Is the MBA obsolete?
John F. Williams
The Opportunity
In this time of “easy” startups, new “dot.coms” looking for someone with the guts to get involved and try to make something work, people are dropping out of MBA schools at an alarming rate. I say alarming, and I am not an educator.
More and more people are going to quick technical schools and professional programs rather than sticking out a four-or even six-year liberal education. Why is an MBA necessary in these days of headhunters, signing bonuses and twenty-four year old millionaires? Why should you, as an employer, require it; or why should you, as an executive, pursue it?
The Solution
I attended business school through an EMBA (executive MBA) program for a couple of reasons. First, I had begun an MBA several years prior, and wanted to finish what I had started. Second, I was curious – I didn’t think that it would impact my career one way or the other. Although I didn’t expect it to compromise my career in any manner, I didn’t expect it to help – I am not a person that fills squares in the “recommended” checklists.
I started the program as a person looking for a new challenge in my professional life. I found it exceeded my expectations in many ways. The most important and useful information and experience I got out of it centered around three areas. Firstly, corporate structures are changing. startups, mergers and acquisitions are now an expected part of the corporate life-cycle. Secondly, the new corporate environment is in process of shifting from the competitive model we’re all familiar with to a more collaborative model that values performance of teams as much as it values individual contribution. Finally, an understanding of technology and information systems, including the Internet and other communications advances, is absolutely vital to be successful. The MBA program I pursued covered these areas thoroughly and intensely, while I continued my professional life.
Startups, Mergers and Acquisitions
Although not my primary career, I have successfully started or assisted with the startup and management of several small companies. I owned a small business and managed it successfully and profitably for five years. Succinctly stated, I intend to assist startup concerns and small businesses to establish the requisite management processes necessary for successful growth. What I learned through the EMBA program makes this a much easier and more enjoyable task. In fact, I am amazed at how lucky I have been to be successful before I acquired the knowledge I gained in the program.
In order to attain some of the goals I have set, the knowledge I obtained through the EMBA program is absolutely essential. I learned about people, organizations, corporate finance, corporate politics and how corporations influence people, organizations and countries. An MBA is essential for the continued growth of our capitalistic culture, especially now with the mega merger mania. One learns how to value a corporation, how to understand the value of stock of corporations, and many other aspects of American and international businesses.
Corporate Environments
I want to continue to assist people to evolve and grow through personal and professional development in the corporate environment. I enjoy travel and would enjoy international opportunities that would lend themselves to this end. I find helping people achieve their personal and professional goals most gratifying. More importantly, I enjoy helping them to recognize their personal and professional potential, causing them to set higher goals with the expectation of reaching them. If you carefully choose an MBA program, they will also teach the team environment that is necessary for the higher productivity demands of today’s businesses. Many class assignments will force you to perform as a team or small workgroup in ways that exceed the capability of any of the members separately, or even all of you together if you’re not working synergistically.
I am a staunch advocate of the team environment. I have seen several approaches to this tried in different circumstances and environments with varying degrees of success. I have developed a good idea of what is needed to make the team environment eminently successful. I have found that the team environment is the healthiest approach from the perspective of both employees and corporations. In fact, I have not seen a better approach to increased job satisfaction and productivity. Properly executed, productivity capabilities are without bounds!
Technology and Information Systems
In the arena of the modern businessman today, information is the key to success. The better schools use the internet, laptops, and computerized interactive projects to learn marketing and information systems impacts based upon program designs. They include the Internet and E-commerce marketing models and other concerns caused by the new economy. You will learn how and when to automate business processes, how to determine whether to venture into new delivery channels for your company’s products and services, how to use technology to expand your markets geographically and demographically, and how to determine if your technology undertakings have been successful.
Whether you’re reading this as an executive considering going back to B-school, or as an employer considering requiring it for a position within your company, or as an employer pondering the level of support and encouragement to give your present executives who have expressed an interest in an MBA, I would strongly recommend it as more important than ever. The information learned through an MBA program, although no substitute for experience, is key for personal and corporate survival. And, regardless of your position on the ladder of success (including me) it will improve shortly after graduation. You will find an option to improve your position either through the company you are with or one that recognizes your accomplishment and needs to use your newfound knowledge! The choice will be yours.
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