Why MBA ? The need of doing MBA today :: Article by Prof A.K. Mohideen

Why MBA

By

A.K. Mohideen
Asst. Professor
Department of Management Studies
Vignan's Institute of Information Technology
Visakhapatnam

The Educational Institutions are the gardens where the beautiful flowers blossomed always- beauty of nature, the beauty of human work and achievements and above all the beauty of character, which is seen on the face. What ever we look like depends on how we have lived, what we have thought and what we have done.

Education is a channel, a process or a device to develop the potentialities of the individual to enable him to grow into a decent citizen. Education guides to meet challenges of life with courage and with humor. In specific, a job-oriented education made the students capable of seeking a job according to his aptitude, ability and competence. The Master of Business Administration, one of the professional educations is the best-known management qualification throughout the world. It can accelerate individual career, prepare him/her for promotion, and help him/her to have a complete career change.

NEED FOR MBA:

As the environment of organization-including economic, political, competitive, regulatory, and cultural factors becomes more complex, there is an increased demand for managers with the necessary skills, understanding, courage, and energy to tackle the difficult demands facing organizations of all kinds. To be a successful manager, an individual need skills in decision-making, financial analysis, and interpersonal relationships. He also needs the ability to apply those skills in a context of constraints, opportunities, and alternatives. Professional management programs are based on the premise that people can learn to manage all types of business situations more effectively. MBA programs not only help their students to develop skills that are highly valued by many employers, but the programs also present a theoretical context for solving many business problems.

*MBA – YOU:

The purpose of an MBA education is to provide training in the theory and practice of business management. An MBA is an effective tool to,

o To change your career
o To start your own business
o To gain the competitive edge in a competitive world
o To develop technical expertise and business savvy quickly
o To advance your career
o To gain valuable networking resources
o To enhance your financial position
o To enjoy greater job security
o To enjoy greater job satisfaction and self satisfaction
o To become a leader in an emerging field
o To develop your personality as a whole.

MBA - JOBS:

An MBA with different specialization streams prepares an individual to meet the greater demands of tomorrow's advanced industrialization. Some examples are given below.

Executive Jobs:

Whether you are seeking CEO jobs, CFO jobs, CIO jobs or other C-level jobs, an MBA is supreme to a career managing companies.

Management Jobs:

Senior Management job - Senior Management jobs are awarded to candidates and employees with applicable baccalaureate degrees and a master's degree in business such as an MBA.

Banking Jobs:

Consumer banking jobs deliver financial services to individual customers.
Commercial banking jobs deliver financial services to businesses.
Human resources jobs manage employee placement, salaries, and training
Bank administration / accounting job - Bank administration / accounting jobs handle the banks internal operations

Finance Jobs:

Corporate Finance jobs help company find money, grow the business, make acquisitions, plan for it's financial future and manage any cash on hand
Money Management job - Money Management jobs manage stocks and bonds for institutional clients and are on the buy side of Wall Street
Insurance jobs help individuals and business manage risk to protect themselves from catastrophic losses and to anticipate potential risk problems
Real Estate jobs cover field such as title insurance, construction, mortgage banking, property management, real estate appraisals, brokerage and leasing, and real estate development

Accounting Jobs:

Public and Managerial Accounting jobs focus on preparing financial statements and recording business transactions including computing costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

Marketing Jobs:

Product Management jobs have responsibilities including marketing and development of products of all types. Advertising jobs cover every media outlet including newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and the Internet. Retailing jobs includes store management, buying, and merchandising.

CONCLUSION:

A Full-Time MBA costs Rs.2-3 lakhs in B-Schools and around 50000 t0 100000 in university and affiliated colleges and takes Two Years time duration. For a period of 2 years, MBA students strive sleeplessly over assignments, presentations, projects, group exercises and reports. This gives them good grounding for the nature of work they will eventually perform.

Before concluding this article, I would like to mention about the fact of MBA graduates at present. In the words of Robert Brown, Director of Recruitment and Management of Head Hunters Grant Thornton " I would venture to say 70 to 80 percent of the MBAs are not worth considering." In 1999, an article 'Why CEOs Fail by Henry Mintzberg and Joseph Lampel was published in Fortune. Holders of MBAs ran some 40 percent of the 100 largest companies. On examining failed CEOS, the authors found 38 had 'flopped' because of 'poor people skills' or 'bad execution'. (Tasmac Management Review March 2004) Recently Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor N.R.Narayana Murthy expressed the opinion that 'our graduates are ill equipped. India today has over 5.3 million graduates even as industries face shortage of skilled labour '(Deccan Herald dated 16.1.2006) He also expressed an opinion that ' 75 pc of engineering graduates are incompetent and unfit to be employed in IT firms. (Deccan Herald dated 4.1.2006)

So, if you are an MBA aspirant, try answer the question sincerely- 'Is an MBA degree appropriate for ME?' ' Is the investment made on MBA is related to growing abilities, developing character, gaining education and training?' Evaluate your alternatives. Include factors such as the nature of job, job satisfaction and preferred sector of employment. The critical analysis certainly guides to take a right decision

A.K. Mohideen
Asst. Professor
Department of Management Studies
Vignan's Institute of Information Technology
Visakhapatnam

Source: E-mail February 19, 2009