Archive for December, 2010

Consulting MBAs

I had lunch today with a lecturer from the business school of a university. Part of his teaching load is to teach in the online MBA degree program.

He commented that one of the major outcomes of his teaching is the amount of consulting work he is offered by businesses through students he teaches online. We discussed the pros and cons of this:

On the plus side, he and the businesses he does work with find one another and both benefit. He gets consulting work without having to go out and sell himself and the company gets to hire someone with experience and expertise, without having to look very hard.

However, he is conflicted over the entire thing. In his mind, if he did his job as well as he could, the student would be able to do the consulting work him/herself, under his guidance.

I have to admit I have reservations about this myself. MBA students should be able to take on consulting work and use this work as “classroom” assignments, with help from instructors. But then again, businesses look for experienced consultants who can get the work done, quickly and efficiently.

Junior MBA?

There was once a time that a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration was hard to come by. These days, more and more business schools are including it. Usually the same institutions run MBA programs and the bachelor’s in Business Administration becomes a feeder into the master’s degree.

I’m not entirely sure whether I think these are a good idea. The first thought that comes to me is that MBAs are for people who might not have previous qualifications. This is the point of using GMATs as a guide to good potential students. Also, the best business people are often those who come from non-business backgrounds, at least for their undergraduate degrees. The best MBA programs are often full of those from the sciences, humanities, and other.

The second thought is that by creating a bachelor’s degree, it assumes that students will not have previous experience. They will be learning theory only, without the ability to “place” the theory into the framework of their own working lives. This makes professional education of this kind a very different kettle of fish than that originally envisaged by the institutions that designed MBAs.

But then again, there is no “absolute” except there is no absolute.

MBA Costs

Today’s news includes reports of Christmas spending up this year over last year. But if you are studying for an MBA, you might not have joined in on the shopping spree. In addition to tuition and fees for your MBA – and even if you are studying an MBA online, these do not come cheap – there are trips, books, and a host of research.

With careful budgeting, you can afford to study and maybe even buy a few nice gifts. But being extra frugal now is a smart move, and remember: it does not have to be permanent (unless, of course, you learn to like living more simply). Fancy restaurants, expensive meals and a brand new car should wait until the MBA is done.  The light at the end of the tunnel is that you are pursuing the qualification most likely to result in high salaries for the rest of your working life. So Ramen noodles today could very well be lobster tail tomorrow.

Part-time or Full-time: Freedom of Choice

Pursuing an MBA is a challenging experience. The commitment will have an impact on your life in a variety of ways. Among the many choices you’ll face when choosing an MBA program is the decision to attend a full-time or part-time program.

You should spend a lot of time thinking about this, since the differences are huge. First of all, many full-time programs are designed for candidates with between two to six years of business experience while part-time programs are often designed for more experienced business professionals. They are also suitable for candidates entering MBA programs with the support of their current employers or are planning on remaining with their current employers for the long-term.

But there are drawbacks of entering a part-time program, such as:

* Take longer to complete than full-time programs.

* Access to the career management resources can be more limited.

* Networking opportunities are usually limited compared to full-time programs.

* Social lives are interrupted, especially when classes take place after regular work hours or on weekends.

Some benefits of entering a part-time program:

* The economic hardship is lessened because you can keep your current job.

* Some companies subsidize or pay for MBA programs for their employees who choose part-time programs.

* Program schedules are more flexible and allow for a longer time frame in which to complete the program.

The best thing to do is to make pro and con lists of both types of programs. Also, try to imagine life after the MBA is complete: from that perspective, would a part-time or full-time program better suit your needs?

Personal MBAs

It seems that the ongoing conversation about MBAs and professional management is absolutely crucial to the evolution of the “knowledge economy.” If you are employing competent specialists, you should not be thinking about “control-style” management – after all, the knowledge resides in the specialist.

What you need to think about is the relationships that must function in order for each specialist to do his/her job. Functioning relationships is key to making the organization function well.

This transforms the idea of management:  no longer are we thinking in terms of management and workers separately, but how best to co-ordinate the differing functions of the structure. This is really radical thinking if we consider that relationships involve feelings and personalities – something that tends to be discounted by old-style management.

Maybe MBA programs should include courses in psychology, sociology, and personal development. Actually, this is the very reason MBA programs love to admit those from diverse backgrounds, including in the humanities.

A Finance MBA: Looking For A Few Good Women

In 2009, a record was set for the number of female CEOs in the nation’s largest 500 publicly-traded companies (aka the Fortune 500): 13. This is  2.6 percent, meaning men manage 97.4 percent.

While the glass ceiling might seem to be firmly in place, other power positions, like chief financial officer, seem more accessible to women, especially those with finance MBAs. In 2009, 7.6 percent of Fortune 500 companies had female CFOs. While this still leaves a wide male majority, that might at least partially be related to the numbers of women versus men earning finance degrees, such as financial management MBAs.

Today’s top-ranked business schools are much more focused on diversity than they once were. No longer the domain of privileged white men, a finance MBA is popular among people from a number of races and religions. Still, women are not applying to business schools, such as a finance MBA programs, as often as they are to law or medicine programs.

The news isn’t all bad. According to a survey by Catalyst, a nonprofit that focuses on women in business, found that female MBA holders felt their business school experience was positive. The same study found some 95% of women and men alike expressed satisfaction with their degree programs.

And the more women enroll in MBA programs, the more women will land top jobs in the business world.

Distance Learning MBA: Winning without Losing

Not too long ago, getting your MBA meant entering a full-time program. Distance learning MBA programs, if they existed at all, were about as desirable as getting a degree from a crackerjack box. Of course, times have changed and distance learning MBA programs are among the best ways to get an advanced degree without losing your current job, or your current lifestyle.

Distance learning MBA programs let working students take classes when it is convenient. As a distance learning MBA candidate, you are free to study evenings, weekends, or whenever you can dedicate time to your studies. Options for a distance learning MBA are no longer limited to schools you’ve never heard of, either. Top schools are also offering distance learning MBA programs in order to share their wealth of knowledge to a wider audience.

Entering a distance learning MBA program can be beneficial for employers as well: Many employers reward working distance learning MBA candidates for applying their lessons to company strategy. Seeing such a commitment to the future of the company could prompt the employer to extend raises, promotions, or even offers to subsidize the tuition for your distance learning MBA program.

Five Best Candidates for an MBA

Succeeding in an MBA degree program isn’t completely dependent on how smart you are. While intelligence is important, there are definite “types” who will have better chances of success. Who are they?

Let’s take a look:

1. Get Organized: Planners
An MBA degree program is about as competitive an endeavor you’ll encounter. It isn’t meant for people who are unprepared for the real world. Organized people tend to have a plan, and these “planners” have a better chance to succeed than “flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” types.

2. Change Is Good: Career Changers
Problem solving is the skill constantly put to the test by an MBA degree program. Career changers make good MBA degree program candidates because, for one, they understand the complexities related to change, and yet they embraced it.

3. Leading By Example: Natural Leaders
While not all leaders have MBAs, almost all MBAs make good leaders. With the amount of time an MBA student invests in the study of business theory, practice and execution, is it any wonder they are better prepared to make high-level business decisions than someone without such an education?

4. Suitable Attire: Required for Advancement
There are some industries that might hire college graduates, but won’t promote them without an advanced degree. An MBA degree program is often the first step in advancing in careers such as banking and business consulting.

5. Real World Rules: The Experienced
The average student at a top business school is in his or her middle- to late-20s, which means most MBA degree program candidates have some real world experience. With some real world business experience you’ll have a better idea of how business works and be able to contribute to your peers’ learning process.

These are just a few of the many personality types that can find success in an MBA degree program. Which one are you?

A Changing World

I recently came back from a three-week visit to China, and I’m still trying to sort out my impressions of the country and the progress that it’s making.

My first impression is that this country is absolutely full of people. They are stacked in layers in apartment blocks, packed in tiny tumble-down houses and teeming off the pavements into the roads. They scurry around, obviously busy and preoccupied, and they are building new buildings everywhere.

I spent time in some of their universities and colleges, talking about joint projects, and how their and our academic standards dovetail. The program in biggest demand in China is the western MBA; students want an insight into the western business mind. Although they plan to do business their way, they also see the need to understand how the capitalist economies work. In essence, they plan to put together the best of their world and the best of ours.

They will be successful, at the least because there are so many of them: they are so numerous they cannot afford to fail. I left with the feeling that they will take over the world, and won’t even notice when they’ve done it.

Improving Your Life

Did you know that gaining your MBA will put you in the higher salary ranges?

In fact degrees of any kind will give you higher salaries; and the higher the degree, the better the average salary you can expect to earn. But of all degrees, an MBA degree creates one of the greatest likelihoods of a high salary, according to the Department of Labor.

In fact, gaining your MBA is a really good investment for both monetary and social gain. Other benefits include an increased likelihood of your children succeeding in education and of you living in better housing.

Altogether, an MBA can really improve your life. Take a look at the degrees offered by business schools, and you can start to think about making your life better.