This story is from July 28, 2014

Academics or experience -- which is better?

Industry experts share their views on whether an MBA provides better chances of rising up the corporate ladder than work experience does
Academics or experience -- which is better?
Industry experts share their views on whether an MBA provides better chances of rising up the corporate ladder than work experience does
Muthu Krishnan Iyyappan, CEO and MD, Eka Academy: An MBA degree has always been touted as the best way to bag lucrative jobs and swiftly climb up the corporate ladder. Having succumbed to the MBA fad myself, I joined the Indian Army soon after completing the degree and eventually ended up in the icy heights of Siachen Glacier, sharing a fibre glass hut with 10 other jawans, who had lost theirs to a blizzard.
After over a decade of serving in the army, a fact I can vouch for is that the best lessons of management cannot be learned in airconditioned lecture halls of a B-school, but imbibed by experiences one gains on the job, knowing thoroughly the pitfalls and vantages of the organisation and developing foolproof ideas that helps the company grow.
However, an MBA does impart necessary management skills. Little wonder then, scores of youngsters continue to religiously take several attempts at MBA entrance exams, some even juggling work and personal life. Even though they do end up possessing a great deal of information after the course, not all is translated into knowledge.
While, for the uninitiated, information acquired on the job automatically translates into knowledge, those that enter managerial roles through MBAs only learn to apply lessons into practice with work experience. Moreover, essential traits of leadership and managing teams, such as self belief and the ability to motivate subordinates are near impossible to be taught in classrooms. One can only imbibe those qualities by taking up relevant leadership opportunities that come their way on the job.
Senior corporate positions are not reserved for those with lucrative degrees from popular institutes; it takes years of work experience to etch lifelong lessons that make good managers capable of handling employees. It is also the richest source for acquiring indisputable managerial traits such as attitude, knowledge, skills, ownership and innovation. Hence while an MBA can only inform you about what it takes to hold senior managerial positions, only through experience can one imbibe these traits.

Pranabesh Ray, Dean (Academics), XLRI: A business management degree in today's time is perceived to be the pre-eminent 'master's programme' that holistically prepares students who aspire to be future business leaders. It imparts students with necessary business-centric techniques that help them develop skill sets, which are important to augment the efficiency and productivity of an organisation. An MBA programme prepares students with thorough knowledge of the industry, trends in the global business scenario, understanding complex financial issues, etc. It sharpens their interpersonal, quick thinking and multi-tasking skills and transforms them as effective decision-makers who can make seemingly difficult situations turn in their favour. An ideal MBA programme imparts classroom education combined with real-life experiential learning which equips professionals to outface work-life chal lenges.
While the business world develops and becomes more dynamic with each passing moment, an MBA is a degree that has kept pace with these changes to offer students a holistic overview of what it takes to be a part of the industry. In today’s globalised world, corporate executives with a broader global mindset have become the need of the hour.
MBA programmes have responded to this need by tailoring their course in keeping with industry demands. Students enrolled under these programmes get opportunities to gain first-hand experience through internships and are wellversed in different cultures, which broaden their outlook. Such a perspective enables them to be effective decision-makers in the international business domain.
Management education, apart from offering the highest standards of academic excellence, also imparts knowledge of business values and ethics to imbue a high sense of responsibility and integrity among students. This helps in creating business leaders who can not only contribute to an organisation but also, through their work, to the society. No wonder then, this degree continues to give momentum to business leaders who have been catapulted to high ranks in an organisation.
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