In today's time each and every individual aspires to become an MBA.When i asked my younger cousin who is just 12 years old that what he wants to be once he grows up i got a very unexpected answer, "I want to be an MBA". He didn't even know what MBA stands for. Earlier an individual with an MBA degree was considered highly educated and professional but now a days MBA has become more of a necessity and an object to flaunt off. Every 1 in 5 individual is an MBA. The rate at which people are post graduating with MBA degrees it seems to me that soon enough we will have a separate nation for them alone. Its not that I'm anti-MBA infact i myself belong to the very same herd of MBA students. Its just that i sometimes wonder why do people pursue this course. Some do it because chachi ya mausi ke bachon ne kiya hai so we also have to do, some (especially boys ; plz dont take me wrong) do it because the prospects of marriage increases, some of them do it for better job opportunities and others do it because they actually want to study (do these kind of people actually exists?).
But tell me one thing do you actually believe that to be a good manager we need an MBA tag? I don't think so atleast not with the kind of theoretical education we get in our B-Schools. Although MBA has been the fastest growing degree course in last couple of decades, its not a prerequisite for a managers post. An individual do not have to sit through formal examinations to demonstrate their knowledge and innovative thinking. Management according to me is practiced and not preached. Also, management cannot be taught in a controlled environment. No B-School can prepare a student for the contingent situations which they might face in future mainly because these B-Schools emphasize more on quantitative methods like economics, operations, statistics, market research so on and so forth. The qualitative aspects like leadership, basic boardroom etiquettes etc. are largely ignored. Detailed analysis of data is also not taught. These institutions lead us to believe that a managers job is only restricted to goal setting, strategy formulation and controlling functions. They fail to tell us that there is lots more to do; paying attention to details being one of them. Even the case study methods (which are supposed to prepare us to deal with unforeseen crisis) are function specific i.e. its not focused on the entire leadership dimension but restricted to a particular domain.
B-Schools also emphasize not on adding knowledge but improving grades. In this race of who comes firsts and who comes second, students tend to lose focus on learning and instead concentrate on those activities which can earn them higher grades. Hence, the philosophy of "by hook or by crook" is followed. Due to intense competition, pressure for placements also increase and students start asking themselves "What can i do to make more money?".
All these thoughts make me wonder why to pursue MBA and enter the rat race? Whats so special about it when even without MBA degree we can be as successful as Tatas and Birlas. I leave it to you guys to find out the answers which may be on all our minds but we never got a chance to find out
But tell me one thing do you actually believe that to be a good manager we need an MBA tag? I don't think so atleast not with the kind of theoretical education we get in our B-Schools. Although MBA has been the fastest growing degree course in last couple of decades, its not a prerequisite for a managers post. An individual do not have to sit through formal examinations to demonstrate their knowledge and innovative thinking. Management according to me is practiced and not preached. Also, management cannot be taught in a controlled environment. No B-School can prepare a student for the contingent situations which they might face in future mainly because these B-Schools emphasize more on quantitative methods like economics, operations, statistics, market research so on and so forth. The qualitative aspects like leadership, basic boardroom etiquettes etc. are largely ignored. Detailed analysis of data is also not taught. These institutions lead us to believe that a managers job is only restricted to goal setting, strategy formulation and controlling functions. They fail to tell us that there is lots more to do; paying attention to details being one of them. Even the case study methods (which are supposed to prepare us to deal with unforeseen crisis) are function specific i.e. its not focused on the entire leadership dimension but restricted to a particular domain.
B-Schools also emphasize not on adding knowledge but improving grades. In this race of who comes firsts and who comes second, students tend to lose focus on learning and instead concentrate on those activities which can earn them higher grades. Hence, the philosophy of "by hook or by crook" is followed. Due to intense competition, pressure for placements also increase and students start asking themselves "What can i do to make more money?".
All these thoughts make me wonder why to pursue MBA and enter the rat race? Whats so special about it when even without MBA degree we can be as successful as Tatas and Birlas. I leave it to you guys to find out the answers which may be on all our minds but we never got a chance to find out
Hey Smriti, this is a nice post but I think the problem is not MBA but the quality of students. Students just out of graduation pursue MBA without having any idea what they want to do with their future. Even when they are about to finish their MBA, they are not sure which company they want to sit for and which profile is good for them. Then they have to call their parents to seek an opinion and even if the parents ask them not to sit for a particular company, they still do. You see the kind of confusion they have in their mind, but still they want to be MBA's............I know you are going to kill me for this but its true...LOL
ReplyDeletegood work...N as far as the answer for why enter the rat race...i feel if one thinks that they have what it takes to "lead" MBA definitely prepares a base. Some might say the theories are not what's required but I feel that theories have been derived from experiences of people in the real world. So, learn from people's experience and get an edge. :)
ReplyDeleteits a good thought but in the final analysis one has to seek the relevance of it all. the methods to use the concepts learnt during the studies have to be logically applied to be successful
ReplyDeleteHi Smritz (as I fondly call you!)!
ReplyDeleteI must congratulate you on starting with your blogging world with such a nice blog written on an important issue! Well, the first thought that crossed my mind while reading this was the similarity in the thoughts of you and Rancho! (p.s. 3 idiots). I totally agree with you that MBA, like mobile phones has become a necessity in the current scenario rather than a platform to learn. Inspired by the "fat pay checks" initiated at the IIM's, the students at Tier-II & III colleges (including us) have great expectations regarding jobs & the pay check that we must get given the fact the exhorbitant amount of fees charged by institutes at these levels.
Secondly, the point I want to emphasize is that it is not MBA that enables you to be called a scholar or knowledgeable, MBA is meant to polish the skills in you-be it leadership, communication ,etc. I truly believe that lot of thela vala selling pao bhajis or the kirana store runners are often better managers as they know how to manage the business and earn money.
No doubt Late Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani earned fortunes and created an empire for his sons to carry forward without learning the so called management skills!
I would just like to add that without an MBA degree its very very tough to enter the corporate world...its the mindset of the people there that MBA's are the best of the breed..n they dont want to give a chance to a simple graduate...jus get an mba degree n the same people will love to recruit you..if not anything, i think nowadays people do an MBA course just so that they have a certificate to enter the corporate world. On the other hand there are very few who want to do an MBA so that they get to learn more. Infact i think the system needs to be altered so that people focus more on learning rather than CGPA n grades.
ReplyDeletenice post!!i kno people who are here jst fr the degree, i kno people who are here fr the future oppurtunities and i also kno people who are here to learn and honn their pre existing skills or to develop new ones..it depends on the purpose with which u join the 'rat race'. which brings us to the point of whether r not we need this course to become managers.. well i agree some of are like the prodigal sons who dont really need this course but fr those of us who are not the gifted kind and who really need to put in all the grit and effort to learn, this course is wat guides them to the nxt level. this is especially true fr freshers as they need a gradual exposure to the 'coporate life' to find their feet and their own in this chaotic wrld of frenzied executives. well i can go on and on but its a lil to late in the night iv attened quite a few lectures today and m tired so adios people and adios smriti.. till ur nxt blog.
ReplyDelete