Master of Business Administration (MBA) should not be taught in b-schools; instead it should be taught in business firms. A business school can only simulate a firm and will not be equivalent to a corporate at all. Even the most adored ‘case study’ methodology will not be useful as that of a b-firm. This is one among the reasons why do most of the b-schools prefer candidates with work-ex for MBA.
The case study methodology helps to simulate a real scenario in a firm. But there are a lot of if’s, but’s and what-if’s in it. The number of assumptions may be too many in some cases which will really destroy the beauty of the case. It is similar to playing cricket in computer and that in the real life. The simulated experience will not take into consider the mind set of human beings (employees in a firm), the macro economic situation (which may vary based on the country understudy), the competition, history of the firm, customer relationships, previous executives, on spot decisions taken etc. There is always a gap between what is happening in the industry and the picture of industry depicted in the cases.
To make the MBA students more industry oriented, the MBA education should be under the control of the respective industry bodies and should be happen in a business firm only. This helps to understand the business very well and also helps in taking better decisions which is one of the important objectives of MBA.
Every student must select an industry in which (s)he is interested and should undergo the MBA in a business firm in the selected industry. The student should be an employee of the firm and must have a minimum contract period with the firm. The education and the work should go hand in hand. A stipend should be given to the student for the work (s)he is doing. Scholarships should be given to meritorious students. There should be only practical tests with real case scenarios and should not include any theoretical questions (which is utter useless). The certificate of MBA should be given by the industry body which may have a tie-up with any University. The top performing students should be retained in the firm in which they studied.
Also there should be assistance from the industry bodies for those who wish to be entrepreneurs in the respective fields.
No (fresh) MBA graduate is perfect. It is similar to learn swimming. Unless you try it out, you cannot be a ‘Master’ in business administration. So face challenges, put your hands in fire, learn and correct the mistakes. Practice (valid experience) makes a manager perfect!
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