MBA is a must need in today’s corporate world. The number of B-schools mushrooming around the country offering MBA courses and hoards of companies descending upon campus every year prove the point. Thus, it’s not surprising to find lakhs of MBA aspirants taking MBA entrance tests every year. This is because MBA no longer remains a tool for a fast track career, but the all important key to enter India Inc.
So what can one expect from an MBA? Does one need to quit his/her job to study MBA? Is experience required prior to MBA? Is there an alternative to an MBA?
The MBA course at most colleges in India is a two year full-time program. There are some exceptions like ISB, Hyderabad which runs a one year program or PGX at IIM Ahmedabad, which is meant for professionals with over 5 years of experience. The course in most cases is a residential one. In most cases, the first year is a common course and in the second year one can choose to specialize in an area like marketing or finance. Here again, there are exceptions like S P Jain which offer a specialization right from the start.
The entrance procedure ensures that the course participants have good reading and comprehension skills, numerical and data analysis prowess, time management techniques, group participation skills, general knowledge and high confidence levels.
These attributes and skills are a must-have to weather the arduous journey of an MBA. The two years are filled with deadlines for projects, presentations, reports and not to forget surprise quizzes! In addition to attending nine to ten hours of classes and doing regular assignments. All it leaves one with is at max a couple of hours for sleep.
So, the takeaways? Definitely the knowledge. MBA introduces one to a whole host of concepts. Thus, if not in depth at least there is sufficient surface knowledge to talk on most issues and topics. Skills - presentation skills, team working and building skills, analysis and quantitative modeling to name a few. Network, your batch mates or dorm-mates are an important take-way for sure. The peer group comprises of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Working with them has a definite impact on ones personality. However, the most important take-away according to me, is KTS - Knowing Thy Self! Given the kind of extreme situations, pressure, diverse subjects and peer group - it all ensure that in two years one knows himself much better than what he knew himself earlier. The course, changes you, but also shows you the mirror. This is a great boon. Because, in life, all we need t know is what we are, and what we are best at doing.
Most people, who have gone to work straight from their graduation always think of the opportunity cost of doing an MBA. I think the amount of learning, fun and experience it provides is definitely worth any monetary cost. However, one needs to select an apt B-school. For people who are decently placed with over two-years of experience in an organization should not look beyond top 10-12 B-Schools. Aspirants with work experience greater than 5 years should only consider ISB or IIM A PGX. The next option would be to give GMAT and go abroad. Although, there are quite a few students with high work experience in B-schools, I feel they need a course which is more fast track and does away with a lot of aspects which they are already well versed with.
Should one do an MBA or get some experience before doing one? Well, given the competitive scene for getting admission to a top notch B-school I would advice pragmatism. Try and work hard from last year of college for the MBA entrance exams. If one secures admission in the first shot, well and good, otherwise, take a job and try again next year. Most institutes give some weightage to work experience and it is true that doing an MBA after having some work experience is more meaningful. But, at the same time studying for entrance exams gets tougher in a working mode. Thus in all practicality nail the entrance exam as soon as possible! Only if you cant make it take a job but try again!
Does an alternative to a MBA exist?? Well, honestly NO. MBA has been for past decade or so the most sought after degree. More and more corporate would like to see the three magical letters on the CV. Ofcourse, there are other courses which have national/international recognition (for e.g. in finance we have CA, CFA or FRM) however, nothing beats an MBA for sure!
To sum up, it’s a must-have course for your CV. However, it’s not a sure shot formula for success in business. If you look at some of the top businessmen they are no MBAs. They all had a vision, worked hard and achieved what they wanted. All an MBA can do is probably, put one on the right track and move him faster - however at times, that’s all it takes to make a difference!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Moving beyond the 4 Ps of an MBA
Ask an MBA aspirant about the four Ps and you will be surprised by the response. In case you were expecting a typical straight-out-of the Kotler reply you will be astounded to hear words like Placements, Package, Profile and Prospects!
As news of summer internships comes in from top campuses and students heading to all corners of the globe, the aspirants can't be blamed.
This makes me ponder?-- Is an MBA about just these four Ps?
With names like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Macquarie, Merrill Lynch, McKinsey doing the rounds in portals of the top campuses, and the sweat?and night outs for that day zero slot one cannot deny the all important 'P' factors.
Having said that, one cannot just 'quantify' the output of an MBA course by these factors. In two years of one's campus life, one has the choice of a number of 'take-aways' that are more durable than the first job!
Knowledge: First and foremost, the MBA adds an immense amount of knowledge. Subjects ranging from Quantitative Techniques to Transactional Analysis help widen the domain knowledge. This learning may not be in too much depth, but surely in terms of breath of knowledge you are a know-it-all.
Presentation skills: With myriad class presentations, one is bound to become an expert in not only making PowerPoint presentations but also presenting them in a crisp, confident and professional manner.
Analytic skills: With the help of computer application tools like Excel and SPSS and the knowledge of various statistical and quantitative methods one is surely in command of analysing and number crunching any problem and coming up with an instant solution.
Networking: You end up studying, living, eating with over 200 of your batchmates, each from an different background -- diverse geographies, religions, educational backgrounds, work experience. Thus, an MBA college becomes a melting pot of learning from one another. What is more important is we also leave the campus with so many friends who would be working in various corporates across the globe.
Perspective: This is what B-schools have been known for. By way of case studies and contests -- students develop their own way of thought on a particular situation at hand. This helps future managers to have their own take on various situations/ problems they face in life.
Confidence: Presentations, quizzes, exams,?inter-school competitions, simulated games all make one a more confident individual. In today's highly competitive world -- where dog eat dog is the order?-- confidence is the most sought after weapon in the corporate jungle.
Team spirit: Well, this is not something that should be brushed aside. Team working skills are essential for success in any endeavour. B-schools ensure this by giving a platform in terms of group assignments and tasks. While working on it one encounters problems like social loafers, managing conflict, ego issues, coming to an agreement etc. This practice thus helps one achieve mastery at managing people.
Self understanding: By far the most important take-away for anyone --?to understand thyself. To understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. And thus work on things that are more 'fitting' them. To understand what motivates, the long term goals and break them into short-term goals is what one can hope to gain.
Thus, a budding MBA aspirant should look forward to an all-round growth and create relationships to last a lifetime from an MBA course to make the time spent here valuable forever. What about placements? As they say, it's just a freebie thrown in at the fag end to have something to look forward to after an MBA!
(This article was published on Rediff.com)http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/dec/04mba.htm
As news of summer internships comes in from top campuses and students heading to all corners of the globe, the aspirants can't be blamed.
This makes me ponder?-- Is an MBA about just these four Ps?
With names like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Macquarie, Merrill Lynch, McKinsey doing the rounds in portals of the top campuses, and the sweat?and night outs for that day zero slot one cannot deny the all important 'P' factors.
Having said that, one cannot just 'quantify' the output of an MBA course by these factors. In two years of one's campus life, one has the choice of a number of 'take-aways' that are more durable than the first job!
Knowledge: First and foremost, the MBA adds an immense amount of knowledge. Subjects ranging from Quantitative Techniques to Transactional Analysis help widen the domain knowledge. This learning may not be in too much depth, but surely in terms of breath of knowledge you are a know-it-all.
Presentation skills: With myriad class presentations, one is bound to become an expert in not only making PowerPoint presentations but also presenting them in a crisp, confident and professional manner.
Analytic skills: With the help of computer application tools like Excel and SPSS and the knowledge of various statistical and quantitative methods one is surely in command of analysing and number crunching any problem and coming up with an instant solution.
Networking: You end up studying, living, eating with over 200 of your batchmates, each from an different background -- diverse geographies, religions, educational backgrounds, work experience. Thus, an MBA college becomes a melting pot of learning from one another. What is more important is we also leave the campus with so many friends who would be working in various corporates across the globe.
Perspective: This is what B-schools have been known for. By way of case studies and contests -- students develop their own way of thought on a particular situation at hand. This helps future managers to have their own take on various situations/ problems they face in life.
Confidence: Presentations, quizzes, exams,?inter-school competitions, simulated games all make one a more confident individual. In today's highly competitive world -- where dog eat dog is the order?-- confidence is the most sought after weapon in the corporate jungle.
Team spirit: Well, this is not something that should be brushed aside. Team working skills are essential for success in any endeavour. B-schools ensure this by giving a platform in terms of group assignments and tasks. While working on it one encounters problems like social loafers, managing conflict, ego issues, coming to an agreement etc. This practice thus helps one achieve mastery at managing people.
Self understanding: By far the most important take-away for anyone --?to understand thyself. To understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. And thus work on things that are more 'fitting' them. To understand what motivates, the long term goals and break them into short-term goals is what one can hope to gain.
Thus, a budding MBA aspirant should look forward to an all-round growth and create relationships to last a lifetime from an MBA course to make the time spent here valuable forever. What about placements? As they say, it's just a freebie thrown in at the fag end to have something to look forward to after an MBA!
(This article was published on Rediff.com)http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/dec/04mba.htm
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