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:: Why MBA ::
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MBA or Master of Business Administration is a postgraduate degree course in Business Studies offered by MBA institutes, popularly referred to as Business Schools (B-Schools). The following might help you develop or better your understanding about MBA as a career choice:
The B-School Experience...
MBA places an emphasis on preparing managers-for-tomorrow to assume vital roles in formulating their organization's strategies and developing their expertise in key business functions. During your MBA program, you will understand the major functions of business management through academic study, practical exercises, case studies, management games, individual and group projects, and internships that will give you ample opportunities to hone your existing skills and develop new ones. Through continuous interaction with immensely talented individuals in the highly competitive environment of a B-school an MBA program will also help you develop interpersonal and leadership skills.
The Benefits...
In today's increasingly complex and volatile global marketplace, business management skills are fast becoming a necessity for all successful leaders. For this reason, MBA is perhaps the most prestigious qualification in the world. An MBA course from a good B-school and a subsequent career in management will not only be extremely rewarding monetarily, but will also put YOU in charge of your life and career. An MBA from a good B-school will open doors to any field you wish to pursue and to the top organizations in the world like McKinsey & Company, Lehman Brothers, Hindustan Lever Limited, Goldman Sachs... the list is endless. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit in you, a good MBA degree can also open doors to financing or partnerships for your venture. In a nut-shell, whatever you aim to do professionally, an MBA will help you do that in a better way!
Can You??
An analysis of the class composition of any good B-school in India or abroad indicates that B-schools ensure diversity (of background, education and work-experience amongst other criteria) while deciding upon the composition of their classes. People from different educational, social and professional backgrounds and aiming to pursue different career paths from I-banking to entrepreneurship, are brought together to pursue MBA. As a matter of fact, MBAs as a group are more diverse than students in any other post-graduate program in India or abroad. So, could you be one of those making it to a top B-School?
The things that are generally true of virtually all candidates exploring the options for pursuing their MBA are that they attend MBA programs when
- they determine that an MBA is likely to further their personal and career goals
- they find a school offering a program that is right for them
Ofcourse all this becomes meaningful only when the admissions-staff at the B-school(s) to which they have applied decides that the applicants' experience, qualifications, and goals indicate a strong possibility of a successful career as an MBA graduate.
Try and find something common to a group of aspirants who successfully make it to the Top B-Schools: You won't find a single magic formula for a high score at the written stage, a single discipline of undergraduate study, a common or even similar set of academic achievements or extracurricular accomplishments, the same kind or even duration of pre-MBA work experience. Nor will you find a common career goal or industry in which they aspire to work. You will also not find a single well-defined approach towards interviews and/or group discussions. But is that something that should worry you? Certainly not! It is just that the entire admissions process so gives you the scope to display your individuality and distinctness that it is hard to generalize down to a singular approach.
What you will almost always find common to such a group of successful individuals is motivation, self-knowledge and belief, solid and realistic career goals, and a desire to learn and grow. If that sounds like you, you'll do just great.
Self-assessment - The first step...
Self-assessment is the ideal first step towards reaching any decision that can potentially have a major influence on your career or life. And the decision to apply to MBA programs is no exception.
But what does pre-MBA self-assessment involve?
Before you commit to pursuing an MBA, you should take time to reflect on your abilities, your ambitions and your work experience (if applicable). You should ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I where I want to be in my career and my life?
- Where do I want to be, personally and professionally, a few years down the line?
- And, what would it take to get there? More specifically, how will an MBA help you get there?
Assuming that an MBA will help you achieve your goals, think about what specifically you want to learn and gain in an MBA program. This will also go a long way in helping you short-list the B-Schools that you would want to apply to.
Why should you self-assess, and how?
With appropriate self-assessment, you will stand out in the MBA admissions process as someone who is prepared, motivated and clear about his reasons for pursuing a career in management and more specifically, in applying to that particular B-School. These qualities can help give you a real and tangible edge over your competitors. If you self-assess well, you'll be better able to articulate your career and educational goals in relation to your strengths and experience; you'll also be able to say exactly how an MBA will help you meet your goals, and how you will contribute to the program and to the B-School, by virtue of your knowledge and experience.
The process of self-assessment will also help you answer the following important questions:
- Why am I sure an MBA is right for me?
- What do I have in common with MBAs and business professionals?
- Which post-MBA careers fit my personal strengths, interests, abilities, and work-related values?
- What kinds of B-schools, companies, and corporate cultures seem to suit me?
The truth is that you will be competing with other applicants who are very well prepared. Many of them will have done a thorough self-assessment and will be able to present a strong case for being admitted to the business school of their choice. Shouldn't you?
Why now? - Getting the timing right...
The length of pre-MBA experience varies for MBA aspirants. The majority of MBA students are between the ages of 22 and 30, but many people go for an MBA even later (or earlier!).
Unlike B-Schools abroad, fresh under-graduates comprise a sizeable majority of those making it to Top B-Schools in India. The departure (from global convention) largely stems from the difference in the Indian culture - where education is seen as a single continuous entity that prepares you for taking up a career or profession. The curriculum as well as the course structure offered by most B-Schools also places great emphasis on theoretical learning via books and written exams and hence, does not result in much of a disadvantage for those without any work-experience. Lastly, the final year at college usually offers much more time and a better environment for preparation for the highly competitive B-school entrance exams than does any profession or work-place. So, in India, it is not a bad idea to go in for an MBA right after your graduation, if you are clear as to how it fits in with your abilities and aspirations.
Does that mean that those with work-experience are at any disadvantage? The answer is an emphatic no. Far from it, the work-experience infact carries a separate weightage in the admissions process for most of the premiere B-Schools. But then, how do people with work-experience determine when to start their MBA studies? Such professionals typically decide to go for an MBA when they have had enough career experience and/or self-knowledge to determine what they want to do further in their career and have evaluated how their MBA investment would pay off personally and professionally, in the short-term and the long-term.
Generally, every job hits a plateau, where your contributions make a difference but your learning tapers off; that may be a good time to go for an MBA that will boost you to the next level of career growth. Only you can determine when the time is right for you to go back to studies, both in terms of that professional learning curve and your personal life and finances.
Rest assured that whenever you decide to go for an MBA, and for whatever reasons, there is another MBA student or graduate (maybe more than one) who is very much like you. The MBA offers many different people exciting and fulfilling opportunities and you can make it your degree, too.
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