In a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council, MBA graduates expect the following when they receive their degrees: 48%--Opportunity to improve personally 41%--Increase in career options 38%--Development of management skills 33%--Increase in earning power 33%--Ability to earn credentials desired. It would be interesting to know how many of these objectives/expectations can or will be achieved. It would be even more interesting to know the percentages of achieved expectation between the RA MBA and the non-RA MBA. For example, if one obtains a non-RA MBA one may obtain a desired credential, but will this suffice for increasing one's earning power, career options, etc.
In 1992 I surveyed graduates of 6 nontraditional, business-related, master's programs. Four were unaccredited, two accredited. I received 196 completed and usable questionnaires. Graduates were asked to rate a series of factors relating to why they pursued their master's degrees. The factors were split into two categories: "Self" reasons, like self-satisfaction, and "Other" reasons (meaning other than one's self, like getting a better job or a pay raise). Then they were asked to rate how well their degrees performed in each of those same factors. To generalize, the graduates from unaccredited schools who pursued their degrees for "Self" reasons were generally satisfied. Those who pursued their degrees for "Other" reasons were generally not satisfied with their degrees. Graduates from accredited schools who pursued their degrees for either of the two categories were generally satisfied. However, they were disappointed in the costs and the academic beauracracies. Graduates from unaccredited schools were very disappointed in the utility--or lack thereof--of their degrees. (This survey was to be the basis for my first doctoral dissertation that got shoved aside when I had to drop from Union in 1994. I still have the completed questionnaires and a hard copy of the draft dissertation.)
I earned my MBA 20 years ago from an AACSB accredited program (Cal State-Hayward), and in my opion I have gained: Opportunity to improve personally Development of management skills Ability to earn credentials desired. I do not believe that I have gained: Increase in career options Increase in earning power Just my take on the topic.
Re: Re: MBA Expectations I would have to side with Mike on this one. I earned my MBA from the University of Windsor in 1988. After two grueling years of studying for exam-after-exam, term papers, finance and marketing assignments, case study analysis and group projects, the only thing that I can account for is: *Development of Management Skills *Ability to Earn Credentials Desired *Opportunity for Personal Development and enhanced Self-Esteem. The increase in career options and earnings depends on networking. The more one networks, the more likely one will have career options and increased earning power. There are quite a few MBA graduates out there in business who can't seem to get out of their "junior management" ruts.
Little evidence! There is little, if any, empirical evidence to demonstrate the MBA degree graduates actually make any difference at all to the organizations in which they work! Rich Douglas would need to do his work all over again and vastly increase his data base in terms of responses for it to mean anything. Not getting at Rich, simply commenting as he decided to comment on this thread. Much to the consternation of colelagyues, when I teach MBA classes I begin by telling them that much, if not most, of what they'll learn/hear in their MBA programme should go under the heading 'The History of Business Management Theory and Practice'! Much, it not all, has never worked and never will! We need a new approach to business management education and MBA syllabuses. It is starting to emerge from those schools that have trul thought what all this is about. Limiting schools to the US and Uk, I'd say there are about 6 or 7 of them with three being in the UK. 'telfax'
Re: Little evidence! This suggests a significant naivete' about statistical inference. The sample size I acquired was sufficient to establish many significant differences in the data. Any grad student who's taken an inferential statistics course understands the balance between sample sizes, dispersions, and differences in means. My study provided many answers to the questions it asked. (Which I've not really gone into; I just provided a "peek" to comment on this thread.) It, like any other, did not provide insight into the questions it was not designed to ask and answer.
Re: Re: MBA Expectations There has been much speculation and little hard study about this topic. (I recall news last summer on two or three studies hoping to come up with quantifiable answers. Unfortunately, they were rather negative about the MBA.) The two negatives Mike reports would appear to come from either halo effects or networking gains. Clearly, an MBA from an "impressive" school, even if only impressive locally, as well as the social connections established there, leave DL MBAs, I think, at a distinct comparative disadvantage. DL degrees for other purposes, especially the MBA, are nonetheless sound investments. Just my observation.... --Orson
Re: Re: MBA Expectations Doing more thinking on this topic, I may need to refine my answer some. While I did not see an immediate pay increase and fast movement up the corporate ladder. I have to admit that it has helped my work with accounting and business types better (my being an engineer). And it has improved my project management abilties, to the point that I am doing as well if not slightly better than others I have ben working with, also considereing i have been working as a mechanical engineer and actual traingina and registration is in mining. BUT, this was not a sudden thing, but realized over the last 20 years, and could be attributed to my natural charm and ability (nay, there is none of that, must be the MBA).
Re: Little evidence! Telfax, I agree with you...since I'm looking at MBA programs, esp. in the UK, tell me which ones you feel are valuable and worthwhile...I'd greatly appreciate it. Gary
