Q #156: Given what it requires to earn one, is an M.B.A. degree worth it?
In this series, Bob Morris poses a key question and then responds to it with material from one or more of the business books he has reviewed for Amazon and Borders.
Obviously, that is a question that each person who is thinking about earning an M.B.A. degree must answer. For some, the total cost is prohibitive. For others, their current position and (probable) career opportunities do not require it and the ROI is problematic, at best. For still others, there are family obligations that preclude any additional ones.
Here are some considerations:
1. Become a part-time student, enrolling in business courses (e.g. at a local community or junior college) to fill gaps in one’s formal education. Marketing, for example, or strategic planning.
2. Become a part-time student, enrolling in business courses offered by a university that awards the M.B.A. degree. Here in Dallas, there are lots of options that include University of Dallas, SMU, UTD, UTA, and the University of North Texas.
3. Become a part-time student, enrolling in business courses offered by alternative universities such as Amber and Phoenix.
4. Explore e-learning options available online. Check out this Web site:
5. Before enrolling in any courses, check out a few of the books suggested for Further Reading. All are available in a paperbound edition. Note: Do not be deterred by the titles. They really are very well-written.
Several years ago I conducted a morning workshop for senior managers of a major corporation whose headquarters is in Las Colinas. A woman came up to me afterward, thanked me for the workshop, and then said she needed some advice. She was in her mid-40s. Her husband and grown-up children had been urging her to enroll, part-time, in an M.B.A. program at the University of Dallas and her employer would pay most of the costs. “Here’s my dilemma. I’ll be 52 when I earn the degree.” Here’s my response: “When you are 52, would you rather have the degree or not have the M.B.A.?” She called me recently to tell me she had just received the degree.
To paraphrase Henry Ford, “whether you think the M.B.A. degree is worth it or not worth it, you’re probably right.”
For Further Reading:
The Ten-Day MBA (Third Edition): A Step-By-Step Guide To Mastering the Skills Taught In America’s Top Business Schools
Steven A. Silbiger
What the Best MBAs Know: How to Apply the Greatest Ideas Taught in the Best Business Schools
Peter Navarro
Complete MBA for Dummies
Dr. Kathleen Allen Ph.D. and Peter Economy
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to MBA Basics (Second Edition)
Tom Gorman
MBA In A Day: What You Would Learn At Top-Tier Business Schools (If You Only Had The Time!)
Steven Stralser
MBA in a Box: Practical Ideas from the Best Brains in Business
Joel Kurtzman, Glenn Rifkin, and Victoria Griffith
Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob
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Bob, this is helpful.
But just to throw in a caution in today’s economic climate — recently there has been discussion of the “failures” of too many people with the traditional MBA. The critics argue that the programs have been lacking in the right kinds of ethical and liberal arts foundations.
Here’s an article that appeared in March that is worth reading:
RIP, MBA
The economic crisis has exposed the myth of business-school expertise.
By Matthew Stewart
http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/03/25/rip-mba
Randy
Comment by Randy Mayeux | Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thank you for your comments. I agree that — in our credentials-obsessed society — many recipients of an M.B.A. degree even from the most prestigious, highest ranked graduate schools of business (e.g. Chicago, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford, and Wharton) are insufficiently prepared for the challenges they face. Stewart’s article makes several key points as do others that also question the value of the M.B.A. I remain convinced that, whatever the degree and wherever it is earned, recipients get out of it about what they put into earning it. In this context, “commencement” begins the process of applying effectively the knowledge that has been obtained.
Comment by Bob Morris | Tuesday, June 16, 2009