Mrs Prathna Amrithlal of Richmond scooped the honour of top student at MANCOSA’s 2013 graduation. Conferred with a Master in Business Administration degree, Mrs Amrithlal passed cum laude after obtaining all distinctions in her final year of studying.
A component of the MBA assessment is a research dissertation and Mrs Amrithlal’s topic “The attitudes and behaviour of South African male shoppers when purchasing personal care products”. The research aimed to establish the needs and purchasing habits of men in the category of personal care products.
According to Mrs Amrithlal male shoppers were dissatisfied with their shopping space being amidst that of the female shoppers. This, they felt was not conducive to a good shopping experience for themselves. Men also believed the range of personal care products for them were not as vast as those available for women.
Mrs Amrithlal said men wanted their own male zone that distinguished them from the rest. Going forward she was of the view that manufacturers should introduce products in accordance with the needs of men.
Overjoyed to have achieved her degree cum laude Mrs Amrithlal who obtained 13 distinctions said studying had been a challenging process for her. “It was a challenging experience for me especially with the demands of my job which involves global travel.
The recipe to success for me was hard work and dedication.
“Support from people in your personal atmosphere is imperative and my parents and husband had been my pillars of strength,” said Mrs Amrithlal.
Having studied at various institutions Mrs Amrithlal found MANCOSA to be a great institution to pursue further education. She discovered it is indeed a tertiary institution that equips its student with the knowledge and relevant skills to make a success of their careers.
For her achievement MANCOSA had presented her with a special award. Addressing graduates, Mrs Amrithlal said she was certain that graduates equipped with knowledge and skills will make a positive difference to their workplace and community.
“Graduates we’ve undergone torture and found ourselves exasperated at the sacrifices we had to make at times. But now we can relish this accomplishment. Accomplishing this MBA was no easy task – a key challenge for me was working and studying simultaneously,” said Mrs Amrithlal.
“Success is not possible without dedication and perseverance. The future belongs to those who see opportunities before they arrive. The only person who decides whether you pass or fail is you.”