Group discussions is popularly known as GD. It is basically a technique of evaluating a student on the basis of his/her personality, eligibility or suitability to fit in an MBA program or job. This has become one of the most important criteria for admission in MBA college programs these days. Aspirants who conduct these consider it more of an art to evaluate a student on terms of how he/she behaves, participates and works in a group and how much importance they give to each other’s opinions and welcome criticisms. However, the students see this as more of a judgemental process and often feel insecure while attending it.
Group discussions are conducted in a group of almost 8-10 students. A common topic will be given and a time period of 15-20 minutes will be provided to build-up and organise your thoughts on the specific topic individually. The discussion will start, once the time is up. The discussion takes place in front of a judging panel including important faculty members from the MBA Colleges in Jaipur, an individual is applying for who will carefully observe them and mark them on the basis of their performance. It is totally up to them to decide whether their performance was worthy enough to get selected or rejected.
In general, students of top MBA colleges in Rajasthan are evaluated for certain skills like Reasoning skills, Leadership skills, Communication skills, Social skills, Motivational skills, listening skills, Interactive skills, Out-of-the-box thinking skills, Interpersonal skills, Presentation skills, Analytical/Logical skills, etc.
There are many more skills such as creativity, confidence, knowledge on the topic, behaviour, flexibility, situation handling ability, open-mindedness, clarity in conversation, your attitude, body language and overall personality, which are considered. Hence it is important that you work on your weaknesses and build-up your strengths before even thinking about attending one.
Also being aware of current affairs and happenings all over the world wouldn’t harm you as most of the topics given for the discussion would be based on these factors. Reading newspapers daily, going through important magazines once in a while and tuning into television to watch news and interesting documentaries would be a better way to prepare yourself, before appearing for a GD.
1. Stay calm and patient during the process. 2. Organise your thoughts on the given topic by jotting it down in a piece of paper. 3. Always keep your contribution direct to the point and in fewer than 30 seconds. 4. Try to contribute your ideas at least 3-4 times during the discussion. 5. An individual could politely ask for repetition in case they fail to grasp the words of the speaker. 6. Speak effectively, efficiently and in the right manner. 7. Be a good listener and respect what people have to say. 8. Be humble enough to offer positive gestures and body language time to time. 9. In case of disagreement, do it politely and pleasingly. 10. Always be the one who summarizes and concludes the discussion.
1. Never over speak, interrupt or argue in between the discussion. 2. Never dominate, embarrass or distract anyone in the group. 3. Never lose confidence, or provide irrelevant data and assumptions. 4. Never initiate the discussion if it is going on an unfamiliar topic.
Unlike in an interview at best MBA colleges, apart from personal skills group skills are evaluated social skills are also essential to an organisation especially the one that deals with a professional program like MBA. As an MBA graduate, they will be required to handle and interact with a number of people- both above, below or equal to the level of your designation. These discussions are the stepping stones which determine whether you are worthy or not of being in such a position in life. They ensure that a MBA graduate whom they have selected has apt analytical and quantitative skills- judged on the basis of written exam scores along with good soft skills- the one factor a GD alone can decide. However, the idea might be a little crucial but the outcome is potently valuable.
Another factor that marks the importance of Group discussions in an MBA program suggests how easy it makes the elimination process happen from the institution’s part. There are hundreds of applicants each year for MBA admissions and to select the potential candidates out of them will be a hectic task. On the other hand, a group discussion makes this task simple by sorting out the worthy from the rest in less than 15 minutes.
Best MBA Colleges in Rajasthan have always termed group discussions as an “exchange of knowledge and arguments, where the aim of argumentation should not be victory, but progress”. Group Discussion is one of the most essential shortlisting rounds for candidates to qualify for MBA programmes in a management college. Admission in such colleges or institutions are only granted once the candidate clears all the selection rounds with merit. The selection rounds include Management Entrance Test, Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion, Personal Interview, etc.
Group Discussions may be going slightly out of fashion nowadays with colleges dropping it from their selection procedure. However, most other top MBA colleges continue to have the group discussion as a staple in their admission process. Therefore, it is essential for the candidates to know about the group discussion rules as well as topics.