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finance vs marketing

Prepare a perfect MBA pitch

Master of Business Administration (MBA) remains a highly lucrative option for graduates pursing their bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, commence or arts streams. Some of these aspirants prefer to acquire the post graduate qualification immediately after their graduate degree, while some others opt for an MBA after acquiring some work experience.

Prepare a perfect MBA pitch


Ramakrishnan Raman

Master of Business Administration (MBA) remains a highly lucrative  option for  graduates pursing their bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, commence or arts streams. Some of these aspirants prefer to acquire the post graduate qualification immediately after their graduate degree, while some others opt for an MBA after acquiring some work experience.  B-schools across the country offer several specialisations in MBA like Marketing, Finance, Operations, Human Resources, Analytics, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. An MBA degree (Irrespective of specialisation) provides training and know-how in various aspects of business. An MBA degree from a premier Indian B-school certainly maximises the potential job opportunities and equips an aspirant with skills and knowledge needed for business administration.

While there are several options to specialise in, the two most popular are ‘Marketing’ and  ‘Finance’. However, choosing between the two often becomes a tough and confusing task for students. Which is a better option? Can a specialisation in finance give a better growth Or marketing is a more lucrative option? These questions are frequently asked by the students and parents both. Let’s get a correct picture on these: 

The difference

Both marketing and finance are distinctly different, but valuable functions within a typical organisation. Both of these are of paramount importance for the success of any organisation.  In an organisation it’s the finance division which is generally involved in financial planning, accounting and decision making, whereas the role of marketing division is to develop marketing plans and strategies and also to deliver messages to target markets about the company’s brands, products and services.

While industry 4.0 and automation is replacing many entry-level jobs in the field of marketing and finance, the demand for people with appropriate cognitive skills set will always be there. When it comes to the decision of choosing a specialisation the most important aspect is to ‘Introspect’ and find which option would be the best fit, by mapping the demands and prospects that a specialisation offers viz-a-viz the passion that one has and the ability to acquire the related acumen.

Right aptitude

If one has an eye for detail and if dealing with numbers, applying logic and data driven decision making along with numeric fascinates an aspirant, then he/she can go for an MBA in finance. A specialisation in finance will suit a person with accounting skills. A subject like corporate finance will make an individual learn the sources of funding, the capital structure of corporations, the actions to be taken to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders, along with the tools and techniques used to allocate financial resources. 

Other subjects like security analysis and portfolio management, financial derivatives will equip the person with skill and knowledge needed for investment analysis. A specialisation in finance would provide a balanced presentation of theories, institutions, markets, academic research, and practical applications, and presents both basic concepts and advanced principles related to finance.

If one has excellent communication skills along with an outgoing personality, then a career in sales and marketing would be the best bet. 

Marketing jobs are quite diverse. Marketing departments of organisations employ marketing specialists or representatives and marketing managers head marketing teams. It’s the people in the marketing division who develop marketing goals, strategies and tactics. The niche areas of marketing domain, include in advertising, public relations, market research and development. Marketing specialists are typically involved in all aspects of marketing, whereas a public relations’ employee works specifically with the public relations component of the marketing function. 

An MBA in marketing specialisation will offer courses in the areas, including consumer behavior, brand management, advertising and sales promotion, integrated marketing communication, market research, rural marketing, sales and distribution etc.  A specialisation in marketing would provide an aspirant with an opportunity to develop a variety of business skills which can be applied and transferred to other business arenas. 

If one has a passion to network, communicate, travel, set and achieve targets,  has never say die attitude,  hates monotony and  challenges, then a specialisation in marketing and a career in the same field will never fizzle to fascinate.

With industry 4.0 having its influence on all functional areas, agility for learning technology would be mandatory for both finance and marketing specialisations.

— The writer is Director- Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune.

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