The Management Optional Paper is not a popular choice among UPSC aspirants. However, the concepts learned at the time of preparation of this optional paper are not lost once you become an officer. A good officer is determined by their leadership skills, decision-making abilities, administration, fund management, and such. Management is not a popular optional subject, but it is a subject with a high on-the-job relevance. You will find aspirants with a background in management (B-school graduates) opting for this optional subject. However, the paper is not as technical as it sounds. Even aspirants with graduation in different fields can apply for this optional subject. You must be aware of what the subject entails before you commit yourself to this option.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Management Optional

Let's discuss the advantages and disadvantages of management optional. As a result, we can plan our preparation better.

The Advantages of Management Optional Paper

• Less Competition:In this subject, you will face less competition as it is not a popular subject like Geography, Public Administration, Political Science, etc. On average, not more than 200 aspirants have applied per year for this subject.
• High Success Rate : This subject enjoys a success rate of 12%-15%. This indicates the nature of the questions asked and the difficulty level of the exam.
• Nature of Questions: The questions are subjective in nature with a low to medium level of difficulty. The questions asked by the UPSC are very direct and often repeated.
• The subject requires logical and rational thinking. Hence, it does not need opinion-based answers but rather logical answers with appropriate examples.
• The study material is easily accessible as you need basic management books. The syllabus is mainly static. As a result, it has very minimal linkage to current affairs.

The Disadvantages of Management Optional Paper

• The syllabus of Management Optional is lengthy. As a result, the paper also seems lengthy for many aspirants. Sometimes, they end up not being able to attempt the entire paper.
• There is very minimal overlap with the General Studies Paper. Thus, it is a proper addition to your overall syllabus.
• The competition can be stiff as the maximum number of aspirants applying for this optional subject are B-school graduates. They are well-versed in these concepts, and they find it easy to cover the syllabus, solve the paper, and score good marks in this optional subject paper.

Syllabus for Management Optional Paper

The syllabus for the Management Optional Paper is divided into two parts. These two parts cover different topics in two papers, namely Paper 1 and Paper 2. We shall discuss the syllabus paper-wise. Do not forget that this optional paper will be comparatively easy for aspirants who are B-school graduates. For all the aspirants who have a graduation background in unrelated fields, it comes to your interest and overall capabilities. The detailed syllabus is listed below.

Syllabus for Paper 1

• Managerial Function and Process
• Organisational Behaviour and Design
• Human Resource Management
• Accounting for Managers
• Financial Management
• Marketing Management

Syllabus for Paper 2

• Quantitative Techniques in Decision-Making
• Productions and Operations Management
• Management Information System
• Government Business Interface
• Strategic Cost and Management
• International Business

Before we move on to how to prepare for the subject and what books to use, we should figure out what to expect from each paper. Subsequently, we can formulate a plan and see what study material to use.

• What to Expect in Paper 1

  Paper 1 of the Management Optional is a theoretical paper that focuses on topics like Human Resources, Organisational Behaviour, and either Marketing or Finance. You must prepare well for these topics.

• What to Expect in Paper 2

  Paper 2 of the Management Optional is application-based. This paper requires you to practise a lot of numericals and case studies. Without practice, you cannot expect to score well on this paper. However, with practice, this paper can increase your overall score drastically.

Tips for General Preparation

These are tips for your overall preparation. Do not forget these pointers. They will be helpful to you. Follow these to prepare thoroughly.

• Your primary focus while preparing must be to comprehend the concepts effectively. This will help you to familiarise yourself with the subject and increase your accuracy and overall score. Start with the easy topics first and then proceed to the advanced topics. This is how you strengthen the foundation of the subject and build the connection between different topics.
• Use your resources well. Read books relevant to your subject matter. Use your coaching material and find more material online to understand the concepts.
• Make sure to make proper notes while reading the material. Use visual aids like diagrams, flowcharts, and mind maps to understand and remember your subject matter effectively. We are visual learners. Take advantage of that strength. This is how you can revise faster and better.
• Include as much government-backed survey data as you can in your answers. This will enrich your answer and portray you as a model candidate.
• The best way to prepare is to solve a lot of question papers. You will get many previous year's UPSC Mains question papers. Make sure you practise in similar exam-like conditions to secure the marks you want.

Tips For Preparing for the Management Optional Paper

These tips are targeted for your preparation strategy for the management optional paper. You must keep these tips in mind to ensure a thorough preparation for this optional paper.

• The most important topics of Paper 1 are Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management. The maximum number of questions in paper 1 are asked from these topics.
• For Paper 1, you will have a choice between marketing or finance. As we have mentioned earlier, Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management are the main topics. They ask very basic questions about accounting and finance. The questions are mainly theoretical.
• As you now know, the questions are direct. This means the answers to these questions are fixed, as this subject requires logic and rational thinking. You should focus on your presentation. Add diagrams, mind maps, and tables wherever you can.
• For Paper 2, you have to solve case studies and numericals. Make sure to go through basic concepts like BCG Matrix, McKinsey's Framework, etc. These basic models are more than enough.
• Remember to go through the previous year’s UPSC Mains question papers. On average, almost fifty percent of the questions are repeated.
• To counter the lack of time problem in the paper, write down the previous year's questions and write their answers from the textbooks mentioned below. This is how you can prepare really well for the long theoretical answers.
• Solve as many mock tests as possible. They must be solved in a time-bound manner with similar exam-like conditions to get the maximum output of the knowledge on D-Day.

Books You Can Refer To For Management Optional Paper

Any good book on management can provide you with properly articulated information from the exam perspective. As a result, we have mentioned below two lists of books that will aid your preparation.

Books for Paper 1

Book	Author
Management	Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter
Organisational Behaviour	Robbins, Judge & Sanghi
Human Resource and Personnel Management	Gary Dessler
Human Resource Management	K. Aswathappa
Cost Management & Accounting	M.N. Arora
Financial Management	Eugene F Brigham
Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective	Kotler

Books For Paper 2

Books	Author
Quantitative Approaches to Management	Levin and Rubin
Operations Management	Heizer and Render
Management Information System	Laudon and Laudon
Business Environment	Fernando
Competitive Strategy	Michael E Porter
International Business	Arun Jain

Additionally, for Paper 2, you can also go through the General Studies Paper 3 notes and IGNOU notes.

Conclusion

You need to put in a lot of time and dedication for the Management optional paper. The technicality of the subject requires you to put in a tremendous amount of effort to clear the paper with flying colours. All the details have been mentioned. Make sure to prepare well and diligently follow the steps mentioned above. They will give you the confidence to score well. Your persistent dedication will define your results. Make yourself proud of your efforts. All the best for your preparation.