The Value Of An MBA

The landscapes of business have changed significantly over the last 2 decades. Long gone is the era of filing documents with ink-covered fingers, running off to obtain information from the local hard and soft cover libraries. Knowledge was primed only for the privileged. Only those with the money, time and some garnered effort can uncover boundless amounts of information. Now with the influx of intellectual and technology driven industries, as well as the ever increasing rated of information exchange though digital medium; people are become increasingly knowledgeable and competitive.
 

Every year, the estimated numbers of graduates that leave educational institutes to join the workforce are in the thousands – and this increases steadily as the years go by. Burgeoning competition for ever increasingly scarce job opportunities require applicants to be better prepared and better equipped.
 

MBA: A Clearer View
A Masters of Business Administration or rather just known as an MBA, may be poorly understood by some. To value this qualification whether it is worth it or not, is actually the entire process that it takes to obtain it. It is the journey that it counts, not the destination. What a person does during and after the program accounts more than just being a title that one is able to spice up their resume with.

An MBA is classified as an advanced degree, which is earned through experiential learning and applied theories in the specified working fields. By earning this qualification, it is a gauge of and advanced experience as well as enhanced knowledge of the business field as a whole. For most people whom are just taking baby-steps into working world without prior experience, the MBA qualification may not be as valuable as it should actually be to obtain the desired gains.
 

It does not instantly qualify you for management position or a higher post in a company, but is generally looked upon as a benchmark of skill and knowledge that a person has attained – theoretically. Employers will still be not too sure whether you are able to do the job as you have not done it before.
 

Types of MBA
There are two types of MBAs offered by most institutes: a ‘Taught Masters’ or a ‘ Research Masters’.

A Taught Masters is when the entire program requires a student to complete the necessary core of credentials and assignments, and sit for a final examination. Some Taught Masters programs may require a student to formulate a thesis on a specific topic to fully complete the course.

A Research Masters on the other hand, does not require a student to sit through assignments and final examinations. Instead, students are assigned a supervisor, usually a professor, to help them along the way in formulating a thesis which will be graded and certified if they meet the requirements. Students in a Research Masters are also required to sit for classes on research methods to better enable them to fully understand processes of developing a thesis from scratch.
Some universities also offer a specialized MBA course where it delves into a more advanced study in a particular area of business or industry. For example, A specific area of business could be just solely on accounting, and a specific industry could be on logistics as a whole.
 

Stand Above The Rest
An MBA is not just a fancy scribble of acknowledgement of one’s achievements on a piece of A4 paper. Where the MBA holds its value is the process of working towards being awarded the MBA. With most universities and educational institutes providing hands-on methods of learning, coupled with the theories and teachings; students are able to earn more than just a stamp on the certificate at the end of the day – they earn a once in a lifetime experience. But this experience can only account for so much as it will not cover all possibilities and tribulations that the real world can offer.
 

Though it does not cover all elements to put one straight on the pedestal, but obtaining an MBA does guarantee employability because it arms one with necessary skills; which can be used to better manage workflow and other forms of operations within their fields of expertise. Holders will enjoy the high percentage of employment when employers sift through job applications, and most employers are very much aware of the qualities and skill sets that an MBA gives to a holder. It is not uncommon to see more and more job vacancies advertising that would require an applicant to hold an MBA.
 

Individuals with an MBA are trained to oversee the financial management of the company. Specialising in the management aspect of work, and individual is able to not just perform their normal tasks better than the average employee, but also understands systems like the company’s accounts; which allow the individual to be able to assess the performance of the company and their core business – making changes and rectifying problems which normal employees would not.
 

Individuals are made to also cultivate better communications for business. Students are taught how to communicate well in business circles, improving their chances of networking and synergizing with others. This will help individuals not only the professional level, but also on a personal level. Most institutes will facilitate grooming and personal development sessions. This is deemed very important in the highly-integrated business world of today, where a person’s overall attitude towards working and their personalities are regarded as the crowning jewel of an individual’s worth to their company, their business and also to their working peers.
 

The MBA qualification trains a person to think like a strategist, to assess profitability and to be able to oversee the big picture. People whom have not been exposed to the ways and thoughts of business management will not be able to see those factors. For example: Individuals with a purely financial background are not sufficiently knowledgeable or trained to make decisions that is required for a productivity and competitive analysis on a particular company’s progress. This is where an MBA shines and really holds its value for a person, and will prove that all the years toiling for the qualification were worthwhile.
 

MBA And Recruitment
People who have gone through, and have survived and MBA course, will obtain a much broader perspective of how the overall business environment works – which includes the internal and external factors of a company. Most normal employees are grounded to do their specific tasks, not actually fully understanding or immersing themselves with the other tasks or systems within a company.

With an MBA qualification, an individual whom specializes in finance will obtain the opportunity to gain knowledge in the marketing aspect of the business, and one working in manufacturing is able to be exposed to financing systems. This will allow a person to be well-rounded, informed and well-suited for general-management positions in the future.

An MBA serves as a career-oriented booster which increases the likelihood of better promotions as well as better opportunities for job applications. The most common industries that value MBA holders greatly and are most likely to offer better opportunities for an individual are:

• Advertising
• Architectural and industrial design companies
• Investment banks
• Mortgage banks
• Local, state and federal level government offices
• Management consulting firms
• Market research companies
• Public relations firms
• Retail establishments like food companies, hotels or restaurants
• Security and information management companies
   

It is also a known fact that among employers that those who hold an MBA qualification would demonstrate a higher ability and skill in managing strategy, foresight and innovation, possess better knowledge of the general business functions, and hold better strategic and systems management skills than other employees at the same job level.

Also to point out a fact that would interest most people, the average expected wage of MBA graduates has been calculated to be almost 30% higher on average to that of a non-MBA holder and would raise the average starting wage of fresh undergraduates. The wages that one could see may vary according to some underlying factors. The factors that may directly affect one’s wage include:

•  What relevant experience one has for the job of choice
•  What is the reputation and prestige of the institute or university one attended
•  What type of job and also what job level that one is seeking
•  What kind of industry is one specializing in
•  What location is the current company situated at
•  Whether one is leaving the current job to seek a new one, or staying put with the current one
   

The True Fact
The number of MBA graduates annually has been increasingly rapidly over the last few decades, going from only not more than 5,000 MBA graduates back in 60’s, to more than 100,000 MBA graduates in the year 2000; which is a 20-fold increase just over a span of 40 years. It is not that universities are giving MBAs out like candy, it is just because that MBAs are increasingly getting more and more important for a person to advance in their careers. MBA enrolments are also influenced by the economy. When the economy takes a nose-dive, both fresh graduates and removed workers may head back to school to obtain their MBAs for it is seen as a necessary requirement. But as we know, the more common something gets, the less its value.
 

Due to the growing number of individuals obtaining more and more MBA degrees, the degree itself is not as special anymore, or even as highly-valued as it is back to 20 years ago. MBAs are like admission tickets. Tickets to a funfair ride stating that you are tall enough to be qualified for that rollercoaster ride. MBAs allow a holder to obtain far more than a non-holder as they are qualified enough to take on more responsibilities, but it does not fill up for the most important factor for an individual to progress further.

The value of the MBA will reduce over time as an individual’s accomplishments and experience becomes more significant. With this being said, it would be less important for most people in their 40’s and 50’s, than it is compared to someone whom is still under 35 age bracket. As far as an MBA will carry someone forward, it is entirely up to the person to add more value into MBA qualification and their own brand of attitude, skills and experience.