Shukla

(2013) opines owing to the globalization,

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privatization and liberalization lot of changes are

noticed in the functioning of industries. Naturally

industries across the world are required to have

the manpower with multi-skills rather than simply

knowledge oriented. Right Decision related to

career is a long process which comprises of

variety of factors that influences a student to make

a career choice. The decision making

methodology of a student may be through reading,

listening or by seeing and interaction per se. The

influential factors for decision making in

management education related courses includes

Professors, career advisory, student placement

cell, interaction with external guests or faculty,

parents and so on. Brown (2004) stated that the

conditions that stimulate students’ development

of wisdom are: (a) orientation to learning, (b)

experiences, (c) interactions with others, and (d)

environment. The current study focuses on

developing a psychological counseling model

which interconnects the students and the

counseling centre of a Management institute. The

preposition in the paper strongly feels the support

at an institutional level, to mentor and guide

students at their crucial stage of career choice

during the last year of higher education.

As per special issue of Business World June

2011 edition, “India’s best B-schools 2011 - BW

Survey”, there are approximately 3,900 B-schools

in the country and they have a capacity of about

400,000 students a year. However, jobs created

by the corporate sector today are just for 100,000

students a year. So, where do the remaining

300,000 students go? What about their career if

they are left with one year of job search, than they

have to join the numbers which are added again

in next year? With the rising number of B-schools,

the quality education imparted by the B-schools

is the challenge that needs to be addressed. The

increasing demands of the job market,

performance at the workplace, job commitment,

job satisfaction, handling professional challenges

with work-life balance, has led individuals to re-

think if they have opted for a right career. ‘Career’

according to Oxford Dictionary means - “an

occupation undertaken for a significant period of

a person’s life and with opportunities for

progress”. When an individual aspires for a career

which he want to achieve, then he explores about

the career he is interested and can develop the

necessary skill required to choose that career.

Career decision making revolves on choosing a

right career path. This surely requires a clear de-

markation between many aspects such as

passion for a Career, financial prospects in a

career, satisfaction level and skills to opt for

particular career, competency towards a

particular career choice and so on.

If there is a clear vision by oneself, equally

supported by guidance from experienced,

knowledgeable-family members, mentors,

academic counselors or expert in the particular

field, provided the career choice is identified early

can lead to self-satisfying career in the future.

Whether management education is already

chosen by a student by choice or by force, the

interest in the areas of management career can

be identified, and the skills can be acquired

towards achieving it with the help of Assessment

Centre that can be established by B-schools.

Literature says that, less than 10% of B-schools

have the concept of Assessment centre, while

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rest has never heard of such concept and

practice. When a student is at the first year of

academic program in the Management institute

interest towards a particular area has to be

identified early and planned so that extra input is

received and the student can be prepared to face

the job market so that readiness of students is

more with proper planning. As Career indecision

disrupts the career development process,

Individualized approach to career guidance and

counseling is expected in Management institutes.

It is crucial to help students foresee themselves

and be better decision makers to be future leaders

and Managers who will be able to influence the

organization they work in and in turn the society.

The entire idea of the paper is to try and

understand the importance of Psychological

counseling for better decision making and career

choice, per se, and how such counseling centre

can be established in B-schools. The advantage

of having an assessment centre, mentoring

modules and guidance for students at early stage

of higher education would lead to better results in

addressing the under and un-employment issues.

Few researchers like Simmering et al. (1995),

Lowe and Simons (1997), Anakwe, Hall and

Susan Schor (1999), Honeycutt, Jr. and Thelen

(2003), Boswell et al. (2003), Malgwi et al. (2005),

Ozbilgin et al. (2005), Schlee, et al. (2007),

Tanova et al. (2008), Lin Mei Tan and Laswad

(2009), Chuang et al. (2009), Jordaan C Smithard

and Burger (2009), Heiko Haase (2011) have

contributed to career choice related decisions of

students at Undergraduate level and Post

Graduate level in the West. Very few studies on

Career related decisions of Management

students in India like study of Tanuja Agarwala

(2008), Lakhwinder Singh Kang and Surinder

Sharma (2010 ), Anubha Singh and Mihir Dash

(2010), Martina R Noronha (2011), have been

reported.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Few studies have been examined in relation to

the importance of Psychological Counseling.

From time to time, Researchers have tried to

focus and identify the importance of students’

career development and mentoring of students.

The focus of studies has always been to look at

the right model for students’ career choice and

career decision making.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• To understand the most reliable source of

career choice of management students;

• To analyze the need of counseling towards

career decision making;

• To develop a psychological counseling model

addressing career issues.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Are students certain about their career choiceand career aspiration during the commencementof the management program?

• Is counseling centre at management collegescrucial in understanding and deciding aboutcareer choice and career aspiration?

• How important is Psychological counselingrelated to career and what can be done throughPsychological Intervention?

HYPOTHESIS

• Students are uncertain about their career

choice and career aspiration during the

commencement of Management degree.

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S.No. Author/Title/Journal Paper Outcome Gaps

Osipow H S (1999), “Assessing CareerIndecision”, Journal of VocationalBehavior, Vol.55, No.1, pp.147–154.

Brown C S (2004), “Where This PathMay Lead: Understanding CareerDecision-Making for Post college”, LifeJournal of College Student Development,Vol. 45, No.4, pp.375-390.

Agarwala T (2008), “Factorsinfluencing career choice ofmanagement students in India”, CareerDevelopment International, Vol.13, No.4, pp.362 – 376.

Rubin S R and Dierdorff C E (2009),“How Relevant Is the MBA? Assessingthe Alignment of Required Curriculaand Required Managerial Competencies”Academy of Management Learning &Education, Vol. 8, No.2, pp.208–224.

Othman H N and Ishak B S (2009),“Attitude Towards Choosing a Careerin Entrepreneurship”, European Journalof Social Sciences, Vol. 10, No .3, pp.419-436.

Kang S L and Sharma S (2010),“Management Education in Punjab:A Perceptive Study of MBA Alumni”,The IUP Journal of ManagementResearch, Vol. 48, No.2, IX, pp.37-50.

Kumar S and Dash K M (2011),“Management Education in India:Trends, Issues and Implications”,Research Journal of International Studies,Issue 18, pp.16-26.

Dupre C and Williams K (2011),”Undergraduate Perceptions ofEmployer Expectations” , Journal ofCareer and Technical Education, Vol. 26,No.1, pp. 8 -19.

Hirschi A (2012), “The CareerResources Model: An IntegrativeFramework for Career Counselors”,British Journal of Guidance & Counseling,Vol. 40, No.4, pp.369-383.

Originally focused on the problem of careerdecision making of students the issue nowencompasses a broad life spectrum because ofthe increased frequency of events that requirepeople to revise their career decisions over theirlife span. Instead of facing the need to make acareer decision only during late adolescenceand early adulthood (if that was ever really thecase) revised career plans seem to be needed ata variety of life transitions.

A student’s postgraduate decision-makingprocess can be influenced by a variety of peopleand experiences within the academiccommunity and beyond.

“Skills, competencies, and abilities” was the mostimportant factor and “father” was the mostsignificant individual influencing the careerchoice of Indian management students. Thepredominant cultural value was collectivism,although the students demonstratedindividualist tendencies in some contexts.

Findings further indicate that institutionalfactors such as media rankings and missionorientation have no effect on the alignment ofMBA curricula with critical managerialcompetencies.

Research findings show that anattitude basedon an internal locus of control, monetary value,and autonomy had a significant impact onchoosing entrepreneurship as a career choice.

Although management education in India hasgrown at a very rapid pace, it is not sufficient tomeet the needs of the Indian economy. Inaddition to the insufficient number ofmanagement institutes, the Quality ManagementEducation being imparted by a majority of thebusiness schools is not up to the mark.

Management education need to be holistic,targeted and customized with aim to removethe gap that exist between industryrequirements and academic curriculumfocusing on attitude, corporate awareness,grooming and developing managerialskills.

This research serves as a reminder to institutionsof higher education to remember students’desire for career preparedness in theirextracurricular and academic offerings, so theseinstitutions can not only help students findjobs after graduation but to also prepare them—and help them see the value of career-relatedskills—so they might find long-term careersuccess.

The paper proposes four critical career resourceswhich are essential for career development inthe modern context: human capital resources,social resources, psychological resources, andidentity resources. Implications of thisframework for counseling practice are presented.

Emphasis in counseling can beplaced on helping individualsacquire the skills needed toprogress further in their careerdecision status. Paper paves wayfor counseling applications to helpin better decision making.

Felt the need of deeperunderstanding of career decisionmaking among students.

As skills, competencies andabilities are important , theutilization of those could beemphasized from the beginning ofManagement program.

Lack of practical training andpsychological counseling, relevantcurriculum is required. All theseare lagging to develop bettermanagerial competencies.

Attitude can predict career choicein this field through aspirationlevelamong graduates. It is clearthat attitude plays an importantrole in motivating an individual’scareer choice behavior.

Analysis of requirement of valueproposition to students fromManagement institutes.

Skills possessed by the studentsand the requirement of finishingschools through survey ofManagement students.

Lack of career related skillsimparted by educationalinstitutions.

Development of resources asspecified need to be incorporatedby career counselors.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

10.

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• Reinforcement obtained from B-schools has

a significant influence on career related

decision making of management students.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

AND SAMPLING

AIMA (2011) ** Report has come out with B-

School ranking on all India level. The sample

comprises of all the second year Management

students, in IV Semester. The B-level ranked B-

schools with full time courses located in

Bangalore as per survey reports of AIMA with

reference year 2011 are considered for the

sample. For the present study, this ranking will

be the base for selecting the B-schools. Business

schools in South India have been placed in five

categories-SL, A1, A2, A3 and A4. Samples of

seven B-schools which approximate a sample

size of 350 students are considered for this study.

The survey questionnaire as shown in Annexure

I comprising of 20 questions on a five point likert

scale, viz., strongly agree, agree, can’t say,

disagree, strongly disagree. Among them,

Management colleges selected and participated

in the survey with categories is as shown

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

• The study is limited to students of Management

Institutions at Bangalore;

• The school ranked for the year 2011 by All India

Management Association (AIMA);

• Focus in the area of career choice and career

aspiration and need for Psychological

counseling; and

• To focus in developing a model addressing

career issues.

METHOD OF DATA

COLLECTION

Primary Data

The questionnaire was framed intending to know

the students decision making competency, to

analyze the influencing agent for decision making

towards career choice and career aspiration, to

find if students are satisfied on the skills and

Name of the Institute Category

Kristu Jayanthi College of Management and Technology A2

Indian Academy School of Management Studies A2

Acharya Bangalore B-School(Abbs) A3

The Oxford College of Business Management A3

Surana College Centre for Post Graduate Studies A4

Sita Devi Ratanchand Nahar Adarsh college A4

RV Institute of Management A4

B-Schools Frequency Percent Cumulative

Percent

Acharya Bangalore 23 6.5 6.8

B-school

Indian Academy 26 7.4 16.3

School of Management

Kristu Jayanti College 68 19.4 34.6

RVIM 62 17.7 53.0

SRN Adarsh College 48 13.7 67.2

Surana College PG Centre 38 10.9 78.4

The Oxford College 73 20.9 100.0

of Business Management

Total 338 96.6

Missing Values 12 3.4

Total 350 100.0

Note: ** Special Supplement Indian Management-October 2011 “The Class of 2011”, AIMA, India.

B-schools participated in the Survey

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knowledge gained when in B-school, and need

of up gradation of skills in terms of career

development. With this in view, the respondents

chosen for Survey Questionnaire were students

of II Year Management students so that at the end

of the IV Semester they would be in a position to

decide better. [Two semesters comprises one

year].

Analysis and Interpretations

Based on the responses received, Simple

percentage, Ratio, Descriptive Statistics and

inferential statistics have been applied in the study

to draw inferences and test hypothesis.

Depending on the data obtained a psychological

model is developed related to career decision

making, and how the intervention of psychology

and psychological counseling would support and

help students for better choice, per se.

Data Analysis

A question on decision making of career choice

was posed. Out of 350 respondents 80% of the

respondents said that their decision making on

career choice was better after they gained entry

into the management program as shown in Table

1, which supports the first assumption.

The probing of need of finishing school for

competency development was put to test.

The question was asked with the objective of

finding, if the students were satisfied with the skills

acquired, was the necessary input required to

develop their personality development, facing

interview, career development and knowledge on

career prospects obtained at B-school. From the

responses received from Table 2, it shows that

70.6% of the students agree that they require a

finishing school to hone their skills, and 23.4% of

the students are indecisive if they require a

finishing school or not? This shows that the

decision making ability of the students is

reasonably poor among the B-school students.

Only a minimal of 6% of the students do not

support the requirement of finishing school.

The students were asked on the importance

of counseling centre in career decision making.

The output obtained from the survey is

represented as shown in Table 3.

The output obtained from the survey as in Table

3 depicts that 58.3% of the students feel that

counseling session organized by the college to

assess their abilities, skills and competency has

helped them to decide their career. Further, 16%

of the students are indecisive and 25.4% of the

students say they have not been benefitted by

the counseling session. Though marginally

students agree that they have been benefited by

B-schools counseling centre/placement centre,

it does not satisfy the second hypothesis

completely, which says that Reinforcement

obtained from B-schools has a significant

influence on career related decision making of

management students. These findings also

suggest that the B-schools and placement/

assessment centre can be more full-fledged so

that students rely more on them for discussion

on career related challenges.

However, from the overall study it seems that

students need to build up the skill on decision

making area which is crucial for the future

managers and though they have gained some

knowledge towards their career choice and

career aspiration after entry into B-schools, there

is a requirement of honing their skills and

competency. These responses support the

second assumptions and drive the importance

of psychological counseling.

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Table 1: Decision Making Towards Career Choice

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Strongly Disagree 3 .9 .9 .9

Disagree 18 5.1 5.1 6.0

Can’t say 49 14.0 14.0 20.0

Agree 167 47.7 47.7 67.7

Strongly Agree 113 32.3 32.3 100.0

Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table 2: Need of Finishing School


Valid Strongly Disagree 4 1.1 1.1 1.1

Disagree 17 4.9 4.9 6.0

Can't say 82 23.4 23.4 29.4

Agree 188 53.7 53.7 83.1

Strongly Agree 59 16.9 16.9 100.0

Total 350 100.0 100.0

Table 3:Counseling Session to Assess Abilities, Skills and Competency


Valid Strongly Disagree 29 8.3 8.3 8.3

Disagree 60 17.1 17.1 25.4

Can't say 56 16.0 16.0 41.4

Agree 162 46.3 46.3 87.7

Strongly Agree 43 12.3 12.3 100.0

Total 350 100.0 100.0

IMPORTANCE OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL

INTERVENTION

Psychology is the science of mind and study of

behavioral characteristics of an individual or

group. Various branches of psychology include

Clinical Psychology, Child Psychology, Social

Psychology, Educational Psychology and so on.

Applied psychology paves way for Educational,

environmental, Occupational psychology which

results in career development, training,

assessment, evaluation of individuals or groups.

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Career counseling helps the student to know

the career path so that the student can make a

choice as well as develop competency towards

the career choice made. With this in view, if a

Psychological model is set up in each college

through Assessment centre, it would channelize

the students to foresee a better career. An attempt

towards depicting a psychological model to be

set up in every B-school through a full fledged

assessment centre is as shown in Figure 1.

STEP 1: FIRST YEAR

MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

The target group of this model is 1st year

Management students as the focus on career

related decisions and it is advisable to begin in

the 1st year after commencement of Management

program, so that early decision making can be

done. Before meeting the career Counselor at

the assessment centre, a student should first do

an introspection of themselves by answering self

directed questions as mentioned here. Basically

self evaluation is done by answering all the W’s

and H’s (as shown in Box 1).

STEP 2: ASSESSMENT

ABOUT FUTURE CAREER

When the student has done the self-evaluation,

assessment about future career can be planned

with the help of career counselor in the

assessment centre of the B-school. The

counselor needs to counsel, mentor the student

and analyze the following needs. A SWOT

analysis would be preferred.

Need Analysis

The counselor is required to find the need of the

student to work in a particular field of interest by

considering the interest, aptitude, skills,

knowledge, personality, communication and so

Figure 1: Psychological Model with Respect to Career Related Decision

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

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on. This stage calls for “Aptitude assessment” in

the trust area.

Focus Analysis

The focus of the student and the clarity towards

particular field of interest need to be discovered

by the counselor by counseling sessions. After

understanding and assessing the future

aspiration, the goal can be set.

Goal Analysis

Considering the future requirements, objectives

can be set to the student and a blue print of how

the mission to reach the vision with set objective

is focused can be strategically mapped.

STEP 3: QUESTIONNAIRE

FOR ASSESSMENT

Questionnaire comprising of psychological, social,

economic, intellectual, personality career choice

need may be framed. This could have closed or

open ended questions (as shown in Box 2).

STEP 4: SET ASSESSMENT

CENTRE

Each management college requires a full-fledged

Counseling/assessment centre, as brain

storming of the students is required before one

chooses the specialization and career. The

Box 1: Self Evaluation Question

• Why did I opt for Management program?

• Which is my area of interest / which field interests me the most?

• What are the arenas in job market that interests me?

• Which is the suitable specialization to opt?

• How to develop my knowledge?

• What skills I possess, What skills I need, What skills I should develop;

• Where do I see myself in future?

• How do I have a Dash Board for next two years and what that Dash Board would contain? Which of the competencies are requiredin that dash board? Dash board as shown in Annexure II.

Box 2: Assessment Parameter

• Working in team interest me the most Yes/No

• Numbers does not interest me Yes/No

• I get nervous in public Yes/No

• I do not like to work under others Yes/No

• Travelling tires me. Yes/No

• My interest towards____________ specialization is because____________________.

• The opportunities I foresee in the career of my choice is

a) High earnings

b) Work-life balance

c) Contribution to society

d) Self development

e) Others. If others specify________________.

• I am passionate about

• I dislike to do

• I go extra mile to work, if __________________ is in the work

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assessment centre should comprise a team of

qualified career counselors so that the interest of

the student is honed and innate capability of the

student is identified and guided in opting a right

career.

STEP 5: COMPETENCY

ASSESSMENT

Based on the questionnaire and oral interaction

with the student, the competency level of each

student is classified under low/moderate/high

depending on the career choice made. A SWOT

analysis is done based on the responses

received.

STEP 6: CAREER ADVICE

The Career Counselor/ psychological counseling

needs to be done based on the assessment in

understanding and analyzing capabilities and

suggesting on improving self-knowledge, creating

awareness about the decided career, mentoring

students by interconnecting their interest, career

decision, future opportunities available for the

decided specialization and the like. If required

counselor can recommend experts in particular

field and have a one to one session to help the

student to attain a better future.

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Career is multifaceted and plays a vital role in

each individual’s life. Career planning and

exploration of career should begin at an early

stage. The complexity of choosing a career is

experienced by every individual especially during

schooling and collegiate level. Choosing a degree,

opting for a specialization degree, career decision

making may involve self or external influences.

Infact, employability is that one foresees after the

completion of the degree chosen. In every step

that the student takes a choice is involved. The

path chosen estimates the students’ career

growth.

The present study highlights two aspects:

· Potential management students in analyzing,

identifying their skills, capabilities towards

determining their career with introspection of

self or through seeking external help.

· Career counselors/Academic Counselors in

providing a well planned, well organized tailor

made career guidance service to cater to each

college or the student.

ROLE OF B-SCHOOL

Management institutes are growing exponentially

year after year. The study tries to focus on the

quality of education imparted by these

Management institutes. The need is to identify the

requirements of the industry and bridge the gap

that persists between the supply of aspirants

having particular skills and the need of skills in

the industry. The B-school plays a vital role and it

is important that each B-school builds its value

proposition and create a self brand image by

developing exhaustive programs which can help

the students to be placed in the industries with

the help of team of professionals from Industry

and Corporate through assessment/ Counseling

Centre set up in each Institution with a unique

objective to achieve. B-schools should ensure

that syllabus change should be taken care in

shorter durations by approaching the concerned

body/board of education. Concept of Finishing

school can be developed in B-schools on a larger

canvas. A dialogue and interaction under the

banner of Industry-Institute is the need of the hour.

Role of Faculty

Faculties should equip themselves apart from the

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textbook knowledge and emphasize the students

towards understanding of concepts and gain

practical exposure, help to gain research aptitude

towards the options available in the industry to

embrace the career of their choice by developing

required skills. There is a need to customization

in all the fields. As the industry demands specific

skill set faculties too should be well equip

themselves. This can be done through association

with professional bodies such as: CII/FICCI/

NHRD/SHRM/NASSCOM and the like.

Role of Placement Centre

Planned and organized career guidance

programs and services are crucial so that self

improvement, career development will inturn

foster employability of young generation. A

knowledge based pool of citizens would develop

self as well as society. Placement Centre/

assessment centre in colleges can be a catalyst

in shaping and bridging the gap between

academics and industry. The current study

focuses and encourages each college to set up

a full fledged Assessment centre so that

challenges of students are addressed in a

systematic and proficient manner.

Role of Corporate

If every B-school adopts a methodology which isin line with the corporate requirement throughassessment centers, the corporate would requireinvesting less on the training costs. The corporatebodies can tie-up with the institutions and guidethe institutes on the skill set requirements andwhen approached by B-schools so that qualitativepool of candidates is developed at B-school.Sector wise connect and network would be anadd-on advantage.

Policy Implication for B-School

B-school plays a vital role in shaping the future of

Management students. The hindrances that

students face in decision making, self realization

about their area of interest, future prospects about

career avenues available and information required

for career exploration can be addressed by

assessment centre that can be set up in B-

school. The Assessment Centre can help

students for better decision making. B-schools

can encourage students to opt a more practical

oriented summer internship program.

The Assessment Centre should aid the

students in identifying the competency in a student

and further guide; motivate to choose a suitable

specialization/career based on the competency

level. The B-school should initiate more industry

visits and encourage more practical oriented

interactions. B-schools should identify corporate

professionals according to the competency and

career interest of students and develop corporate

mentor-student development program in career

exploration process. A bunch of students can be

assigned to a corporate mentor for understanding

corporate-industry relevant skills needed, and

honing them over a period of time.

Research Implication for B-School

The B-schools can develop a self-evaluationprocedure and audit internal performance ofstudents, lecturers, syllabus, and methodologyof teaching through the assessment centre.Analyze and review more practical orientedcurriculum, survey on the preparedness towardsjob readiness of students, Identification of skillsand honing of skills through Corporate-academicinteraction and collaboration and the like.

FUTURE RESEARCH

The study helps the future researchers to

interconnect students, lecturers, parents,

external agencies in developing modules for

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career decision making, along with career

guidance Psychologist for better quality of life, per

se. Current study paves way for future

researchers and academicians to develop a

career related curriculum so that it can be

incorporated in the Management schools.

Since, academic inputs in the area of Finance/

Marketing/HR have been the concentration of

most B-schools, a series of life skills and career

competency skills needs to be addressed on a

larger scale. Incorporating this into the main

stream of academic program calls for a relook of

management education methodology. Further

work can focus on how it can be made as part of

integral to the main stream of management

program.

CONCLUSION

Management education has changed drastically

with the advent of new B-schools. The qualitative

pool of students has to be produced at the

collegiate level so that right channel for career

decision making is done at this level. The current

study focuses on setting up a full-fledged

assessment centre so that the students’ career

interest, choice, Career aspiration, Career

exploration, Career motives, attitude towards a

particular career is assessed and in return it

benefits the student to make a better Career

decision making, helps in image building of the

B-school and helps the corporate to reduce

training costs and the society in general.

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170



ANNEXURE I

Questionnaire

PART-A

NAME : Mr. / Ms.

YEAR OF BIRTH :

MARITAL STATUS : Single Married

PRESENT COLLEGE/INSTITUTION :

SPECIALIZATION (MBA) :

BACHELOR’S DEGREE :

NO OF YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE :

E-MAIL ID :

PART-B

Each question of enquiry is offered with 5 point scale namely Strongly Agree, Agree, Can’t say Disagree and Strongly Disagree. Pleasemark option of your choice in the space provided with a tick mark.

S No Area Of Enquiry Strongly Agree Can’t Disagree Strongly

Agree Say Disagree

1 My admission to Management program was by:

A) Choice

B) Force

C) No options left

2 After gaining adequate knowledge on career

prospects available I joined management program

3 My vision towards career path is very clear

4 My career aspiration to join sector and industry

of my choice began:

A) Before the commencement of management program

B) During the commencement of management program

5 I am satisfied with my personal competency level before joining

management program

6 My academic performance influences my career prospects

7 Available careers in the specialization of my choice has been

explored explicitly

171



Questionnaire

S No Area Of Enquiry Strongly Agree Can’t Disagree Strongly

Agree Say Disagree

8 The decision on choosing of my specialization changed

gradually in the course of my study

9 I am unaware of the diverse job opportunities available in the

corporate

10 The summer internship has helped me to analyze the career path

chosen by me

11 Regular assessment of my skills, abilities is done with the help

of guidance available at my B-school

12 College placement cell/counseling centre has helped and mentored

me in assessing my abilities/skills before choosing specialization

13 Career Exploration was conducted by my friend and myself

after commencement of management program

14 I am confident to enter corporate world after the completion

of management program

15 Decision making towards career choice is better in me at

the end of management program than at the commencement

of management program

16 I have undergone a counseling session organized by the

college to assess my abilities, skills and competency which

has helped me to decide my career

17 I am confident about my competency by the end of

management program than at the beginning

18 Curriculum in management program has made me to

acquire skills, knowledge and ability for pursuing my career choice

19 I sense a need of finishing school by the end of management

program to hone my skills

20 The most reliable source to discuss on career aspiration and

career choice are (Assign priority ranking for the following)

A) Faculty members

B) Peer group

C) Placements

D) Outside agencies

E) B-School

F) Family

172



ANNEXURE II

Dash Board For Development Of Competency At Each Stage For Management Students

Competency I Term II Term III Term IV Term

Ability to handle stress & Uncertainty **

Accountability *

Accounting and sound finance knowledge ****

Adaptability *

Analytical ability *** ****

Basic mathematic skills ** ***

Being politically savvy *

Business acumen *

Business communications **

Conflict Management ***

Creative thinking **

Crisis management ** *** ****

Customer management techniques * ***

Dealing with ambiguity * **

Decision making ability *** ****

Etiquette & Mannerisms *

Facility Management * **

Documentation practices * **

How to set up a department ** ***

Interpersonal skills * ** ***

Recruiting ability *

Reporting ability *

Judgmental ability * ** *** ****

Judicial management of resources * ** ***

Knowledge of labor law & Legal issues ** ****

Leadership ability *

Management of workplace diversity ** ***

Market analysis & Reading * ** ***

Negotiation skills * ** ***

Oral and Written communication skills ***

Planning and Organizing ability * ** *** ****

Presentation skills * ***

Problem-solving skills ** *** ***

173



ANNEXURE II

Dash Board For Development Of Competency At Each Stage For Management Students

Competency I Term II Term III Term IV Term

Project management * ** *** ****

Quality Knowledge * ** ***

Research skill *

Risk Management ** *** ****

Six Sigma *

Social diversity *

Strategic thinking ability * ** *** ****

Supply chain Management * ** ***

Team & Group dynamics issues *

Time Management *

Understanding of cultural sensitivity *

Note: * Essential skills required; ** Desired skills required; *** Mandatory skills required; **** Core competency required.