A very relevant question asked by graduates and one would not know whether to do a PGDBM or MBA or whether they are same or how different are they. Let me explain this to you.
PGDBM is NOT MBA. A diploma is a diploma, and a degree is a degree. PGDBM is a diploma whereas MBA is a degree. There is a gulf of difference between a diploma certificate and a degree certificate. A diploma certificate can be issued by a college which is not affiliated to any university and they can design and run the course based on their internal decision. However, a degree course needs to be necessarily validated by the University. This means there are certain requirements that they need to fulfil in order to be able to award degrees.
Well some colleges do provide PGDBM and claim it to be equivalent to MBA.
PGDBM and MBA are not equivalent in all respects, it could be equivalent in terms of course content or knowledge gained. However, it will not be equivalent when it comes to various other aspects and some of those at times become critical aspects to consider. Many large institutes like IIM and XLRI offer diploma not a degree as once you are affiliated to a university you will have to follow certain few guidelines which at times becomes difficult for autonomous colleges like XLRI and IIM to abide by. At times, these regulations impede on the ability of the college to remain autonomous and flexible to the changing needs of the industry. MBA being an industry and business-oriented course, it needs to be fully aligned to the needs and requirements of the industry. Since the industry scenarios have been changing rapidly, the course needs to be updated frequently. The case studies & examples have to be the most relevant ones in the recent times. Hence these colleges prefer to remain confined with a diploma degree and since their degrees are well sought after, quite relevant, and the students are also happy to have a diploma instead of a degree as that could fetch them better jobs than a degree from a recognised university. This is the reason it works well with these colleges. The value of these PGDBM’s in the 90’s was quite high when there was the MBA boom. But now the trend is changing and the value of these diplomas have reduced along with it the salary that the students command after passing from these colleges. Although these colleges continue to provide diploma that is commercially viable, but you would also have to see if this is what you want according your career. Doing a diploma from any other institute than IIM and XLRI would not provide you the necessary results since there are some areas that will be missed out, so this implies that you have more to lose than to gain in this process. I will tell you the impact of PGDBM or MBA on your job opportunities and also in further stages of your career.
Say let us discuss about a job opportunity in a private company. A private company / corporate may give as much importance to PGDBM as much as they give to MBA. For a private company what matters is that the employee should have the skill, experience and the knowledge required for the position. However, this is limited to small or insignificant companies. The recruitment criteria of large corporations state that an individual will obtain the position on the company only if he or she has a Master’s degree and PGDBM does not come under that category. Since, the large corporates and also the education sector have a clear laid down system, like the employers require employees with a bachelors or a masters and there is no scope for a diploma in between. Therefore, you might lose out on certain positions or salary packages that you were expecting.
With a diploma you might lose out on jobs in government sector since there is a clear distinction between bachelors and master’s degree holders. There is no scope of PGDBM trying to prove its equivalence with MBA. In the education sector as well, the employers expect their employees to have a complete bachelors or a master ‘s degree and not a diploma or PGDBM. In another situation in case you want to continue your higher studies in course like M.Phil. and PhD then the diploma would not be sufficient and definitely you will require a bachelors or a master’s degree. Higher studies may not be a priority now but in later stages you might decide and may have to do one. That time you will have to do masters at such an advanced stage of career and that can cause great distress.
Immigration is another sector that highlights the importance of a master’s degree, whether it is a short term or a long term plan in the immigration forms educational qualification is an important aspect and the only options available are either bachelors or master, there is no place for PGDBM there. In that case you will have to opt for the bachelor’s degree, that means that you completed 2 years of PGDBM, and you are not able to call yourself a master’s degree holder. Even after doing a PGDBM you are still considered as a bachelor’s degree holder and it will be difficult in times of dire need. There will be many situations where a bachelors or master’s degree will be needed, and diploma will be of no use. In case you need to apply for loan from a bank, there is different weightage that they give to a bachelor’s degree holder than to a master’s degree holder since the more educated person will have a higher stability and they will be able to repay the loan relatively more smoothly. A bachelor degree holder will not be given that weightage. So why would anyone want to waste their time and energy doing a PGDBM that will be categorized as bachelors and not get the advantages you would otherwise have. Hence, we would suggest that there is not point doing a PGDBM since the effort is almost same, the time spent is same, and the money spent is same if not more in PGDBM. Given all these facts why anyone would want to go for PGDBM and limit their opportunities in life. We would always suggest go for an MBA from a recognised university offering a proper degree.
There are lots of international universities like IGNOU and Amity degrees which are both valid and recognised that is brought to Oman by offered by institutes like Bridge Academy. It may be worthwhile to get a counselling session scheduled to get your doubts clarified.
