Value of a mgmt degree/diploma(?)

[htnakirs]

Friends (aspirants, students, alumni), I have a theory that I seek your views on.

The theory is this : "The value of a management degree from an institute is only as much as the entrance test of that institute."

I strongly believe that the content that one absorbs during the 2 year period is not of much practical relevance. Most of what is "learnt" is something that can be read in books or observed and learnt/logically concluded on the shopfloor/marketplace. What makes the difference is the mental capabilities of the person - the sharper brain will comprehend and conclude faster. And the actual test of this sharpness is the entrance test.
Case studies, interaction with "experts", etc are normal practices that occur in any organisation, and doing so during the coursework contributes to a few minutes saved in familiarising with the situation in the workplace. Statistical tools and research methodologies are something that one can read from the reference books without being enrolled for an MBA. And bulk of the courseware that does not relate to statistics/accounting has a kind of "I could write this stuff by reading newspapers if I had the time" quality to it.

I seek the following comments from the different groups :
Alumni should be able to shed light on the real value addition of an MBA course. I mean, do they find a guy who has not done an MBA but has achieved similar position in the organisation by just learning and observing and reading the odd "textbook"?
Students should be able to shed light on the coursework. Do professors really add something that could not be had anyway by spending the same time in an biz organisation?.
Aspirants should be able to shed light on the kind of preparation that they are doing, and whether that mental capacity that aids them grasp the different tricks of the trade would not help them on the job straight away.

Please spend sometime thinking through what I have raised before commenting.
If anyone has come across a similar discussion elsewhere please let me know.

Thank you for your time.

[Apurv]

Moving to Chi-Chat section.

"The value of a management degree from an institute is only as much as the entrance test of that institute."

Interesting question put up here! Any takers?

[nishant_rungta]

Originally Posted by Apurv

Moving to Chi-Chat section.


Interesting question put up here! Any takers?

Righto... Cant agree more...

Its absolutely true in a country like India...

The name and fame and enigma attached to a particular entrance test goes in a long way in adding value to the mgmt degree that one finally gains.... No wonder CAT takes the honours, then XAT coming up next and with MAT being at the far end down the ladder..

One can always assess the value of a degree based on these tests..

But thats surely not the case with GMAT... Its an altogether different test of an individual's meritorious assessment..

Loads to discuss... Very interesting question posed. Wud come up soon with my views...

[sb29]

I'm still to get into my bschool. So you may say that I'm in the transition phase from being an aspirant to a student.

My 2 cents on this topic

Firstly, I think one important factor in being in a good bschool is peer learning. You get to interact with some of the sharpest brains in the country. Also, they will be from diverse fields. In an organization like say Infosys, you may come across intelligent people, but at the end of the day, they will be software engineers. In a bschool, you will have doctors, hotel management grads, automobile engineers and more.

About your argument that the value is as much as its entrance test, bschools like IIM-B, SCMHRD, SPJain, MICA gives call at low CAT/XAT/SNAP scores, but they are considered extremely prestigious.

[rockball]

I understand when you say one doesn't learn much practical and MBA is more of a certification saying you are talented rather than having too much knowledge.
There will be non MBAs who would be able to do the job very well. But I assure there won't be too many of them.

More than knowledge, MBA gives you a direction or process to think. At a good position in any company, when you talk to people you expect them to think or respond in a certain way. But not all can do that. This is the reason why we have 40 and 50+ executives in organizaations who do an Executive MBA. These people are not looking for a new job or career, neither are they looking to learn some Marketing or Fin fundae.

Look at all the engineers(I am assuming a good number of puys are engineers). How many have really understood the basics of chips or C and C++? But given projects in any company, the engineers can always be trusted to do the job well. Its not because of the theories they know, but the fact that Engineering teaches you how to resolve problems and get things done.

[sb29]

I agree to what rockball says. One of my profs in college once said that the reason why companies will choose you as a B.Tech.(IT) over a B.Sc.(IT) is the fact that they know that somehow or the other you will get the work done.

MBA is something like that. The companies know that you will get the work, which has been entrusted to you, done.