What I learned in MBA

The knowledge content of the MBA curriculum, never impressed me. What I liked of the MBA course is the softer aspects of development. I’ll try to explain it latter. But MBA has become the most important certificate to sell in job market at our age. I believe all the so called educational institutions have two primary objectives. First one I call buying certificates, the certificates, which you can attach with your resume to sell it in the market. There is no way we can lightly take its value. At the end of the day practically it matters, what sells in the market. When you have to select a candidate from 100, the most rational approach is to screen five of them by the certificates, they have,.This will reduce the effort of screening process and also increase the probability to short list more correctly, and the professional world works on probability not on absolute. So when one is deciding the certificates he wants to earn for the future, along with the knowledge content, he must give enough importance to the market value of the certificates, which will be bought from it. Just  being carried away, by the romanticism of the knowledge and education, may end up with frustration. After the golden age of Law, Medical and Engineering and all the technical degree certificates our times craze was MBA, and it is not exhausted even today.

As far the learning of some new skill and knowledge go, MBA subjects don’t have enough to justify its glamour. Its syllabus never impressed me that much other than very few subjects like statistics, operation research, Computer science. The aspect I liked, which many of the MBA classes doesn’t give enough importance is, developing a thought process about the dynamics of the system where people work for living.  As we are taught in those classes, common sense is the most uncommon thing to observe, MBA curriculum encourages a student to apply the commonsense to solve industrial problems.

To me the examinations and other modes of evaluations in MBA curriculum are more subjective in nature, more creative way expressing than reaching to the right answer like a mathematical problem. Your creative works may appear silly at the beginning, but never be discouraged, that is your originality, your identity, in your working life you will be paid only for that. The more mature creative thoughts you can produce, the better possibility of being successful in work life. In fact we should encourage this faculty from very child hood.

In human society, some way or other, education which are subjective and more creative in nature, are more honored at every ages. In the early days of university art, literature, philosophy were to be considered as the most honored subject to study. And today nobody wants to take up those art and philosophical or social subjects as a faculty of choice, normally. There is definitely economic reason, but at the core level MBA and those old curriculums, both deals with same softer human quality and creativity of a person which can’t be digitized. In fact in the highest level of study in any faculty, is very subjective and surprisingly all different streams become very similar topic by nurture. And I believe this faculty will have the highest respect of education as long as teaching system exists in humanity.

Another important aspect of MBA class it building presentation skill and obviously polishing communication skill, which is an absolute lack in many society, this is the quality I found very commonly among Americans. This is one of the reasons an American out shines and be very successful around the world.

I must add one more personal appreciation to my MBA learning. In our growing up days, we always hear about following right path, maintaining personal value and integrity but after reaching at university level and looking at outside world, it starts appearing to us, as something, which are no more relevant in the current world,  and following them won’t take us anywhere in the muddy game of earning and living.

Trying to follow high values and standard of  life, is good but unless we can find its application to the future work place, where all the negative instincts of human mind is equally powerful in action, we start loosing faith on them.

But during my MBA, I got an opportunity to attain classes of some great teachers who could explain us the same value system with more perspective view which helped me to reinforce those believes with more completeness. Hearing the similar things from the professors of  the highest educational system was really very encouraging and self containing experience to me, all those values I heard from childhood in the small town of Bhadreswar are equally horned in the oracle of highest education. All those great teachers, who were from every possible corners of India, from all possible communities, moreover who are highly appreciated in the industries and professional world not only in India but also across the globe, are also advocating the same values, hearing which we have been grown up. This is really enlightening to me. This is my biggest learning from NITIE, my MBA curriculum.

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