What Will We Learn in PGDM?
PGDM and MBA are the most sought-after master degree courses, as these admit students from every graduation course, irrespective of their field of specialization. Anyone who has completed graduation and meets a specific minimum marks criteria can pursue the PGDM course. As students from multiple sectors like Engineering, Medical, Law, Management, Architecture, etc. opt for master management courses, PGDM programs are now also being offered in a variety of specializations.
These programs equip students with essential skills which turn them into efficient managers, who understand the nuances of different verticals in an organisation. Lately, many reputed institutes have also started offering online PGDM courses, in collaboration with edtech platforms like Udemy, Simplilearn, Coursera, edX, etc. Such courses offer the comfort of home and also save on costs.
The key reasons for opting PGDM course include High Salary Package, Better Career Prospects, Global Recognition of Degree, and most importantly, Skill-Based learning. A PGDM course differs from MBA in the respect that it offers more practical-oriented knowledge rather than theory-based learning.
Learnings for programs like PGDM and MBA vary from specialization to specialization, and thus you should choose it carefully. Both online courses and offline courses have multitudes of specializations, and we will be discussing them in detail below.
Finance
One of the most pursued PGDM specializations is Finance, which covers multiple topics related to the sector.
- A PGDM Finance broadly covers topics such as Balance Sheet, Ledger, Income Statement, Profit and Loss Account, etc.
- It also deals with financial management topics like Cost of Capital, Capital Structure, Leverage, etc.
- Students are taught to understand both the Indian as well as American standards, in addition to financial laws like the Income Tax Act, Companies Act, etc.
- A few colleges which offer limited courses also cover topics related to Banking and Investment.
Marketing
A PGDM in Marketing is considered to be a very profitable course, as Marketing is one domain which has enormous scope and requires a lot of practical exposure.
- Marketing courses will teach you about basic concepts and frameworks like 4Ps of Marketing, 4As of Marketing and 4Cs of Marketing.
- You will also learn about building brand awareness, advertising, and other concepts like understanding Consumer Behaviour.
- Most good colleges and online courses include case studies from Harvard Business Review (HBR) in their pedagogy.
Human Resources
Human Resources is one of the most underrated departments in any organisation, but it is the one which is supporting the entire workflow and helps in maintaining cordial relations.
- A PGDM Human Resource course covers topics like Organisational Behaviour, Fundamentals of Communication, Resource Planning, Forecasting, etc.
- Students learn about various forecasting techniques, HRM tools, and work in reducing the barriers between employees and the management.
- The fundamental learning teaches them to train employees, assess their performance, as well as help employees in career growth and planning.
- Some other key learnings include Appraisal System, Maintaining Industrial Relations, Managing Employee Misconduct and enforcing policies like PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment).
Digital Marketing
A relatively new field emerging is Digital Marketing and there is a huge craze among students to pursue it.
- Digital Marketing is the set of techniques which aim to increase the traffic on a website or any online content by targeting the potential viewers.
- The key learning in PGDM Digital Marketing include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Optimization (SMO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Google Analytics, Google AdWords, and plenty of other tools.
- Students learn concepts like Running an Ad, Content Marketing, Email Targeting, Affiliate Marketing, etc.
- They also learn about managing customers and resources, and best research methods to get customer insights.
Data Analytics
Students are often confused between Data Analytics and Business Analysis. Let’s check what you will learn in a Data Analytics course.
- Data Analytics is broadly about collecting datasets, categorising them into different subsets and performing analysis to draw insights.
- The analysis can include hypothesis approaches or simple numerical solving methods. Usually the results are presented in graphical or tabular format, whichever seems more suitable.
- Key topics learnt in this specialization include Research Methodologies, Quantitative Techniques, Spreadsheet Modelling, Financial Analysis, etc.
- Data Analysts are also taught various programming languages like C++, Python and R.
Business Analysis
Now coming to business analysis, it is a more holistic domain which focuses on identifying the problems and challenges for a business, align them with the needs of the business, and then develop solutions.
- Some of the key subjects of a Business Analysis PGDM course include Quantitative Techniques, Communication, Advanced Statistical Models, Data Science and Predictive Analytics.
- Some other subjects which students generally study in the form of electives can include Project Management, Marketing Models, Analytics for HR, Supply Chain Analytics, Financial Risk Models, etc.
- Certain colleges also cover other learning resources dealing with IT Systems, Economics, Social Studies, Environment, and Entrepreneurship.
Operations
Operations is a very popular specialization, both in the case of PGDM and MBA courses. It is considered to be the driving factor behind success of an organisation, as it is the Operations team which makes the workflow happen.
- The skills learned in a PGDM Operations course would include topics dealing with Six Sigma, Manufacturing, Performance Improvement, Outsourcing, Quality Control, etc.
- Operations also means performing tasks like Emailing, Marketing, Accounting, and tracking what’s happening in the supply chain from time to time. The 2 domains of Operations and Supply Chain work very closely.
- Operations is a customer-centric specialization and thus candidates also learn skills like Communication and Networking.
Supply Chain Management
This is another interesting specialization with a huge following, which works closely with the Operations.
- Supply Chain Management course teaches you the intricacies of all the aspects which come in a supply chain. This includes members of the supply chain like the Supplier, Manufacturer, Distributor, and the End Consumer.
- Students also learn about 6 supply chain drivers, i.e., Facility, Inventory, Transportation, Information, Sourcing, and Pricing.
- Some other concepts in this PGDM specialization include Strategic Fit, Demand Forecasting, Bullwhip Effect, and Network Design.
- Lately, PGDM Supply Chain is also focusing on teaching students about sustainability and humanitarian aspects of a supply chain.
There are many specializations in addition to these, and each has its own learning. These are some of the most popular courses and we hope our description helped you in deciphering them properly.
