This sounds like an old topic but every potential MBA student still asks this question. Why business school? What I am going to get out of it? I have some friends who believe a business school will teach them great tools which they will be able to apply immediately in the real business world. Well, this is true, but, is that it? Some say, you can find all these tools in books like "MBA in 21 days", so why business school? Basic concepts like Marginal Analysis are getting published since 1954 or earlier, but as one of my professor said, people in the real business world still dont get it or the usage is limited to a few. Ok, the point is well taken. A Business school can teach you 1091 different tools which will have applicability in the real business world, but, which one to use? When? In response business schools increased the amount of case based study. A step in the right direction, but these cases are far from real world situations. What are you going to do when you will face those 'moments of truth?' When there will be no case at point, only reality and you? Which tool will you use? Is there one single tool to find the right tool among those 1091?
There is. Its called intuition. Perhaps, business school helps in refining the intuition. Perhaps, those cases in a way provide an opportunity to utilize that one tool and reduce its 'crudeness'.
BTW, 1091 is just an arbitrary number.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Several reasons to actually attend business school.
*Credibility
Whether shoring up a resume or planning to pitch a business plan, an MBA looks good and plays well. I used to hear people say that a degree is "just a piece of paper". By way of my undergraduate degree, I learned differently. There are two fundamental components of a degree: Knowledge/skills and commitment. Many would agree that much of life can be viewed as project management. Projects must be started and completed. Commitment is required to follow through to a project's successful completion. The importance of this understanding to one's success cannot be understated. An MBA, like an undergraduate degree, expresses this, in lieu of some other visible track record.
*Networking
Faculty, staff, students, and speakers are all accessible in the business school environment. Whether one needs consultants, employees, partners, or job leads, this is a great place to network.
*Peer-based Learning
As an undergraduate computer engineering major, I quickly realized that the best way for me to get up to speed with programming languages was to be around other programmers. Some students may very familiar with certain subjects. Because they are at the same level, a great deal of knowledge can be transferred.
On another note, group work tends to be useful in two ways. First it trains one to work with a group. Secondly, the pressure of the group can be intense and often counters procrastination.
*Structured Learning Environment
Plenty of people would like to simply read books, but never get around to it. I would have to think long and hard about reading all the books required to get a comprehensive knowledge of business. When one has made a financial commitment and engaged personally with a business school, he generally feels compelled to finish. In addition, schools have incentive to successfully convey information. In the academic environment one has endless resources, specifically professors.
*Branding
Similar to credibility, but the next level. Branding not only differentiates one business school from another, but lets prospective partners, clients, customers, etc. know what quality they might expect. My first business mentor once told me that there were two types of business schools - top shelf and all the rest. A top school is worth making sacrifices. If a top school is not feasible, then choose whatever is most convenient and affordable. A branded MBA carries substantial influence.
Post a Comment