News from the attic: is an MBA worthwhile?

Recent press comment has called into question the value of a university degree, while beyond this, there are questions being raised about the value of the MBA. Some recruiters are now saying that it’s not the MBA but where you studied that really matters.

This month we look back at Harvard Business Review of Sep-Oct 1992 which contains a case study in which an industry leader questions the value of MBAs in his manufacturing business. And like other case studies, HBR invites a number of experts to comment on the case. Their comments – although made 20 years ago – might have been made last week:

• “MBAs have common sense but haven’t been taught how to put it to work”
• “A university education provides you with perspectives you can’t get on the job”
• “I’ve never met a company recruiter who hires MBAs; they hire people with potential”
• “The business world has created an environment too sterile to allow MBAs to excel”
• “Recent MBAs aren’t finished goods inventory. At best they are works in progress”

One of my roles is to interview prospective MBA students to see if taking this qualification is right for them. The motivation for some students in taking an MBA is that it is an easy passport to high management rank and income and for some this may be true. But other qualities are crucial – the possession of a qualification alone is not enough to achieve stardom!

Calvert Markham