Forget DNA, MBAs are the real building blocks of life

The skills and knowledge demanded of senior executives cannot always be acquired via experience along the tried-and-tested, well-trodden path to the top.  In the modern business milieu excellence has to be immediate. 

As a result, organisations are increasingly turning to business programme graduates to bolster their senior management ranks.

An MBA is arguably the world’s most prestigious qualification; anyone lucky enough to be holding an MBA (Master of Business Management), can expect accelerated career prospects thrust upon them.

“Your first degree counts for nothing on a CV these days, but having MBA on there really does open a lot of doors,” says Simon Norfolk who studied his executive MBA at Henley Management College.  “A piece of paper bearing those three letters gives companies confidence and you the edge over other candidates.”

Now working for a leading power supplier, Norfolk believes he achieved ten-years-worth of promotion in the year it took him to finish his self-funded MBA.  Of course, MBA courses are perhaps the most expensive postgraduate programme in the country.  And the prestigious business schools in America can be prohibitively expensive.

Schools like Wharton, Harvard and Stanford cost approximately US$34,000 for tuition per annum – with the standard period for an international full-time MBA being two years. 
So are the substantial costs involved really worth the financial risk?

"Applicants need an edge over their competitors," says Professor Richard Painter of Staffordshire University’s business school.  "I believe it is important to secure an education that is of the highest quality. The benefits of such an education would easily compensate for the cost.  MBA education is an investment for a career spanning more than 30 years."

Norfolk agrees and says the financial investment has already paid off. “When I started in my new position, my salary more than doubled. So, from my point of view it was more than worth it.”

Nunzio Quacquarelli, Editor of The MBA Career Guide explains their allure: “MBAs offer the potential for talented young professionals to place themselves in the shop window for the highest paying recruiters in the world. Companies like Accenture, Bain, McKinsey & Co, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley treat the MBA qualification as essential for career changers seeking to join their firms.”

MBAs originated in the United States and emerged as the country began to industrialise and adopt more scientific approaches to management. The first American business school was established in 1881 as part of the University of Pennsylvania.  These days there are MBA courses in every corner of the globe, and most programs base admission on significant work experience, academic records, references or recommendation, and personal interviews.

There are five basic types of MBA programmes tailored to suit an individual’s needs:

• Full-time - Commonly lasting two years, students enter with experience and attend during weekdays like other university students.
• Accelerated MBA programmes last 18 months and involve a more intensified course load than full time MBAs.
• Part-time – Classes normally held on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, typically last three years or more.
• Executive MBA - developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree in two years or less while working full time.
• Distance learning programmes allow students to gain MBA accreditation by holding correspondence courses off-campus via mail or email.

The courses expose students to a variety of subjects, including economics, organizational behaviour, marketing and strategies, project management, and government policy.  Students traditionally study a wide range of subjects in the program's first year, before pursuing a specialized curriculum. Full-time students typically seek an internship during the duration of their degree.

Be warned though, competition for places is high, and some schools report that applications for places have increase by 30% recently – with many courses being 15 times over-subscribed.  As the economic downturn took a firm hold, the number of business professionals applying to study for MBA degrees began to soar.  Applications to the University of California Davis Graduate School of Management's two-year Daytime MBA program are up 50% from last year.

"We were expecting an increase, but this is larger than we'd anticipated," said James Stevens, assistant dean of student affairs at the school. "When the economy cools down, applications heat up: More people look to invest in themselves through education in troubled economic times -- and an MBA is always a good investment.

More people look to invest in themselves through education in troubled economic times — and an MBA is always a good investment. Conversations with applicants and academic research also make it clear that our new building is a major draw. Students want to be in the first class in the new facility.”

UC Davis isn’t alone in seeing a spike in attention. About 77 percent of America’s business schools have reported a boost in applications in 2008, compared to 64 percent the previous year, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council.

The economic downturn is promoting practical and strategic changes to people’s careers.
Adverse conditions are triggering innovative thinking, and causing a surge of people returning complete their studies hoping to find themselves well-positioned to advance as the economy begins to recover.

The global downturn calls for global solutions, and MBAs give the broadest possible perspective and with it expansive skills and maturity.  Nobody knows for certain what the future holds, but one thing’s for sure – studying for an MBA in these trying times isn’t likely to hold you back once the good times roll again.

MBAs