하버드비지니스 리뷰에서 퍼온 글입니다. MBA의 가치에 대해서 미국인들도 느끼는 바는 우리와 같은 것같군요.
지식과 인맥과 이력서에 기술되는 더 나은 학벌인것 같습니다. 인맥과 학벌이라는 부분을 제외하고 단지 지식이라는 부분만 생각한다면, 온라인 과정도 괜찮다는 의견이 많았습니다.
(Below article is originally from Harvard Business Review online. If the copy righter wants me to remove below article from this blog, I will do so as I copied it without consent of HBR. [의경제경])
Was Your MBA Worth It?
One of the sillier questions I get asked often is this: can someone learn to be creative or is it something innate? It's a stupid question for one reason: you never have to choose. Whatever or whoever you are right now, you can learn to be better at whatever it is you do, creative thinking or otherwise. You might never become great at it, but so what. You'll be better than you were and that might just be good enough to succeed at whatever it is you hope to do.
Another popular question I hear is: is it worth it to get an MBA? (especially for entrepreneurs and inventors). My answer is the same: It can't hurt. Spending two years studying the thing you're going to do for a living, while rubbing shoulders with dozens of people will similar interests, can not possibly be harmful. If starting your own company is your thing, many schools offer specialized programs in entrepreneurship these days.
One interesting alternative, aimed directly at challenging the value of a traditional MBA, is this: The Personal MBA. It's a web 2.0, Internet based, self-driven program, that focuses on a $1400 reading list of 70 books with web forums, discussion groups and coaching. BusinessWeek even offered a positive review of the program.
My suspicion? I bet many MBAs are over-valued, and the Personal MBA (free, except for books which are available at your public library) is undervalued. The big gap is in recruiting: the PMBA program provides no system for Google, McKinley and Microsoft to recruit PMBA's best students, and has no track record of "graduates" (there is no degree) entering the workforce to earn a reputation for the program. But if they did, they'd soon attract interest from recruiting corporations, and develop prestige, two big reasons folks want to go to well respected business schools.
For any entrepreneurs out there: Business 101 is to exploit these kinds of gaps. Find a a way to split the difference between a PMBA and an MBA, and you'll make a fortune. An easy one is exit exams. Imagine an exam that tests people as they graduate (not when they enter), where PMBA'ers can compete against folks with traditional MBAs. I'm no fan of standardized tests, but that doesn't mean there isn't a business opportunity here. Maybe PMBA will do it itself (unlikely, given their manifesto) and dare Wharton and Harvard grads to participate. Who knows.
But back to the main question: Was your MBA worth it? If not, what one element of the program, if improved, would have made it worth your while? And if you're thinking of getting one, what is keeping you on the fence?
(Disclosure: two of my books are on the PMBA reading list. But this is easily made up for by the fact that three of Peter Drucker's books are in there too.)
If you're doing the MBA solely for education then the pmba is good enough.
Biggest thing I got out of the MBA was the network. VPs at GE, Glaxo, VCs, Private Equity folks, Investment bankers, tech folks and others all at my reach. I got to see how they think first hand and make connections that will be helpful if/when I ever do the start up thing.
There's also the esteem that comes with having the brand on your cv.
If you're not getting a superior network out of the MBA or the esteem on the CV then it's overrated. But a simple ROI calculation on my MBA over the next 3 years shows it really was worth it.
- Posted by Farhan Lalji
July 24, 2008 12:15 PM