UPSC Management Optional Syllabus: Management is one of the 48 optional subjects in the civil service mains exam. The Management Syllabus for UPSC provides information about operational management concepts, which can be helpful for the aspiring manager. With this, many candidates pick management as their optional subject because various books and resources are available to cover the UPSC Management Optional Syllabus.

Going by the previous 5 years' statistics, approximately 40-60 candidates choose Management as optional subjects and the success rate hovers around 13%.  It is recommended to keep the printed copy of the Management Syllabus for UPSC  handy when preparing for the upcoming IAS exam. As per the feedback of previous toppers, the questions asked in the UPSC Management optional subjects are usually moderate level.

In this article, they shared the UPSC Management Syllabus PDF for Mains, along with question weightage, preparation tips, and best books.

UPSC Management Syllabus PDF

The UPSC Management optional syllabus comprises two papers, i.e., Paper 1 and Paper 2. The UPSC Management optional subject carries 500 marks, and each paper carries 250 marks. Thus, it is essential to adhere to the latest UPSC Management Syllabus PDF for Papers 1 and 2 and cover all the exam-relevant topics.  download the topic-wise UPSC Management Syllabus PDF for papers 1 and 2 shared below.

UPSC Management Optional Syllabus For IAS Mains

The UPSC Management Optional Syllabus is divided into two papers, i.e., Paper 1 and Paper 2.  It is recommended that the aspirants prepare a  study of the concept of management development as science and art, drawing upon the contributions of leading management thinkers and applying the concepts to the real life of government and business decision-making, keeping in view the changes in the strategic and operative environment. They should be well-acquainted with the topic-wise UPSC Management syllabus for main optional papers 1 and 2 and reshape their strategy accordingly.

UPSC Management Syllabus for Paper 1

The UPSC Management Paper I syllabus covers subjects like Managerial Function and Process, Organisational Behaviour and Design, Human Resource Management, Accounting for Managers, Financial Management, Marketing Management, etc.  Check the topic-wise UPSC Management Optional Syllabus for Paper I below.

1. Managerial Function and Process: Concept and foundations of management, Evolution of Management Thoughts; Managerial Functions— Planning, Organizing, Controlling; Decision-making; Role of Manager, Managerial skills; Entrepreneurship; Management of innovation; Managing in a global environment, Flexible Systems Management; Social responsibility and managerial ethics; Process and customer orientation; Managerial processes on direct and indirect value chain.
2. Organisational Behaviour and Design: Conceptual model of organization behaviour; The individual processes—personality, values and attitude, perception, motivation, learning and reinforcement, work stress and stress management; The dynamics of Organization behaviour—power and politics, conflict and negotiation, leadership process and styles, communication; The Organizational Processes—decision-making, job design; Classical, Neoclassical and Contingency approaches to organizational design; Organizational theory and design—Organizational culture, managing cultural diversity, learning Organization; Organizational change and development; Knowledge-Based Enterprise—systems and processes; Networked and virtual organizations.
3. Human Resource Management: HR challenges; HRM functions; The future challenges of HRM; Strategic Management of human resources; Human resource planning; Job analysis; Job evaluation, Recruitment and selection; Training and development; Promotion and transfer; Performance management; Compensation management and benefits; Employee morale and productivity; Management of Organizational climate and Industrial relations; Human resources accounting and audit; Human resource information system; International human resource management.
4. Accounting for Managers: Financial accounting—concept, importance and scope, generally accepted accounting principles, preparation of financial statements with special reference to the analysis of a balance sheet and measurement of business income, inventory valuation and depreciation, financial statement analysis, fund flow analysis, the statement of cash flows; Management accounting concept, need, importance and scope; Cost accounting— records and processes, cost ledger and control accounts, reconciliation and integration between financial and cost accounts; Overhead cost and control, Job and process costing, Budget and budgetary control, Performance budgeting, Zero-base budgeting, relevant costing and costing for decision-making, standard costing and variance analysis, marginal costing and absorption costing.
5. Financial Management: Goal of Finance Function. Concepts of value and return. Valuation of bonds and Shares; Management of working capital: Estimation and Financing; Management of cash, receivables, inventory and current liabilities; Cost of capital ; Capital budgeting; Financial and operating leverage; Design of capital structure: theories and practices; Shareholder value creation: dividend policy, corporate financial policy and strategy, management of corporate distress and restructuring strategy; Capital and money markets: institutions and instruments; Leasing hire purchase and venture capital; Regulation of capital market; Risk and return: portfolio theory; CAPM; APT; Financial derivatives: option, futures, swap; accurate reforms in financial sector.
6. Marketing Management: Concept, evolution and scope; Marketing strategy formulation and components of the marketing plan; Segmenting and targeting the market; Positioning and differentiating the market offering; Analyzing competition; Analyzing consumer markets; Industrial buyer behaviour; Market research; Product strategy; Pricing strategies; Designing and managing Marketing channels; Integrated marketing communications; Building customer satisfaction, Value and retention; Services and non-profit marketing; Ethics in marketing; Consumer protection; Internet marketing; Retail management; Customer relationship management; Concept of holistic marketing.

UPSC Management Syllabus for Paper 2

The UPSC Management Paper II Syllabus focuses on subjects like Quantitative Techniques in Decision-making, Production and Operations Management, Management Information Systems, Government Business Interface,  Strategic Cost Management, and International Business. Check the topic-wise UPSC Management Optional Syllabus PDF for Paper II below.

1. Quantitative Techniques in Decision-making: Descriptive statistics—tabular, graphical and numerical methods, introduction to probability, discrete and continuous probability distributions, inferential statistics-sampling distributions, central limit theorem, hypothesis testing for differences between means and proportions, inference about population variances, Chi-square and ANOVA, simple correlation and regression, time series and forecasting, decision theory, index numbers; Linear programming—problem formulation, simplex method and graphical solution, sensitivity analysis.
2. Production and Operations Management: Fundamentals of operations management; Organizing for production; Aggregate production planning, capacity planning, plant design: process planning, plant size and scale of operations, Management of facilities; Line balancing; Equipment replacement and maintenance; Production control; Supply, chain management—vendor evaluation and audit; Quality management; Statistical process control, Six Sigma; Flexibility and agility in manufacturing systems; World class manufacturing; Project management concepts, R&D management, Management of service operations; Role and importance of materials management, value analysis, make or buy decision; Inventory control, MRP; Waste management.
3. Management Information System: Conceptual foundations of information systems; Information theory; Information resource management; Types of Information Systems; Systems Development—Overview of Systems and Design; System Development management life-cycle, Designing online and distributed environments; Implementation and control of project; Trends in information technology; Managing data resources—Organising data. DSS and RDBMS; Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Expert systems, e-Business architecture, e-Governance; Information systems planning, Flexibility in information systems; User involvement; Evaluation of information systems.
4. Government Business Interface: State participation in business, Interaction between Government, Business and different Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India; Government’s ploicy with regard to Small Scale Industries; Government clearances for establishing a new enterprise; Public Distribution System; Government control over price and distribution; Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and The Role of Voluntary Organizations in protecting consumers’ rights; New Industrial Policy of the Government : liberalization, deregulation and privatisation; Indian planning system; Government policy concerning development of Backward areas/regions; The Responsibilities of the business as well as the Government to protect the environment; Corporate Governance; Cyber Laws.
5. Strategic Cost Management: Business policy as a field of study; Nature and scope of strategic management, Strategic intent, vision, objectives and policies; Process of strategic planning and implementation; Environmental analysis and internal analysis; SWOT analysis; Tools and techniques for strategic analysis—Impact matrix: The experience curve, BCG matrix, GEC mode, Industry analysis, Concept of value chain; Strategic profile of a firm; Framework for analysing competition; Competitive advantage of a firm; Generic competitive strategies; Growth strategies—expansion, integration and diversification; Concept of core competence, Strategic flexibility; Reinventing strategy; Strategy and structure; chief Executive and Board; turnaround management; Management of strategic change; Strategic alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions; Strategy and corporate evolution in the Indian context.
6. International Business: International Business Environment: Changing composition of trade in goods and services; India’s Foreign Trade: Policy and trends; Financing of International trade; Regional Economic Cooperation; FTAs; Internationalisation of service firms; International production; Operation Management in International companies; International Taxation; Global competitiveness and technological developments; Global EBusiness; Designing global organisational structure and control; Multicultural management; Global business strategy; Global marketing strategies; Export Management; Export-Import procedures; Joint Ventures; Foreign Investment: Foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment; Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions; Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure Management; World Financial Markets and International Banking; External Debt Management; Country Risk Analysis.

How to Prepare the UPSC Management Syllabus 2023?

Candidates should analyse the UPSC Management syllabus thoroughly before starting the exam preparation. This will allow them to cover the basic concepts and advanced subjects relevant to the exam. Additionally, aspirants can follow the tips and tricks shared below to prepare for the upcoming UPSC IAS exam adequately.

• Check the UPSC Management optional syllabus thoroughly and prepare the list of subjects for the preparation accordingly.
• Ensure to have books and study resources that cover all the subjects in a simple and lucid manner.
• Solve UPSC Management's previous year's question paper to get an idea of the pattern and subjects usually asked in the IAS main exam.
• Practice answer writing regularly after completing 50-60% of the Management syllabus for UPSC to score well in the exam.

Booklist for UPSC Management Optional Syllabus

Candidates should choose the highly recommended books to prepare well for the UPSC Management optional subject. This will strengthen their basics and help them learn the advanced subjects without confusion. The right books will cover all the exam-relevant subjects prescribed in the UPSC Management Optional Syllabus. Here are the best UPSC Management Optional books for Paper 1 and Paper 2 below for the reference of the candidates.

• Cost and Management Accounting by MN Arora
• Fundamental of Management by DeCenzo, Agarwal, Bhattacharya & Robbins
• Human Resource Management by K Aswathappa
• Business Environment by AC Fernando
• Strategic Management by Hill and Jones
• Financial Management by Prasanna Chandra
• Marketing Management by Philip Kotler
• Operations Management by Heizer and Render

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Creating and sharing the syllabus at the onset of a course is an important component to help orient students. The following recommendations provide guidance on producing and sharing a high-quality syllabus with your students.

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Note: You may want to recommend that your students bookmark the syllabus to make it easy to locate and access.

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There are several ways to showcase important information, here are a few ideas: 

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Use the due dates tool in assignments, assessments, and discussion boards
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