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Hi,
MBA and PGDM are both management courses yet the only difference is the approach to its curriculum.
MBA give more focus to the syllabus framed by the university and no change is bought in for years.
As for PGDM the focus is more on the current industrial demands and requirements.
The curriculum of PGDM gets slightly changed every year.
The flexibility provided by PGDM is the key success factor of the course.
MBA only provides degree to institutes associated to a university, while PGDM is not affiliated to any university and has its own syllabus.
MBA is offered by universities and colleges affiliated to universities whereas an independent institution offer PGDM.
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Your MBA specialization basically depends on your personality, skills, and career goals. The traditional fields of Marketing and Finance will always remain popular.
Those who prefer to crunch numbers and are comfortable relegating to the background with balance sheets may do well with Finance specialisation.
Those who love to interact with clients, are creative and innovative, and can influence people easily can choose Marketing as their specialisation.
Business Operations is the best MBA specialisation for those who have technical or engineering backgrounds and love looking after men and machines, and backend processes where the real action takes place.
Human Resources is a stream for people's person and is a job for those who have a charismatic personality that can mobilize employees and inspires trust and loyalty for the company.
Information Technology or IT specialisation is for management graduate who are geeks at heart who love computers, gadgets, and latest technology.
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1) Only universities can offer MBA: In India only those management institutes which are affiliated to a university can offer an MBA degree. For this reason institutes like Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA), University of Pune, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies or Faculty of Management Studies can offer MBA degree, as they are affiliated with Pune, Mumbai and Delhi University respectively. Also IIMs, though being the best of the lot, can't offer MBAs as they are not affiliated with any university. Institutes which are not affiliated to university are autonomous and can offer PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) degree. However, some of these programmes are approved by regulatory bodies such as AICTE.
2) Difference in focus of curriculum: While there are huge similarities in the curriculum of both MBA and PGDM, there are finer points of difference. While MBA focuses more on theoretical aspects of management and is more exam-oriented, PGDM has a focus on building soft skills and is industry-oriented. It prepares you for the job market.
3) Curriculum of PGDM is flexible: Since an autonomous institute does not have to follow university standards, it is free to change its curriculum according to industry standards and change in business environment. Also a PGDM gives you an industry exposure. Whereas it will take time to change the curriculum for MBAs as it is affiliated with a university and it will essentially follow the university guidelines and changing this curriculum is a very slow process.
4) MBAs are more affordable: In compared to PGDM, generally MBAs are more affordable as the fees is almost similar to university standard. You can get a rough idea if you compared the fees of IIM and FMS.
5) Difference in focus: An MBA will help in developing technical skills and business knowledge whereas a PGDM will prepare graduates for senior level positions in industry and paves the way for a strong corporate career. Hence, if you're looking for a career in the challenging area of management, you should go for PGDM.
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All the Best.