Study Questions Value of an M.B.A.

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Q. I think one needs to differentiate the full-time Top 100 programs and the rest. Grads of the better known programs see a nice bump in salary and often are in better firms on a better career path. That said, it certainly is possible to do well in many business areas such as sales and marketing without and MBA. Let's face it, most jobs are 90% comon sense and effort with only a small amount of knowledge and skills required--at least skills that are easily taught such as leadership and communications.

A. Well, duh. There is nothing learned in an MBA program that has much, if any, practical use in the real business environment. And this applies to those who graduate from top tier Business schools as well as those who get so-called weekend degrees. They are nothing but cash cows, as you stated. Granted, graduates often command higher salaries but that's only because businesses cater to those with the degrees, hiring "talent" over evidence of common sense and abilities in human relations -- as stated so eloquently in the New Yorker article you printed here yesterday (the very best business article I have ever read!). Herb Kelleher, the former head of Southwest Airlines (the only consistently successful business in the world), never got a business degree. He said "his success is due to avoiding the MBA patina that slows so many other companies. He blatantly ignores one of the prime dictates of MBAs "eschewing long-range planning. Instead, he favors an integrated, customer-focused plan that focuses on two things: what are the societal trends and where do they want Southwest to be within that society?" This is a man with with brains! Kelleher's successor graduated from junior college almost 30 years and worked her way up at Southwest as Kelleher's "Executive Assistant" (as in secretary). Southwest may well be the most coveted company to work for by MBA students but few will get their wish to work there. The company doesn't give a damn about MBAs. It looks for people who go out of their way to know and understand the customers and dedicate themselves to meeting their needs. It looks for people who know the meaning and power of "fun" when meeting customer needs and the value of excellent employee relations. These things do not occur in most corporations because the MBA leaders do not think intangibles that cannot be meaasured impact the bottom line. The rallying cry of MBAs is "If it can be measured, it can be managed".

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