Selecting the right MBA programme

Professor of Business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Professor Dave Ulrich says a good MBA helps managers learn the key skills to succeed as business leaders. Therefore, selecting the right programme and the right B-school is key for building knowledge that “sticks” and for performing effectively on the job.

For a MBA programme to be relevant, Professor Ulrich was of the view that it must be structured to match the needs of the new, complex business environment and the course must embrace the same level of complexity as we see in the environment.

Professor Ulrich has been ranked the ‘#1 Management Educator & Guru’ by Business Week, selected by Fast Company as one of the ‘10 Most Innovative and Creative Leaders’ and named ‘The Most Influential Person in HR’ by HR Magazine for three years. Professor Ulrich has written over 23 books covering topics in HR and leadership. Following are excerpts of an interview:

By Dinesh Weerakkody

Q: The objective of pursuing a good MBA programme from a good B-school is to make sure that it gets the best out of you. Can pursuing a MBA course increase managerial effectiveness?

A: There is no guaranteed path for business leaders, but to be a successful business leader you need to know the basics of business... finance, human resources marketing, technology and sales, etc. The MBA degree helps managers learn these skills so they can succeed as leaders. In addition, good business schools attract very good students who become long-term professional colleagues.

A good MBA programme should incorporate real-life experiences, such as real-impact projects with companies, rather than having them as standalone courses (or worse, electives). Curriculum should include many such experiences, structured to cover a spectrum of company sizes, stages, industries, and economic and cultural contexts. Students should be taught to compare and contrast different work experiences, enabling them to develop the ability to read situations and draw from a repertoire of responses. A real MBA should present ‘on-the-job leadership training’.

Q: Now that B-schools are churning out MBAs like factories, what criteria should an MBA aspirant focus on when narrowing down the list of possible B-schools?

A In general, I advise prospective MBA students to get into the best school they can given their record. More importantly, consider the institute’s history, brand name, faculty, accreditations, infrastructure, industry and international affiliations and other such indications of its true standing. One can get insight by interacting with the institute’s alumni, current students, faculty and administration.

There is a lot of information on websites and online forums as well, although not all of it is verifiable or can be authenticated. In addition, if an aspirant is interested in living in a particular region, then attending a 2nd tier school in that region may be as useful to a more respected school outside that region

Q: Do MBA aspirants with work experience have a psychological edge over MBA aspirants with no work experience when pursuing their MBA in B-schools?

A:Some of this edge is psychological, some pragmatic, in that work experience helps the applicant firstly to get accepted, and the work experience can help the student to connect the principles and concepts learned during the MBA programme with his day-to-day work. Without experience, the student may not grasp the relevance of the ideas being taught.

Q: Ideally, how many years of work experience is sufficient to get the best out of an MBA programme?

A It all depends on the quality of the work experience. In two or three years, the applicant who has leadership responsibility can recognise the importance of strategy, organisation, finance, marketing, and other topics. If the applicant works in a narrow area, e.g., engineering or sales, the experience will have less meaning.

Q: What are the pros and cons of doing a part-time MBA?

A Part-time MBA programmes are wonderful for the student who needs to work. Because classes are scheduled outside of normal business hours, it is therefore possible to earn a degree or further your career while you work full-time. The pros generally are the sponsoring company may help pay for the degree, the applicant will have a secure job after the degree, the student will be able to quickly apply the ideas in the company setting and the degree may help the MBA graduate to move up fast within the company.

However, the student may have an obligation to the company sponsoring the degree to stay with the company. On the other hand, doing a part time MBA could put enormous pressure on personal life balance and the time demands of the degree may put enormous pressure on the work output.

Q: What is the most important factor for a top B-school when choosing an MBA candidate for their limited seats?

A:It is a combination of academic ability (grades and GMAT test scores), professional dedication (job experience), ambition (drive and focus for the degree) and the letters of recommendation.

Q: Though the majority of people who study for an MBA do not specialise in any particular subject area, some institutions do offer specialist MBA programmes. How useful can a specialist MBA be in business to MBA aspirants?

A:Business is comprised of many parts... finance, marketing, technology, strategy, human resources, etc. The first few years of anyone’s career often require an individual to work in a silo. A specialist MBA can be very handy for functional experts sitting in shared service and expert centres to move their career to the next level. Also now, more and more MBA programmes provide training that goes beyond general business management to provide subject area expertise.

Q: Accredited MBA degrees have mushroomed all over the globe. Do these programmes deliver real value to MBA aspirants?

A The market test says ‘yes’ because demand (applications) exceeds supply (spaces available). The real test is whether the MBA programme one follows and completes can boost one’s career opportunities and help the person to excel in the current job. Therefore, before jumping into the programme, studying the external ratings of the programme and talking to past and current students of the Institute can be very useful. This would ensure that you are in good hands and your education investment would not be over in two years

Q: Do you think that business school fees are on the rise and, if so, do you expect this to accelerate over the next five years?

A In a knowledge economy, those who have more insight and knowledge have an edge over the rest. Education is a source of knowledge and it differentiates employees, so it will continue to be a valuable commodity. The top programmes will continue to have more and more demand and they will keep increasing the fees. The lesser-recognised programmes will probably filter out or price their product to attract the candidates they can hope to attract.