India Abroad - June 2009

Icompleted my MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in 2003 in an economic climate quite different from today’s. When I graduated, my classmates and I had many opportunities available to us — there were multiple companies recruiting on campus, and in general, the hiring had occurred earlier in the school year for most students. There were some students who had multiple offers and there were also a number of students who were looking for the right career fit for their next role and the process took a slightly more drawn-out route.

I happened to fall into this
second category.
I had pursued my MBA to
change careers — from
structural engineering to
the investment side of the building
industry, more specifically the invest-
ment in commercial real estate. To
be on the transaction side of this
business, I needed more than the
ability to design the support of
buildings. I needed to understand
the language of commerce and
finance. I also wanted to have a
broader understanding of manage-
ment and strategy, and that is why
I chose to go to Ivey for my gradu-
ate education.
A big plus for me was that there
were many companies in need of
individuals with my understanding
of construction and who had also
had an understanding of finance. I
was fortunate and found my first
post-grad position in an invest-
ment advisory firm within a couple of
months of graduating. I continue to
work for that firm to this day, almost six
years later.

I could not have reached my current position and management role without attaining the necessary training in accounting, finance and general management. My engineering skills were not adequate on their own, so I had to pursue further education. Certainly, new grads from the class of 2009 will be in those same shoes — transitioning from one career into something related but in a totally different role, or in some cases, moving into a totally unrelated role. Given that there will be fewer roles available and the ones that are available will have numerous qualified candidates

SALMAN HIRANI

applying, the question arises, does an MBA degree have value in today’s economy?

In my view, it most certainly does.
I realize that there are jokes floating
out there that the current situation was
caused by a lack of oversight of MBA
grads and there is inadequate emphasis
in today’s curriculums at business
schools on good governance and attribu-
tion of risk — which were major factors
in the global economic meltdown.
Regardless of the jokes, I do believe some
schools fail to address these issues alto-
gether, but for the most part, business
education, like all higher education,
plays a very important role in opening
new avenues and driving creativity in the
business world. On the whole, MBAs are
a driven and ambitious group — they are
not satisfied with the statusquo and are
always looking to improve processes,
strategies, operations, revenue genera-
tion and commercialization of new inno-
vations. Sure, there may have been some
MBAs — and non-MBAs as well —who
might have contributed to some of the
slip-ups that played a part in where we
stand today, but I feel that MBAs can
also be part of the solutions to today’s
economic woes. Now, more than ever,
the world needs people who have the
training and ambition to lead companies
out of turmoil, to transform plummeting
sales by introducing new business lines,
to advance new technologies to the stage
where they can reach the mass market
through new channels. The MBA is not a
be-all and end-all solution, but it is cer-
tainly a particular way of thinking, a
process to solving problems and that is
what the economy we are faced with
today requires — a strong base in fun-
damentals with the energy and cre-
ativity to guide a way through this.
New grads who can demonstrate
that they have an ability to help tough
decision-making will be the ones that
will succeed in today’s job market.
Before Ivey, I thought the MBA was
a silver bullet that could magically
launch me into a prosperous career
with a much higher salary. Luckily for
me, I quickly realized success in my
future required more than just the
three letters — it required hard work,
perseverance and an ability to adapt
to changing times. I truly believe that
any grad that can come into today’s
marketplace and offer these three
ingredients coupled with a can-do atti-
tude will fare well and find the right role.