I have been lurking around these forums and have finally decided to go for my MBA at TUI. This forum helped in the process so Thank You all. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any MBA primer books. I do not have a business background and I want to make sure I at least know the basics before attempting the program. I was surprised that TUI did not have any pre reqs before beginning. Could it be that the basics will be taught in the MBA curriculum that TUI provides. Thanks for the input! ~mic
MBA schools don't necessarily assume any prior knowledge. It's an advanced degree and the standards for work and accomplishment are higher than undergrad, at least in theory, but they will teach you everything you need to know as you go. Welcome to the wonderful--yet maddening--world of online MBA studies! If you ever have any questions about your introductory classes, post them here, I'll be glad to stumble, fumble, and say well...I'm not sure. Don't worry, your professors and classmates with some undergrad business experience will help and there are a number of people here who've completed their MBAs. You'll be fine, just pace yourself.
Many MBA programs have a "core" component to curriculum, which is generally the same material taught in an undergraduate business program (Accounting, Finance, Business Strategy, Ethics, etc). These courses are meant to bring all the students up to a "level playing field". Then, they build on top of that with their other courses ... Cheers.
Not so much primer book, but an excellent book I found was an MBA study guide, which was orignially written by someone at the Open University (UK) for students to get the most out of their DL MBA program. It's been revised and update for all MBA students and is called The MBA Handbook: Study Skills for Postgraduate Management Study by Sheila Cameron. You can probably get a used on cheap from Amazon or Half.com. Lots of good stuff in there, including how to answer case studies (which you will get a lot of.)
you may want to read (now don't laugh), the "MBA for Dummies" book. Yes, this is the same series of yellow books that cover everything from MS office to collecting tangerines (ok I made that one up). It is a good plain english read.
I'd recommend the Barron's Business Review series of books to brush up on some of the basics. I used them to prep for CLEP tests and as a handy quick reference during my upper level business classes. They're available at almost any bookstore. Best of luck with the MBA!
