It’s a very tricky question. Why we go for MBA and when is the right time to go for an MBA? I remember my brother's words, “There is no course on earth that can put you in a difficult situation by its own. The very matter a course exists on large scale is a testimony to the fact that demand does exist for the course. A course does not make you employable overnight. It’s your application that leads you to success". Words of wisdom from a man with rich experience. But I believe his words represent an idealistic state. On superficial grounds, very few can reach such a state. Practically people do believe a lot in the course they choose and expect it to do a lot of good for them post completion.In response to the big question Why and When for an MBA, my response would be on diplomatic grounds, "It all depends on your aspirations and preparedness. Moreover there cannot be a generalized answer for the question. It’s something everyone has to ask themselves and some soul searching is needed". Work experience will equip you with necessary insight which with proper application on learning can make you a better MBA student and much better Manager at latter stage. Now, I'm not tending to say that people with work experience enjoy a monopoly over fresh students or only managers with MBA are bound to succeed. For people with work experience, opting for MBA will bring down the steep slope of learning curve and possibly transform you from unidimesional to multidimensional. For freshers, if you are willing to put the necessary hard work and go the extra mile you can very well nullify that gap. It all depends on what you want from the program. You got to conceptualize class room learning with actual reality in corporate life and keep you updated. If the interest fades then it’s just another PG degree and 2 years of your life. Remember the opportunity cost of an MBA. Honestly MBA is like starring a beautiful Women's portrait. If you look at it as one that could benefit you at the end of 2 years it will and if not it won't. Remember Monalisa :D
The word preparedness is the key. I came with good work experience behind me after learning some critical skills on the job. People do ask why then an MBA after a long gap:
1. I wanted to back the skill with knowledge. I had a feeling that learning different facets of a manager on the job takes a lot of time. It might get unidimesional at times. The learning depends on various factors like the business you are in, the boss, the team you work for, etc.
2. I thought some Team Management Experience would be an invaluable asset before opting for an MBA program. You can correlate whatever taught with practical experience rather than just assuming how an organization works. It gives an opportunity to learn the difficulties of subordinates in a much better way. I always believe that makes the difference between a good and effective manager.
3. Learning on the job without knowledge to back up can be a lengthy process and mistakes can prove costly:
a) I still remember how I tried too hard in making those beautiful presentations and drilling down the data. Good Statistical knowledge is an asset for any manager. Accuracy becomes critical here. Frequently changing an already published data will create negative impression on customers. Now as I learn Statistics, I get a good idea on areas I need to work on and where I need to be careful about and learn better ways of doing the same thing. Work experience is a very big plus here.
b) The first thing I realized after the Economic class, “Why the hell this subject is not taught at lower levels in school and comes only as a specialization?" Such a wonderful subject and its pure common sense. I always felt taking accounts group after class 10 will make us an accountant. I ended up studying science that in an essence took me far away from the day to day life. What’s funny in studying about time travel without knowing how our economy works and what governs our choices? Corporate experience helps one connect more with subject especially on aspects of resource allocation.
c) Needless to say accounting knowledge at least basic level is essential for everyone. It’s a sin to have reserved to it only as a specialization subject at school level. I am no expert in accounts but after studying the subject I understood how better organized I need to be in recording basic facts. I am still running and hitting the wall harder to understand accounts. I am confident of breaking the wall one day.
d) Quality subject is again common sense. At job you open a specific software or website, key in the number of defects against opportunities and arrive at sigma score. That gives an indication on how well the team or organization is performing. Below a particular score you get red and that would raise a few eyebrows. While in the course you learn it in depth. It’s far more fascinating and gives a better insight while we connect the learning with what we did blindly on the job. And I understood the scope for improvement and things done on the job.
e) Legal Aspects of Business reminds the Spider man dialogue. It's as if you've reached the unreachable and you weren't ready for it."
The subject is so good when you are in the class at the same time when you open the book for exams you see there are hell a lot of things to remember and you start feeling you are not ready for it. You feel stronger and weaker at the same time :D But it does equip you with several things needed at latter part of your life as a Manager/Entrepreneur. Gradually I am realizing that though you can’t remember everything taught in the class, you can get the gist of it and while you run/work in a firm you know where to look for details. Law is commonsense again and helps you develop a strong reasoning skill.
f) One subject that excites me the most in MBA is Organization Behavior. I must admit we were prescribed a wonderful textbook written by Stephen Robbins. I have a strong feeling that it must be made a bible for People Managers. Needless to say it’s very closely related to corporate life which people with genuine work experience like me would relish.
So what is the conclusion? Ask yourself and get the answers. Whatever it may be, please don’t look back after joining the course. Commit as much mistakes as you could and learn the maximum here. Because once you are into job you will be under the scanner every time. Corporate world expects a lot from an MBA and you are required to be excellent in whatever you do and inspire your team to greater heights.
As one of my teachers said, “Treat these 2 years as a rehearsal for rest of your managerial job.” How true...
P.S: It's my first blog and I understand I expressed a lot. Will make my best efforts to cut short while writing the subsequent blogs. Thanks for reading.
