Thoughts to ponder
India Abroad published a special on business schools in Canada in March 2006. A number of aca- demics shared their views on the value of an MBA, many of them
calling the business degree ‘a path to suc-
cess’. Some of what they said is still rele-
vant.
Professor Harjeet Bhabra, John Molson
School of Business, Concordia
University, Montreal.
“The first question that pops into the
mind of every prospective student who is
considering an MBA is very often, ‘What
is the value of an MBA to me?’ The
answer to this simple question is, however, not so simple. The answer varies and
“Is it worthwhile getting an MBA?
What do MBA programs have to do to
overcome the
barriers and the
criticisms? What
does an MBA
teach and what
should it teach?
The MBA
world is still
struggling to
define itself along
these challenges.
In an effort to be
different, some
schools tried to
gain more depth
and expertise in certain functional areas
– for example, finance, or marketing —
but that has created as new set of concerns. Business education tends to get
too soiled and we are producing too
many experts that can do their particular
job well, but don’t have a broad understanding of the whole business – the very
reason why an MBA degree was born in
the first place.
Business schools must take a long and
hard look at their curriculum and ask
what the essence of their experience is.
Do they want to simply be providers of
textbook knowledge and the MBA passport? Or do they want to accomplish
something more meaningful for both
their students and for the business and
community at large? The more the number of schools that want to do the latter,
the brighter is the future of MBA education.”
In a business school there’s a strong
need for students to have exposure both
to academic theory as well as industry
experience and the split could be 75 to 25
percent. Industry experience or case
studies mean live discussions of the case
with someone who has lived through it in
a very personal way.
My approach as a teacher is to give
MBA students analytical tools to really
ensure that there’s deep dialogue about
the cultural issues, the ethical issues,
which they will face as they go into the
marketplace.
I favor experimental learning becoming a critical part of the learning methods.
Professor Vern Jones, dean, Haskayne
School of Business, University of Alberta,
Calgary.
depends on who’s asking this question –
the aspirant student or the employer.
I have been asked a very similar ques-
tion many a times. I have always
responded by saying that the value of an
Despite recent criticisms, a busi-
ness degree today offers as much,
if not more, value as it did a gener-
ation ago. The value that each
person derives from the MBA is
very individualistic.”
Professor Paul Bates, dean, DeGroote
School of Business, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario.
Dilip Soman, professor of market-
ing, Rotman School of
“An MBA is an excellent degree.
There’s no question about it.
We at the business school
create opportunities for stu-
dents to experience what
they are doing. We deliver
some lectures but are more
committed to case-based
learning, problem solving,
experiential learning and
simulations. At Haskayne,
we have a highly interactive
learning environment where
business leaders themselves
increasingly interact with
students throughout their
program.”
