MBA, a buzz word in the job market and even a hotter one for matrimonial sites. But is it all that worth? There has been different school of thoughts on this topic. One of the most famous quotes belongs to none other than Seth Godin (author of “All marketers are liars”) where he said
“I get away with this heresy since I, in fact, have my own fancy MBA from Stanford. The fact is, though, that unless you want to be a consultant or an i-banker (where a top MBA is nothing but a screen for admission) it’s hard for me to understand why this is a better use of time and money than actual experience combined with a dedicated reading of 30 or 40 books.รขโฌย”
This is certainly not a new debate (/discussion) as I myself have participated in many, including the latest one with our HR manager (she is also a MBA) on new hiring strategies. Here is my take on the whole topic.
Is MBA waste of money and time?
According to me, MBA teaches you the alphabets of Business Administration. It teaches you how to form the possible right sentences of a business and what possible grammar made sense. I am very fortunate to be a semi MBA (as we had a special MCA with one year of MBA covered) and it helped me in the following ways:-
- It created a special interest for the corporate related topics. I started reading economic time during my marketing classes as I started understanding the alphabets of business (before which I never liked the pinkish paper). Now I hardly miss a day.
- It taught me how to learn. Thanks to all the entrepreneurial exposure. The classes by all entrepreneurs taught us new lessons (from the book of real business) be it about the backup or investment or recruiting. It helped me start with a better zero.
- Most importantly, it attached me to the big network of corporate people (alumni). For any work we can just give a call and make it work. This is really the biggest gain. You get a better network to start.”Our Network is better than our work”
The darker side of MBA
- It makes you rigid towards experimentation. When you are taught that these things will not work or these things will work, it starts prevailing over your gut feel. You try to do everything right with all statistic tools. Thats really hurts the innovation drive.
- We forget to learn from the nature. The best people have learned from the nature (the innocent customer, the simplest thoughts etc) not from the best people. Do not forget to observe the simple things. Also do not forget to learn from people who do not have a better degree than you. Accept people without a perception (a very difficult ask for a MBA).
- Not making our hands dirty, the biggest problem (from my personal experience). MBA prefers the managerial roles and do not prefer to do the dirty works (the real work). As a MBA delivering a presentation about work optimization is more desired than trying it on ourselves. Be more a leader and less a manager.
(Click on the above image to see the most offensive MBA video ๐ )
Another Article(different but thematic) which talks about the Serious talent shortage and lack of experienced manpower in India for few sectors. It says, “India Inc ties up with B-schools for made-to-order curriculum”. Also it says,
“Serious talent shortage and lack of experienced manpower, especially in emerging sectors like retail is pushing companies like Dabur, Tesco, Patni and HDFC to launch specialised courses with leading institutes in the country for their current and potential employees. “
NO I do not support this. Such courses will neither do good for corporates not the students, do not try to form the business sentences forcibly but help them learn the alphabets of business with a free mind.
Final word
MBA is certainly not the waste of money and time. It never makes you a master of business administrator but it helps you become a better student of business. It helps you start with a better zero and rest is all you.