The extensive growth of Indian markets and GDP over the last 10 years has led to high demand for management professionals. This in turn has led to a rise in the popularity of business education. As many say, the 2020s may be India’s decade with GDP growing 2-3x of current levels. In this post, we will discuss BBA vs B.Com – which is better for pursuing MBA in India.
Pursuing MBA in India
Pursuing an MBA is a dream for many. India has the second-largest pool of MBA graduates in the world.
Students are often found planning different paths or constructing various strategies to get there, opting for a course after +2 is one big step in this journey.
MBA allows entry to students from various disciplines, anyone who holds a valid undergrad degree is eligible to apply for an MBA. Good MBA programs like to admit students with diverse backgrounds to build out a class that can have an enriching learning experience. They select engineering students, sciences students, commerce students, and students with arts or business backgrounds and undergraduate degrees.
Ideal Background for an MBA
Quite often a few candidates have the aspiration of pursuing an MBA. However, they do not always have clarity of what to pursue after Class 12. This happens a lot with commerce students.
In India, the most confusing options for students to choose from after Intermediate (12th grade) are Business Administration (BBA) & Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com).
B.Com has been around for a long time and was a course students primarily opted to get into the business world, on the other hand, BBA has witnessed a lot of traction recently as students are willing to learn things beyond numbers. To understand which one is better, let’s start by understanding what each of them has to offer.
The comparison between BBA and BCom is more relevant for Indian students who may be looking to pursue careers and graduate (MBA) degrees in India. In countries like the US, it becomes immaterial if you have done your undergraduate in business or arts.
What is BBA?
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a professional course. Choosing the right institute plays a huge role in you landing a job as it is offered at a few universities only some of which offer quality education. To ensure that you get a degree that is relevant to the industry, the course is fashioned with the help of the consultation of officials from leading organizations.
Gaining practical experience along with reading assignment materials and attending seminars are a few things students indulge in and are benefited from. BBA is more general in nature than some other specialized undergraduate programs or even B.Com.
This course encourages students to leadership and training workshops, to equip themselves with skills that will later help them get a good job. Foreign Business, Human Resource, Information Technology, Finance & Marketing are some of the concepts you will be learning in this course. Completion of this course will help you land a good job that will help you gain the required work experience for your MBA.
What is B.COM?
The Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) is an undergraduate degree in the field of commerce or management. It helps students become familiar with subjects like Accountancy, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, and Industrial Policies. Analytical thinking & problem-solving skills are implemented when solving problems and finding practical solutions. This course is better suited for students who are good with numbers.
The specializations one could do in this course are International Accounting, Business Analytics, Company Secretaryship, Entrepreneurship & Travel, and Tourism. This course also allows students to opt for various Master’s degrees like CA, LLB, MBE, M. Com, Finance. So, in case, you change your decision to pursue an MBA you are still left with a lot of options to choose from.
BBA vs B.Com
On average, the number of people doing an MBA with BBA is comparatively higher than those doing it with B.com. You might think this statistic is enough to end the debate and arrive at a conclusion that BBA is better, well doing that will be very misleading. MBA involves various specializations that revolve around different topics of interest, therefore making a blanket statement here won’t serve the purpose.
To better understand which one is better we will understand each of the specializations and the best-suited background for it individually.
1. MBA in Finance
Graduates who specialize in finance are responsible for handling accounts and finances of a company and help them achieve their financial goals. This degree also enables students to work in various fields like insurance management, taxation, hedge fund management, international finance, and investment portfolio management. Read more about MBA Finance Careers in India.
The finance field is purely based on commerce, knowledge about the basics of the commerce stream can give you an upper hand when studying the subject. Commerce topics such as Balance Sheets, Cash flow statements, Accounting principles, and Profit and loss accounts tend to be very useful for students of finance.
If you are planning to do MBA in finance, having a background in commerce is a real deal. B.Com would be the appropriate choice.
2. MBA in Marketing
Marketing is a core factor influencing the growth of a company. Analyzing market trends and preparing forecasts, generating business leads & consulting various departments in a company to coordinate strategies for company growth are some of the responsibilities a Marketing graduate would have.
Market analysis, Product management, Market research, Advertising and Sales Promotion, Consumer behavior & Promotion are some of the major topics covered in MBA in marketing that will prepare you to carry out those responsibilities. These subjects share a huge resemblance to subjects involved in BBA in marketing which makes BBA an obvious choice in this case.
If doing an MBA in Marketing is your goal, doing a BBA is the way to go.
3. MBA in Human Resources
Human Resource professionals are in charge of almost all employees and their management. HR managers are involved in recruiting new candidates, performance management, solving disputes within and outside the organization, training new candidates, and ensuring health and safety in the workplace.
This job mainly revolves around people and hence being from a commerce background won’t necessarily be of your benefit. You can enter this course from absolutely any(from the eligible) background, but if you’ve done your BBA in Human resources then that experience will help you better perform in this course.
If you have to choose between BBA and B.Com, BBA would definitely be a better choice.
4. MBA in Information Technology
MBA in International Business offers students the knowledge of Foreign policies, Foreign investments, Brand Management & International Marketing. Professionals from this specialization handle both the business and tech workings and therefore doing a B.Com in Information Technology would be the best option.
Business Management, Economics, Financial Accounting, Software Engineering and Development, Software Testing, and various other such subjects are involved in B.com in Information Technology that can be of huge advantage when studying the same in MBA.
So, B.Com in Information Technology is a clear winner here.
5. MBA in General Management
General Management specialization explores various subjects of management. Developing leadership, creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills is the primary goal of this course. Doing a BBA before MBA provides you with the perfect foundation to study and make your way up in this course.
In this case, BBA would be a great choice.
Conclusion
From all the various options above inference can be drawn that BBA is a better choice in more cases and most likely it is true. But making the effort to understand how one could be better for different specializations surely reduces the chances of you making the wrong choice.
I hope this was helpful in providing you with an understanding of various aspects of both worlds. Make your decision wisely, I wish you all the best.