Article-Winning Mantra
COVER STORY
Cover Story xxxxxxxxx Group Discussion
The Winning Mantra
Suneel Arora*
Group Discussion—commonly termed GD—is supposed to be just a discussion, but most students misconstrue it to be a debate. It is not the platform where one likes to win and see others lose. But, nowadays, it is commonly compared to a football game where one has to outshine others as well as help one’s team to victory. The skills developed to win the GD game will prove to be an asset even after beginning one’s professional career.
A
group discussion is a methodology used to gauge whether the candidate possesses certain personality traits and skills such as ability to work in a team, reasoning ability, initiative, leadership, assertiveness, flexibility, creativity, social skills, listening and articulation skills, situation handling ability and interpersonal ability. It is an important stage of the selection process for admission into B-Schools. The purpose is to get an idea about candidates in a short time and assess them about certain skills, which normally cannot be evaluated in an interview or written test. As management is essentially a group activity, working effectively with groups is perhaps the most important parameter of career success as a manager.
Nowadays, companies are also accepting it as a stage in their selection process. Depending on the kind of profile a candidate has been considered for, the recruiters will observe the candidate’s personality traits. In different functional areas such as marketing, HR or finance and different types of work such as front office or back office, one is required to be equipped with different sets of skills and traits. Every industry, every organization and every job has its own unique skill requirements. A candidate has to identify
*
these unique requirements and demonstrate them within the short span of time during the GD. A GD is a simulation of what you can expect in a meeting
Cover Story xxxxxxxxx Group Discussion
The Winning Mantra
Suneel Arora*
Group Discussion—commonly termed GD—is supposed to be just a discussion, but most students misconstrue it to be a debate. It is not the platform where one likes to win and see others lose. But, nowadays, it is commonly compared to a football game where one has to outshine others as well as help one’s team to victory. The skills developed to win the GD game will prove to be an asset even after beginning one’s professional career.
A
group discussion is a methodology used to gauge whether the candidate possesses certain personality traits and skills such as ability to work in a team, reasoning ability, initiative, leadership, assertiveness, flexibility, creativity, social skills, listening and articulation skills, situation handling ability and interpersonal ability. It is an important stage of the selection process for admission into B-Schools. The purpose is to get an idea about candidates in a short time and assess them about certain skills, which normally cannot be evaluated in an interview or written test. As management is essentially a group activity, working effectively with groups is perhaps the most important parameter of career success as a manager.
Nowadays, companies are also accepting it as a stage in their selection process. Depending on the kind of profile a candidate has been considered for, the recruiters will observe the candidate’s personality traits. In different functional areas such as marketing, HR or finance and different types of work such as front office or back office, one is required to be equipped with different sets of skills and traits. Every industry, every organization and every job has its own unique skill requirements. A candidate has to identify
*
these unique requirements and demonstrate them within the short span of time during the GD. A GD is a simulation of what you can expect in a meeting