Review by

Krishna Soni (190070032)

Introduction

Note: I have taken all the courses in an online mode but I wish I could take them offline because MG lectures are quite interactive compared to others and offer a lot of hands on.

Management comprises of diverse set of fields where every field aims to take a step in the direction such that it will help the individual in controlling business organisations so that they can perform at their efficient levels and constantly develop in their field.

The Management minor plays a very important role for a person who aims at a career in general management industry or government. It gives a basic taste of management to a person who wants to opt for an MBA & is an excellent place to get an introductory flavour of how businesses function (not just non-core companies but all). It builds a strong foundation of crucial management subjects like Operations, Finance, Marketing, HR, Project MG, Strategy MG, etc & helps in comprehending management milieu and practices in the industry and the growing importance of management education in some form for all professionals, especially engineers like us can’t be ignored.

Students who are very interested can explore further by taking up case studies, research projects under SOM profs, and appropriate internships.

Motivation

Personally, I have been very intrigued about how people manage the complexities of running a huge company. Also, I knew I wanted to develop a holistic idea of things both at the business and technical side. And SJMSOM was a great place to start this journey as it is one of the top 10 management schools of the country. So, I started off with the management minor with an exploratory attitude to gain some non-technical perspective and add a different dimension to my academic profile. These courses also gave a breath of fresh air amidst all the tech courses and really helped me survive through the 2 years of the boring online mode.

Also, this minor is a great choice for most of the people who are not very sure about their future plans and can’t decide on a minor. Even if you don’t end up continuing this minor, you will surely gain some great and essential non-technical insights from MG403, MG401. And for people who are sure about going for a non-core jobs, this is a great opportunity about getting to learn some nuances of management while you pursue your engineering degree. Also this might help you decide if you wish to pursue an MBA later.

Courses

There are a total of 6 available courses out of which we need to complete 5. (Although MG407 has not been running for the last 2 years-2020, 2021. So that leaves us with 5 courses). All of them run in the Wednesday-Friday 9:30 am slot (Slot 5). The courses MG401, 403, 407 run in the odd sem. And MG402, 405, 406 run in odd sem. So, you can do only one minor course per sem (no workaround) and so better start early as flexibility is poor of what courses you can choose.

Professors and Class Atmosphere

One common thing is Most of the professors are really enthusiastic about their courses. Hence the courses are well planned and sometimes, even the entire course plan is handed during the first lecture. Another feature of this minor is its quite interactive in nature and so you won’t get bored unlike most other courses as the communication is 2-way. Also, an interesting component of courses is real life case studies’ discussions so you can actually see what are the applications of what you are learning.

The other side of this is a considerable proportion of the evaluation is based on class participation in form of surprise quizzes, attendance, case study discussions, and so if you wanna score a high grade (9+), you need to be both mentally and physically attentive.

Prerequisites

The unique thing about this minor is its equally suitable for all branches. There are no prerequisites except for MG 407 (Strategic MG) which requires the completion of at least one of MG 401 or MG 403. Rest you can do the courses in any order. All the courses start from basics, all you need is enthu!

CPI Cutoffs and Tagging

The registration limit for the courses is 40 so the CPI cutoffs are bit a high compared to other minors. MG401, 403 usually have 8.5+ and other courses have 8+.

A drawback of this minor is the courses can’t be later re-tagged as a department or an institute elective. In case, somebody is unable to finish the minor, he/she might not be able to capitalize upon any good grades achieved in any of the courses.