Mini MBA vs Regular MBA – Which is better?

MBA comes in various flavors – full-time MBA, part-time MBA, distance MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, and hybrid. And now, there’s a new addition to the list – the mini MBA.


In the next few sections, we’ll help you understand what a mini-MBA is, how much it costs, what it includes, and how it differs from a regular MBA program. 


The simplest way to define a mini-MBA is that of a trailer before a movie. In other words, it will give you a whirlwind tour of the main program in the shortest possible time frame with the least possible expense. 


There are some advantages and disadvantages to this approach. Let’s look at the most important ones so that you’re in a better position to decide which format you should go for. 


Length of the program

A typical full-time MBA degree usually takes 2 years to complete. Some business schools also offer the same MBA degree in 1 year, this ends up being more intense since you have two years of content packed into half the time. 


In contrast, mini-MBA can be completed in a fraction of the time. This can range from a few weeks to a few months. In most cases, there are no live classes. So each student can decide how much time to take to complete it.


Program flexibility

Full-time programs will expect you to leave your job and your family and possibly relocate to a different city. This ends up with the student making a lot of sacrifices to gain an academic qualification. Among the top in the list is the regular salary they’ve been earning before joining which would be forfeited during the duration of the program. This is also termed as the opportunity cost. 


In comparison, mini-MBA programs are often offered online which allows the student to take the course at their own pace. Since there are no live lectures, it allows students to define a study schedule that fits well around their professional, personal, and academic commitments. In most cases, there is no deadline to complete the course. 

Real-world applicability

In most regular MBA programs, there aren’t too many opportunities to apply the newly gained skills and knowledge since the student is away from regular work. Sure, there are internships, where they can gain real-world exposure and put their new skills to the test. But again, this is generally offered towards the middle or the end of the program. This means that a lot of management concepts learned in the classroom end up being pure theory.


Mini-MBA, on the other hand, can be completed along with the student’s regular work or academic schedule. This allows them instant access to opportunities outside the program, where they can practice what they have recently learned in the course. This ability to correlate theory with practice is a powerful way to retain what you have learned.

Mastery of the subject

Mini-MBA programs by design are meant to be short and compressed. This means that it is not possible to go too deep into any one subject. Which in turn, could mean that you may not get more than a high-level introduction into every management topic. 


This is where a full-time MBA program has a huge advantage. The 2-year format not only covers a wider range of topics but also allows the students to go deeper into multiple concepts. 


One way to deal with this shortcoming of mini-MBA programs is for students to identify topics they’re interested in and then consider taking up additional courses in those specific disciplines. This again links back to the flexibility aspect that we covered earlier since you’ll have the option of building a customized study plan based on your preferences and career goals. There is no need to stick to a pre-defined and rigid syllabus, most of which may not align with your career objectives.

Networking opportunities

Mini-MBA programs are typically designed for individual study. While it offers a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility, it also means that you’re not part of a larger community of students. The camaraderie that is often talked about by regular MBA students would be missing in a self-paced online course. 


You’ll have to be self-motivated to start and finish the program. On the positive side, this also means that you can ignore competitors and unnecessary rivalry focus on getting high grades, and you can keep your focus on learning. 


This is an area where regular MBA programs have an advantage as the entire academic process revolves around cohort and study groups. The collective enthusiasm and the friendships can go a long way in keeping students motivated to complete the course.

Recruitment opportunities

Brick-and-mortar business schools that have been around for a long time have a ready and streamlined recruitment ecosystem, including relationships with companies that come on campus to hire MBA students. Alumni working in multiple companies can offer mentoring, support, and job opportunities to current students. 


Mini-MBA students do not have this benefit. So do not look at such programs as a stepping stone to better career opportunities. But by developing skills and knowledge, you’ll still have the advantage over the others who have not taken the initiative to upgrade themselves and become competitive in the recruitment space. 


That, in short, is a summary of the difference between a regular and mini-MBA. By weighing the pros and cons, you’ll be in a position to make a decision on what works best for you. 


Also Read: Best Distance Learning MBA Colleges in India

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Google Hiring Process: How does Google Hire Employees?

Working in Google is the dream job for everyone, and everyone tries to make it come true.

If working for Google is your dream, you should know the Google hiring process.

Google hires best of best people from around the world who can bring new perspectives and life experiences to their teams.

As we all know that working culture of Google is different so is its process of hiring people.

Google hiring process can be briefed in three basic steps:
  • Apply
  • Interview
    • Telephonic Interview
    • Face to Face Interview and On-site interview
  • Decide
    • Hiring Committee
    • Compensation Committee
    • Final Executive Review
Google also have a dedicated page on their official website, where they have mentioned everything about how they hire people.

You can also have a look at the infographics below to understand Google hiring process even better.

google hiring process

Apply for the job

Google releases thousands of new job vacancies each year in different fields.

You can apply for the job at Google's official website, different job portals as well as through reference of an employee of Google.

After the application is received by the company, they screen the resume to check the better fit profile to it.

As the company receives a very large number of resumes so it could take little long to get respond from the recruiters.

While screening the resume, a lot of things are checked in order to accept it or reject it.

The factors include qualification, academic percentage, previous experience, extra-curricular activities and positive and negative points about the applicant.

If your resume fits in the open job requests then the recruiter would contact you through phone or through an email to fix the interview date.

Appear for the Interview

When the resume is selected then your 50% work is done because it is extremely difficult to get selected among millions of applicants.

The Next step is to appear for the job interview which would be coordinated by the recruiter.

The interview process is taken in around 8-12 steps which depend on the job profile.

After the selection of the resume, the telephonic round is taken to check basic factors like communication skills, confidence, leadership quality etc. 

Related: Body language tips for an Interview

Telephonic Interview:

The phonic interview is mostly conducted on Hangout and in exceptional cases, it could be on phone as well.

The number of interviewers could vary in this case depending on the job profile.

If it is a technical job where you have to write codes and share, then it would take place in Hangout, whereas for other profiles they just take on a voice call.

This interview could go up to 30-60 minutes long where interviewer ask all questions related to the job, your experience, and other interest areas.

Face to Face Interview or On-site interview:

Firstly you reach the Google office where you are welcomed by 4-6 people team of recruiters who give an introduction to the company and roles & responsibilities of the job profile.

Google always like to welcome people to explore their environment so the recruiting team would show you the office to make you more comfortable before the interview so that you can give your best without any nervousness.

The interview could be taken by a single person or more people which always varies.

The face to face round also goes up to 30-60 minutes.

If you are appearing for a technical job, the number of rounds can increase to check technical knowledge as well as attitude presentation.

Types of questions in the interview:

The company hires the best people for the available profile and makes sure that the selected person is the right fit for the job so, they ask a large variety of question to get all the information about the applicant.

Below listed are some major questions which they could ask during an interview:
  • Introduction: Interviewers notice a lot of things only during your introduction as the first impression is the last impression. They check the communication skills, confidence level, and attitude during this answer only.
  • Experience: Interviewer would ask about your previous working experience and the segments in which you have worked. This gives a brief about your focus areas as well as it gives them the idea about their next questions. It is highly suggested to mention only expertise areas so you could confidently answer more questions in that area.
  • Technical skills: This part is for technical jobs where the coding knowledge is checked. The interview could ask to run the particular code or could ask to write any program.
  • Additional activities: Too much studious who just study never attract Google; they need people who are an all-rounder. They focus a lot on the extra activities of the applicant, about his interests in sports, association with any NGO or any other activity outside of work.

Interview Feedback:

After the interview is done, they would ask you to fill the feedback form of an interview and their overall experience.

Even interviewers fill the form to mention your positive and negative points as well as you fit in the given job or not.

This feedback is taken to next level managers who view them to take the decision.

It is not single person decision as different level people are involved in it to make the fair decision.

This process takes time as very senior people of the different department are involved in it.
If the candidate clears this round then he/she is taken to next round i.e. hiring committee.

Related: Things an Employer Looks for in an Employee

Hiring Committee:

When the managers who took face to face round approves of the candidate, then that resume is taken forward to hiring committee which consists of experienced employees of a particular domain, senior managers, and directors.

They check all the feedback from previous rounds, resume along with working experience.

When this committee approves the candidate, it is taken forward to next level committee which is called as Compensation Committee.

Compensation Committee:

This committee views the applicant resume along with the feedback to provide the best-suited compensation depending on the capability and experience of the candidate.

All the points are mentioned in the form which carries all details from round one to be forwarded to Final Executive Review.

Related: Salary Negotiation Tips

Final Executive Review:

Even for hiring a single candidate, one of the high-level Executive looks at the feedback form from previous interview rounds to make the final decision.

If the executive approves of the candidate, then the applicant is informed of his/her selection.

For a High-level Job Profile:

If the job position is high-level profile, then after all these rounds the decision is forwarded to the CEO of the company i.e. Sundar Pichai or either to the co-founder Larry Page. A face-to-face interview is conducted with the CEO as the company wants the best people who could help in company growth. 

Related: What not to do in your first job?

Explore Google working environment and Decide

If you have cleared the above steps then the team would call as well as email you to inform about the same.

They would ask you to visit office premises and the working environment before giving the offer letter.

This step is done to check that whether the applicant could perform in their environment as they have very open work culture.

The same team of recruiters would have lunch with you in office premises and would try to interact with you to know more about the applicant.

They also give the feedback of the meeting to the senior level on various factors. They check your reaction to different scenarios and inform you about the office rules and regulations.

This is Google’s recruiting process which takes a long time but when all above steps are done then, you receive the offer letter to join the company along with the date of joining.

All other formalities are discussed by the recruiter regarding salary, working timings, facilities provided etc. Every minute detail is checked about the applicant to select the best fit for their organization. 
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How to Apply For Distance Learning MBA from IIM in 2023

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) is one of the best institute in India offers management education. We all know that IIM's offers India's best MBA program but very few of us know that some of IIM's like IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Indore also offers a distance learning MBA programs in collaboration with NIIT Imperia & Hughes Global Education. These programs are specially designed for people who has significant amount of working experience & wants to take their career to next level.

Admission Procedure for IIM Distance MBA Programs


NIIT Imperia & Hughes Global Education, both has an admission process through which you can apply for these programs.

To apply for IIM Distance learning programs through NIIT Imperia candidates need to complete the Common Application Form (CAF) as the first step in the admission process. Selection is on the basis of the application material and the performance in the Program Aptitude Test conducted by NIIT Imperia. To know more about the enrollment process & Payment related details we advice to visit or contact NIIT Imperia directly.

To apply for a distance MBA program offered by IIM through Hughes Global Education candidate has to visit their website www.hugheseducation.com where under the specific course you will be asked to put your information in POP-UP window or you can also put your information under the GET MORE INFORMATION section. After this attempt a lead will be generated over the WEB and you will be contacted by us for the counseling in a one working day.

FULL NAME:

Email:

MOBILE NUMBER:

Course:

City:

Remarks:


Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria differs program to programs,for some of the programs candidate must be having at least 1 year of experience and should be employed or self employed but for some of the distance learning MBA programs are specially designed for mid & high level of professionals who has an experience of up to 10 years in their respective field.

Must Read: IIM Executive MBA Courses

Fee


The fee also differs program to program. On an average the program fee for any program is 1,20,000 it could be higher based on the program you opt for. For better understanding of the program fee we advice to contact the respective institute or meet with a counselor their.

Hope the details provided above will help taking admission in IIM Distance Learning MBA programs. Although we've taken a great care in precising the information but we don't take any guarantee or warranty  about the information provided above we always recommend our blog readers to contact the respective admission authority of the respective institute for any admission related information.
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Complete List Of SMU Distance Education Courses 2023

SMU Distance Education Courses
Sikkim Manipal University is one of the most prestigious universities in India for distance education courses. You may be already familiar with SMU MBA, MCA, BBA & BCA courses but there are many other courses that SMU offers to students. The university was formed in 1995 in a Public-Private Partnership between the Government of Sikkim and the Manipal Group. Currently, the university is enjoying 700+ Authorised Centres with over 4 lakh students in 205 districts and 300+ towns and cities across the country. In this article, we'll talk about the complete list of courses offered by Sikkim Manipal University.


Note: Sikkim Manipal University is not offering any distance education courses for the academic year 2022

Sikkim Manipal University Distance Education Courses

Currently, Sikkim Manipal University offers various distance learning courses in the following discipline.

  • Information Technology
  • Management Studies
  • Journalism and Mass Communication
  • Healthcare

Under Graduate Courses offered by SMU-DE

Below is the list of undergraduate courses offered by Sikkim Manipal University through distance education.

BA (Journalism and Mass Communication)

It is a 3 years course offered under the category of Arts & Humanities and Vocational Sciences courses. The course can be completed in a minimum of 3 years (6 semesters) and maximum of 6 years. This program exposes students to recent developments in media issues and media research. Students with a 10+2 or equivalent / 3-year Diploma from a state board of technical education are eligible for this program. The semester Fee for this program is Rs.12,450/-, Although students can also pay the full fee of INR 74,700 in one go.

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

It is a 3 years course offered under the category of Management Courses. The course can be completed in a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 6 years. Students with a 10 + 2 or Equivalent / 3 Year Diploma from a State Board of Technical Education are eligible for this program. The semester fee of this program is Rs. 12,950/- although students can also pay full fee of amount INR 77,700 in one go.

Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA)

It is again a 3 years course offered under the category of Information Technology. Students with 10 + 3-year diploma in IT/CS from a State Board of Technical Education are eligible for admission into this course. Students can also take admission through the Lateral Entry system. For Lateral Entry, students have to a Direct Entry Fee of INR 5,325. For Lateral Entry students, the minimum duration to complete the course is 2 years and the maximum is 4 years. The semester fee for this program is INR 12,950. Students can also pay the full fee of amount INR 77,700 in one go.

BSc (Biotechnology)

This is a 3 years duration program offered under the Healthcare category. The minimum duration to complete the course is 3 years (6 semesters) and maximum of 6 years. Students with 10+2 or equivalent with Biology & Chemistry OR 10+2 or equivalent in Science (without Biology) are eligible for admission into this course. The semester fee for this program is Rs. 16,950/- and the practical fee is Rs. 6,500/- per year.

Some other undergraduate courses offered by Sikkim Manipal University are...
  • Bachelor of Science - Health Information Administration
  • BSc (Information Technology)
  • BSc (Medical Imaging Technology)
  • BSc (Medical Laboratory Technology)
  • BSc (Infrastructure Management System)
  • Diploma (Health Information Administration)

Post Graduate Courses Offered by SMU DE

Below is the list of postgraduate courses offered by Sikkim Manipal University through distance education.

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

MBA is the most popular course offered by Sikkim Manipal University. We've already written about SMU Distance Education MBA in our previous article. SMU Distance Education MBA also ranked among the top 5 distance education MBA courses in India. It is a 2 years (4 semesters) program and can be completed in a maximum of 4 years. Students need to clear SMUDE Management Aptitude Test (SMAT) to get admission into the program. Although if you've scored a minimum 45 percentile in the National / International MBA Entrance Test, you're exempted to take SNAP. The semester fee for SMU-DE MBA is Rs. 15,000/-.

Master of Computer Applications (MCA) 

MCA is 2nd most popular postgraduate distance education course offered by Sikkim Manipal University. It is a 3 years course and can be completed in a maximum of 6 years. 3-year graduation from a recognized university is required to get admission into this program. Lateral Entry to 3rd semester is also available for students who have completed BE (CS/IT) / BTech (CS/IT) OR has done 3-year graduation from a recognized university with 1 Year PG Diploma in IT / CA from a recognized university/DOEACC ‘A’ level thereafter. The first two-semester fee for this course is Rs. 14,200/- and 15,200/- from the 3rd semester onwards.

MSc IT

MSc IT is another popular course offered by Sikkim Manipal University. It is a 2 years duration course and can be completed in maximum 4 years.Students should have done a 3 year graduation from a recognised university to be eligible for admission.Students can also take a direct admission into 3rd semester through lateral entry system. Students with BE (CS/IT) / BTech (CS/IT) degree OR 3 year graduation from a recognised university with 1 Year PG Diploma in IT / CA from a recognised university/DOEACC ‘A’ level thereafter are eligible for lateral entry. The semester fee for this course is Rs. 13,200.

Other postgraduate distance education courses offered by SMU DE are...
  • MBA in Marketing (Marketing Specialization)
  • MBA (Tab Enabled)
  • MSc (Bioinformatics)
  • MSc (Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs)
  • MBA in Operations (Operation Specialization)
  • Post Graduate Diploma (Bioinformatics)
  • Post Graduate Diploma (Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs)
  • MBA in Retail (Retail Operations Specialization)
  • MBA in Information Systems (Information Systems Specialization)
  • MBA in Finance (Finance Specialization)
  • MBA in Healthcare (Healthcare Services Management Specialization)
  • MBA in HRM (Human Resource Management Specialization)
  • MA (Journalism & Mass Communication)
  • MBA in Banking (Banking Specialisation)
Above is the complete list of distance education courses offered by Sikkim Manipal University. We've tried to provide you as much information as possible. If you want to know more about any of the courses mentioned above feel free to drop us a line using our contact us page. Alternatively, you can visit their official website to know more about the courses offered by SMU.
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IIM Distance Education Courses Admission Fee Eligibility 2023

IIM
Indian Institute Of Management
The first name that comes to our mind when we think about MBA, is IIM (Indian Institute Of Management) but many of us think that IIM also offer distance education courses, but the truth is that there is no distance education course offered by IIM although there are few specially designed courses for professionals that IIM offers in association with NIIT Imperia & Hughes Education. In one of our previous post we had write about how to apply for distance education MBA in IIM, today we're gonna tell you about the courses offered, fee structure & eligibility criteria of those courses.

Distance education courses at IIM

The following IIM's offers executive management courses in partnership with NIIT Imperia & Hughes Education.

  • IIM-Ahmedabad
  • IIM-Calcutta
  • IIM-Lucknow
  • IIM-Indore
  • IIM-Kozhikode

Courses Offered By IIM-Calcutta

  • Executive Program in Human Resource Management - EPHRM 
  • Executive Program on Leading Organizations and Innovations - EPLOI* 
  • General Management Program for Accounting Professionals - GMPAP* 
  • Program on Leading & Managing - PLAM
  • Executive Program in Global Business Management - EPGBM
  • Executive Program in Sales & Marketing - EPSM
  • Executive Program in International Business - EPIB
  • Executive Program for Young Professionals - EPYP
  • Executive Program in Business Management - EPBM

Courses Offered By IIM-Kozhikode

  • Executive Post Graduate Program in Management- EPGP
  • Advanced Program in Project Management - APPM 
  • Executive Management Education Program - EMEP
  • Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management - EPGDM
  • Executive Education Program in Marketing - EEPM
  • Executive Education Program in Operations Management - EEPOM
  • Executive Education Programs in Finance – EEPF
  • Executive Education Program in Strategic Management - EEPSM

Courses Offered By IIM-Lucknow

  • Advanced Program in Sales and Marketing - APSM

FULL NAME:

Email:

MOBILE NUMBER:

Course:

City:

Remarks:


Eligibility Criteria For IIM Distance Education Courses

IIM offers courses for different level of executives i.e junior, mid & senior level professionals. The eligibility criteria for all distance education courses differs from program to program. For any junior level course, a candidate must be at least one year of experience & should be employed or self employed. For a senior level of executive program an experience of 10+ years may be required depending upon the level of think process required to complete the program. For more details about the eligibility criteria we advice our blog readers to contact the respective institute.

IIM Distance Education Fee Details

The fee & duration varies program to program. On an average the fee of the programs rage between 1 lakh to 5 lakh. The fee is a bit costly and someone should inquire enough about the program before joining one. To get the insight about the course fee & payment option some may step in to the respective institute & can consult with a counselor there.

Is The Course Right For Me?

Let me clear you one thing about these course. These courses are specially designed for working executives to excel in their field & not at all equivalent to regular courses offered by IIM, so if you wish to take just an advantage of IIM name then i will not recommend you to join this course because you can't get the same advantage by doing these course which you would have got if i had joined a regular one.

Further the fee of these course is very high although loan facility is available. You only do these course if you have a clear career path in mind & you know what you're gonna accomplished after doing distance education course from IIM.

All the courses are run in NIIT Imperia & Hughes Education campus & the instructor give lecture through satellite learning mode.

We advice our students to confirm from the institution when the classes are going to start & how long will they take to complete the course because we've seen many complaints about the late commencement of the classes.
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