Monday, August 24, 2009

The buffer that is MBA

_
There is close link between MBA and buffers. In fact this link is probably the most significant reason why an MBA is suited for middle management and not entrepreneurship. A buffer is backup. When a person receives an MBA degree, he also receives a degree of freedom. The freedom is that of choice. He / she can now choose from multiple options of job profiles and salary packages. It is the same reason why b-school grads are found to hop from one job to another in search of an ideal role. Hence a post-graduation from a good b-school it is a state of minimized risk.

One can argue that under given circumstances of reduced risk in one aspect of life, an MBA would rationally go for a riskier job profile i.e. own business. However, this is not how the real world works. Out there, individuals are pushed to the brink and it is at the edge that they learn. Those who are pushed far, fall. Those who turn the tides around are the ones we see as successful entrepreneurs. The rough figure given is 1 out of 10 in India.

Earning is not easy in a competitive market-place. It would be foolishness to assume that studying theories in class on how markets work will give us even a tiny glimpse of reality. The two key take-aways I see from MBA is the confident self and an enhanced short-term memory developed in slogging for exams after exams. This is apart from the buffer that MBA actually creates.

No comments: