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MBA Education & C areers
I N F OCUS
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM AN MBA – AND WHAT NOT TO!
An MBA equips you with the necessary tools to handle various business functions.
However, there still remains a lack of clarity on the value addition
that is gained by the pursuit of an MBA.
To clear the haze, Mr Manek Daruvala, PGDM (IIM-A), writes on this issue.
M
any myths abound about the utility of much as you can from all of them. Understand all
an MBA. It is regarded by many as a points of view – even if you do not agree with
veritable passport to a lucrative and them.
successful career. This has led to a mad scramble
for seats at premier management institutes and Since the peer group is such a vital facet of
most young students would give virtually learning at any B-School, it also stands to reason
anything to gain entry into the hallowed portals that a correspondence MBA can never match an
of an IIM. on-campus programme in terms of learning value.
The group learning element is largely missing in
In the midst of all this, you would do well to
a correspondence programme and this has a
understand what exactly an MBA will mean for
serious impact on the learning that occurs.
your career. It is important to realise what is of
value in the MBA that you so dearly desire – and
what is not. This will help you enormously in The faculty and infrastructure: It goes without
selecting the institutes you would apply to and saying that the faculty plays a very important
also in what you would do once you get there. role in the development of your career at a
management school. However, it is extremely
The exposure and the peer group: This is unlikely that you will get uniformly good faculty
probably the biggest benefit that you get from a members even in the very best of B-Schools.
good B-School. The quality of students you will Most students feel a sense of dissatisfaction with
interact with will be the biggest source of the quality of the faculty that they come across.
self-improvement. This is actually the reason why This need not be a cause for too much concern.
the best institutes, like the IIMs, give the best
value addition to your career. The best students It is important to realise that, MBA education
are found at the best institutes and your being largely experiential in nature, it is difficult
interaction with them, more than the institute for even the best institutes to attract teachers
itself, provides you with your best learning who have both the necessary academic
opportunities. expertise and the required industry experience.
You will have to make the most of what is on
It is therefore necessary to interact regularly with
offer. Please make sure that you get out of the
as many of your fellow students on campus as
bunking mindset of your under-graduate days.
possible. All top-notch institutes try to ensure
that they have a diverse group of students on The opportunity to attend classes of some star
campus. By mixing with this multi-skilled group professors will never come again and missing
from all over the country, you will be exposed to them would be outright folly. The inputs you
various thought processes and ideas that you get from some of these classes would be
may never have come across before. Absorb as invaluable at a later stage in your career.
July 2006 32
MBA Education & C areers
I N F OCUS
Most management institutes these days have well sound difficult to fathom but you would do
quality infrastructure in terms of library and well to mull over it carefully.
computer facilities. The crucial thing is to make
use of this infrastructure. You may not get access Later on in life: While MBA is undoubtedly a
to such a vast repository of high quality data good door-opener, it is not an open-ended
and journals easily in future. Even if you do not passport to success in your career. You will get
go through too much of what is there, make sure a good job based on your academic credentials
that you find out what sort of information is and the reputation of your B-School – you won’t
available – and where. Later on in your career get your promotion because of it. In order to
you are bound to need matter from the journals move on in your career you will have to prove
you passed by during your institute days. You your capability to deliver results to your
organisation – over and over again. Nobody
must make a conscious effort to be totally
will bother about what institute you passed out
up-to-date with the latest technologies on offer.
from – it is only the quality of the work you do
After you leave the institute your knowledge will
that will count.
fast become obsolete in any case. You can’t afford
to be outdated even before you leave! Your alma mater will help you in networking with
the people who matter. The alumni associations
Placements: The excellent jobs on offer to fresh of most management institutes are active only in
MBAs is undoubtedly the primary reason for the fits and starts. Make sure that you put in a bit of
popularity of MBA as a post-graduation option. extra effort to attend alumni meetings whenever
Salaries on offer are truly mind-boggling. Without they happen. You will do your career no harm
getting into the details of the exact salaries on whatsoever by meeting a group of well-connected
offer, it is sufficient to say that the pay packages professionals on a regular basis.
are indeed mouth-watering.
Summing up: Admission to a good management
However, there are few important things to take institute can be an excellent springboard for your
care of while planning for your future career. career. However, to benefit optimally from the
Remember that the placement that you get at the opportunity, you would need to put in a lot of
management institute is only the first job of your effort both on campus and later on in your career.
career. In the excited atmosphere on campus, it is An MBA will not reduce the need to work hard, it
easy to make the mistake of planning for your will only make hard work more rewarding.
placement rather than planning for your
long-term career.
Many students tend to target specific
organisations / sectors and select optional
courses based on what they feel will help them
make it to those organisations. This is a very
common blunder. It may help you win the battle
of placements but it may well result in your losing
the larger war of your career. It is necessary to
plan for placement but it should not become your
overriding concern on campus. Remember that
you joined the B-School to learn and add value to
yourself. Placement should be the end product
of your learning, not the primary reason for being (The author is Founder - Director,
at a B-School. At first glance, this advice may T.I.M.E. Pvt. Ltd.)
July 2006 33
