This post is formally an entry for the InsideIIM ‘Great Indian B-School debate’
Name:Prateek Shrivastava
Institute: MDI Gurgaon
Team Name: Thinkers
Team Mate’s name: Jobin Jacob
Article I am refuting:
http://insideiim.com/things-you-wont-learn-in-an-mba/?mailer=insideiim
Ok. Let me start by saying that its just two months I have interacted with a B School but I think that there is fairly huge amount of knowledge and experience in the package.
If you expect things coming to you and driving you home that is too much to expect. Let me go point by point stated in the article.
Doing Business: This is not true because we have a very shallow picture of business in our minds, Business is not just profits or entrepreneur. Business is a composite structure of all the things that make money for the owner/shareholders.We need finance, marketing and decision making skill which are very well taught in B schools.
Communication: This is the part and parcel of the every day life of a B school student. Communicate with all the stake holder in the business is not very far from communicating and maintaining a balance between Professors, Placement cell, Clubs and even other students. These are no less serious and the professionalism is at par with business.
Networking: This would be very not true because MBA is all about making networks and using them for the whole of lives. Alum relations and corporate contacts help so much at all stages of B school. They may not be taught in the lectures but yes you are implicitly made to to do so.
Selling: Well I sell almost every day. I sell my thoughts, my ideas and my skills. This is biggest market of competition and you keep on selling all the time till you end up actually doing it in your job. In B school every one is a seller.
Writing: Last full weeks I have been writing my blog on marketing and thinking new ideas to write more and more to gain visibility and presence. We need to learn writing for business needs and for artisitic needs as well.
Politics: If this has to do with student politics then it is definitely there.You may think its in a more different form all together and may be more talent and skill driven but it has a presence in all b schools.
International Business: I have been reading all the cases for American businesses and how they work and make dollars. All my case studies point to some incident in Europe that impacted the policy making and human behaviour. Now all these things are not taught on the white board but you tend to learn them.
Patience: This one is a pre requisite for survival in B School. You have to patiently kill your sleep for two years to expect a think payslip at the end. You should be patient in the journey as it may look fast but it leaves a life impact.
Thanks,
Prateek
Team: Thinkers