BRM PROJECT REPORT

Is Science losing its sheen to Management?

Submitted by: Milan Malkan [B-18] Rachna Shah [B-44]

Submitted to: Prof. Jinal Parikh

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Acknowledgement:
The survey and the report prepared is an effort of a vibrant team. We sincerely acknowledge the interest shown in our survey by our teachers, friends and other people who willingly shared their opinion on the trends, they believe in. Their contribution has helped us in drawing a conclusion about why they are doing master course, what is the current market scenario for master holders and analysis of students of science background doing management course.

We specially thank our Professor Jinal Parikh for her constant encouragement and supportive ideas.

In this report we have incorporated the valuable suggestions of as many people as possible. The survey was an integral part of our report. We have also used internet for more accurate and authentic information.

The analysis was done on the basis of the statistics provided by the survey. The evaluations and the graphs are presented for better understanding. The questionnaire that was used for the survey is also enclosed.

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Table of Contents:
Sr.No.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Contents
Executive Summary Problem Definition Literature Review Approach to the problem Research Methodology Data Collection Sample Design Instruments Used Analysis Conclusion Bibliography Appendices

Page No.
IV V V X X X XI XI XII XVII XVIII XVIII

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Executive Summary:
At present, Management is a growing trend. Number of students opting for management studies is increasing. But many students who opt for management are from science background. Our main aim to do this research was to find out why they are opting for management in their masters after their graduation in science. We interviewed experts who are presently having the techno-commercial skills.

We have done our survey among 100 students from different background in their bachelor and pursuing master degree. Out of 100 students 50 were management and 50 were from their own stream. We have chosen them via convenient sampling.

Different questionnaires were given to both the streams. We asked them the main reason for opting for either Management or Science. We found that the main reason for choosing management over science was for better prospects and for better growth opportunities. They believe that the combination of science and management will help them more in their career, enhance their skills, and will broaden their vision. Most of them want to do business in future.

On the other side, the students who pursued science over management were wanted to excel in their fields and want to gain the expertise. They want to go in research field. Majority of the science students dont intend to pursue management in future. Almost all the students from both the fields are satisfied with what they are studying. Though most of science students are prefer to join management because of high demand in now a days but science is not losing its sheen to management.

Problem Definition:
More and more students who did their graduation in science field are now pursuing their masters in management instead of doing masters in their own field.

Literature Review:
These statistics depicts the percentage of students from various fields, who are presently studying in various B-schools. Here's a list of the batch profiles of some of the top B-schools across India.

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 IIM-A (Batch: 2005-07; Total Number of Students: 247)

Academic background

Engineering-79% Commerce-14% Arts-1% Management-1% Science-5%

IIM-B (Batch: 2005-07; Total Number of Students: 197)

Academic background

Engineering-80% Commerce-11% Arts-5% Science-2% Others-2%

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 XLRI (PM&IR Batch: 2005-07; Total Number of Students: 66)

Academic background

Engineering-60% Commerce-9% Management-11% Science-9% Others-11%

ISB (Batch: 2006-07; Total Number of Students: 273)

Academic background

Engineering-74% Commerce-1% Arts-2% Management-2% Science-16% Others-5%

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 IIM-I (Batch: 2005-07; Total Number of Students: 112)

Academic background

Engineering-50% Commerce-23% Arts-8% Management-8% Science-6% Others-5%

The need for techno-commercial skill is increasing in the market.

Example: Pharma industry The pharmaceutical industry is facing the challenge of change on several fronts. Companies are restructuring themselves for increasing their efficiency. The need for Techno - Commercial skills are increasingly being felt by the industry now and are becoming important day-by-day for pharmaceutical R&D management. Torrent pharma has a special department that uses the techno-commercial experts.

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Major Functions:

Project Management of Research Projects Intellectual Property Protection (Patents) Licensing of Research Projects Financial Activities viz., budgeting, costing etc.

Project Management: Techno-Commercial department manages all the projects, which essentially implies planning for the entire project and then mapping the progress with respect to milestones. Financial Evaluation: Value of a project is determined, keeping following parameters in mind viz. prevalence of disease, existing therapy, cost of therapy probability of success/failure, cost incurred in clinical trials etc. TCM (Techno-Commercial management) has highly qualified MBA's & Science professionals having several years of experience who undertake this job. Intellectual property protection: Torrent realized this scenario long back and has a fully functional Patent Cell with Doctorates, who are looking after all aspects of Intellectual property protection. Licensing: The department is actively involved in licensing activities and has a fully functional team having member from diverse field of Management and Science. This team communicates with major International Pharmaceutical companies for licensing opportunities. Financial Activities: Techno - Commercial department also has a costing cell having a Qualified Cost - Accountant looking after different financial aspects like budgeting, costing etc.

Approach to the problem:

Qualitative Research

Research Methodology:
Exploratory Research

Data Collection:
Primary data is collected through questionnaire and interview. Secondary data is collected from internet.

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Sample Design:
Non probability Sample Convenient sampling Sample size- 100

Instruments used:
Questionnaire Interview

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Analysis:

Expert Opinion:
People generally pursue management because initially they dont know what they want in their life. As they progress in their studies, they start exploring other alternatives. This is one of the main reasons why they pursue science initially and then end up taking management as they discover at a very later stage that they need managerial skills. Better jobs are the main reason for pursuing M.B.A. I truly believe that M.B.A is not an extension to any degree but it is an add-on.

We did our survey among 100 students from different backgrounds in their bachelors and pursuing master degree in management or science. Out of 100 students, 50 were doing their masters in management and 50 were doing their masters in science.

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 Students who are from Science background and pursuing Management:

Reasons for pursuing Management:
Masters in management is necessary to get promotion in the company lots of opportunity for managers. Faster way to reach top level management. For doing business in future. To get good job. Go beyond technical knowledge Wanted to pursue it for a combination- tech+ mgmt skill Market exposure Sharpen the vision Felt as if something was missing after doing engineering

Skills required in current market scenario:

Communication Decision making power Leadership Quality Technical knowledge Selling skills Information Awareness Good Time management Emotional Intelligence Vision Risk taking Innovation and adaptability

Reasons for discontinuing science stream:

High demand for management in current scenario. For better future Interested in management subjects. Didnt have any other option. (No admissions in M. Tech or masters in their relative field.)

How will you use the combination SCIENCE+MANAGEMENT?

For joining in engineering related company so one can also use engineering knowledge. To start a new business. Getting a better position in the jobs , Both are required in the industry rather than an expertise in any one of them.

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 Students who are from science background and pursuing master in their own stream
Reasons for pursuing master in their own field:
For satisfying need to know the subject more as well as the demand of competition going around ones. Because of interested in research work For increasing knowledge in particular field Interest in their own field For working with latest technology. Interest in the field To get expertise

What about the growth potential?

Good growth potential Growth as a researcher A good growth Definitely high

Skills required in current market scenario:

Good technical knowledge Good management skills Good communication skills Time management Smart work Developing new technologies which are cost effective Getting acquainted with new technologies Team work Hard work Leadership qualities Ability to take responsibility

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The demand for people with technical skills acquired after post-graduation in science field is as good as the demand for people with techno-commercial skills.

Demand for people with TechnoCommercial skills

30

25

20

15

10

0 Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

According to our research most of students believe that the

demand for people with technical skills acquired after post graduation in science field is as good as the demand for people with techno-commercial skills.

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 Are you satisfied with what you are studying?

Satisfaction Level

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Yes No

According to our survey around 90% people are satisfied with their stream. Those, unsatisfied with their stream, generally choose that stream because initially they dont know what they want in their life. As they progress in their studies, they start exploring other alternatives.

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Conclusion:
We found that the main reason for choosing management over science was for better prospects and for better growth opportunities. They believe that the combination of science and management will help them more in their career, enhance their skills, and will broaden their vision. On the other side, the students who pursued science over management opined that they wanted to excel in their fields and want to gain the expertise. Hence most of Science students pursue management because they feel only science will not help them. They still believe that technical as well as technocommercial skills are equally important. But they pursue it for more growth opportunities.

They still believe that technical as well as technocommercial skills are equally important. But they pursue it for more growth opportunities.

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Bibliography:
Business Research Methodology by C.R.Kothari http://www.careerlauncher.com/mba/about_mba/mba _student_profile_in_b_schools.html http://www.torrentpharma.com/dept_techno_com.php

Appendices:
Questionnaire

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