Review on Executive General Management Program (EGMP) from IIM Lucknow (Noida), comparison against other similar courses - July, 2011

Finished the final exams of this program (phew!!) and thought will review the program when it is still fresh in the mind.

EGMP program allocates a total of around 220 hours across different subjects like Economics, Corporate Finance, Accounting, Strategic Management, HR, Marketing, Operations Management, Communications, Quantitative Analysis, Organizational Behavior. The course gives a broad overview of the different topics and while the professors and textbooks are world class, the number of hours allocated is on the lower side. This leads to difficulties from a coverage perspective. Also, some subjects like HR, Marketing seem to have more number of classes allocated and you just get the feeling that they are being used as filler material. Do we seriously care about spending a entire 2 hour session on industrial workers act, union act and which year those laws were framed? Opportunity to network with other students was also limited being a web-based course. Cost of the course is Rs. 2 lakhs for the year which is on the lower side for comparable course from other institutes.

What do you want to get out of this course? If you think this course is a MBA, then the answer is no. This course does not get you a degree/diploma nor is it going to get you a career change. Placements are not offered and you don’t get alumni privileges either (at least as of now). What it does for you is get you started – you get a flavor and decent knowledge in each of the areas. How much you want to take it further by reading on your own is entirely up to you. Azim Premji is supposed to have read up the books suggested by a IIM professor and picked up on his management skills while running his company (not that I am Azim Premji J). This course is intended for people who want to grow in their chosen industry (and are already in it) and want to get general management skills. Class is on all Saturday’s for a year – which means your personal life goes for a toss.

Business week article on “Is MBA overrated”: - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_12/b3976089.htm

As correctly put in the article, getting a MBA is not the be-all or end-all. How far you “get ahead” boils down to how smart you are, how much effort you put in and how you can apply the knowledge you have gained. Going to an Ivy league b-school does not guarantee that you will get to be a CEO. Again the term “getting ahead” itself is based on your values – what you want to get from your life.

Given that the similar EGMP & PGSEM courses offered by IIM Bangalore also do not offer placements and are also not good for career changes, do not see too much of a difference between the courses à difference comes in the cost factor in which IIM Lucknow scores hands down. You get more bang for the buck (“kasukketha dosai” in tamil J). If all 3 of them are focused on “long term knowledge” and do not offer immediate jump in career/placements, ROI wise this program may be better – just my 2 paisa. Of course, you have the IIM brand. How you take what you have learnt and manage your career is entirely up to you.

	EGMP (IIM Lucknow)	EGMP (IIM Bangalore)	PGSEM (IIM Bangalore)
Duration	1 year	1 year	2.5 years
Cost	2 lakhs	3.75 lakhs	8.5 lakhs
Contact hours	225	250	900
Format	Web	Web/Direct	Direct
Placement	No	No	No
Degree/diploma	No	No	Yes

Overall rating: 3/5

Positives: IIM brand, textbook standards, cost

Improvement areas for IIM: need to stop juggling profs constantly, structure the course better, increase the number of hours