Decision to Get an MBA

Decision to Get an MBA

MBA Masters Administration Degree

Masters in Business Administration is a masters or a post graduate degree awarded to people from many different academic disciplines, who have mastered the study of business. MBA for some time now has become the hot ticket for the young and the ambitious; it is for this reason that there has been a tenfold increase in the MBA graduates in the recent years. Despite this increase there still remains a seed of doubt within the minds of many individuals whether to opt for an MBA or not.

MBA in recent years has proven to be a discipline that yields excellent results in terms of salaries and income. An MBA graduate is not only able to earn more but is also capable of enhancing his knowledge base and gaining a more diverse perspective to his/her concerned field. A recent U.S. based study shows that an MBA yields an excellent return on investment for everyone including himself. The survey conducted by the GMAC (graduate management admissions council) showed that students in full time MBA program were able to achieve a 59% salary increase while those in part time and executive programs experienced an increase of 37% and 17% in their salaries respectively (Holten and Edward, 2011).

According to Accountemps, a global temporary staffing service, an MBA degree is the ticket to enter the executive suite of any organization. 80% of the executives were of the view that a graduate degree is still essential for entering the senior management of the organization. An MBA graduate has an edge over his/her counter parts as he is not only better able to dictate new job titles and salaries but is also able to maintain a balance between his work and his personal life (Randall and Hansen).

Obtaining an MBA degree from the best and the renowned institution guarantees an individual a respectable job alongside a generous income. A degree from a prestigious institution especially adds wings to the resume's of professionals who have had several year's industry experience. It enables these professionals to broaden their horizons by providing them insight into newer and more meaningful ways of running and managing a business.

With the world becoming a global village now, managing workforce diversity has become a critical and significant component of every organization, especially multi-national corporations. An MBA degree in such changing times proves to be a real asset for the beholder as it equips him/her with the right skill sets to supervise and administer a culturally diverse workforce.

Nonetheless, an MBA degree is not Ginny in a bottle after all. An individual's personal characteristics, his ability to learn, improvise and thrive in a constantly changing environment eventually leads to the success of a MBA graduate in monetary as well as non-monetary terms. Therefore one should be very particular while selecting the course he/she wants to take. One should merely not decide to get an MBA as it's the hot thing these days instead; he/she should analyze his/her aptitude towards a certain field and then opt for it.

However the fact remains that business institutions continue producing a large number of business graduates each year. The surplus of MBA graduates over the job opportunities available for them has led to a large number of graduates remaining unemployed in this competitive market, or have to work for organizations of lesser prestige in order to earn a living. As per Josh Kauffman, an entrepreneur who previously worked as the assistant brand manager at Proctor and Gamble, "Organizations hire no more than 5,000 to 10,000 MBAs a year out of the more than 200,000 people who are getting MBAs around the world." It might be a better idea to opt for upcoming degrees that hold more potential for e.g. Actuarial Sciences, ICMA etc.

Since the recession that hit the economies world over in 2008 fingers have been raised against the kind of training that is being provided to MBAs (Bosrock, 2010). According to the article: "In their recent book, "Rethinking the MBA," Harvard business school professors Srikant Datar, David Garvin and Patrick Cullen suggest that business schools played a contributing role in the financial meltdown of 2008. They argue that too many MBAs didn't learn the "importance of social responsibility, common-sense skepticism and respect for the risk they were taking with other people's money." (Bosrock, 2010). These reviews clearly depict the decreasing confidence level in the ever increasing MBA graduates.