CEOs with MBAs do better than those without?

Dinesh WEERAKKODY

A recent HBR study reveled that 32 percent of the 1109 CEOs driving some of the top companies in Europe and the United States who had an MBA, ranked on average 40 places better than the CEOs without an MBA. Even in the Financial Sector despite all the economic mayhem the MBAs tended to rank better than the non MBA CEOs. MBA stands for Master of Business Administration, and is a postgraduate degree in business administration. It is still one of the most sought after degrees in the world because of its value to people in business and administration.

An MBA degree can benefit those in positions in business and management, especially those in executive and managerial positions. An MBA degree from a leading institution in the world has great value. So why does an MBA really matter so much in corporate life? There is no question an MBA puts a stamp on your brain. Although MBAs from Harvard, IMD or London Business School have prestige than others, any MBA whether it is from PIM, Colombo, SJU or the University of Wales Distance Learning certainly separates its owner form the pack.

Over the years, I have seen people with an MBA, irrespective of where they have got the MBA from and also with less experience land good jobs, especially in the top level of management, over some of the guys who have a sound professional qualification and loads of experience. So what is it in an MBA that qualifies a graduate to be an automatic winner? I think in most cases it is simply the hype the business schools have created about the MBA program they deliver. The impact of an MBA is really good for only one year or so. It helps the holder to get a higher starting salary or land a better job, or both. It creates something of a halo effect.

Often MBAs are presumed to be intelligent, smart and have the potential to move up the corporate ladder. Companies often pin a lot of hope on their MBAs, watch them hopefully and, in many cases, give them extra opportunities to contribute and grow over the non-MBAs. However, in an organization if the MBA's performance excels or sinks either way the advanced degree becomes forgotten. Because once you are in the business for a while it does not make any difference if you have a PhD or a MBA from Harvard or LBS - the way to get ahead is over deliver.

To get an A-plus in business, you have to grow the organization's expectations of you and then exceed them. If this is the case why do we then need to slog away at a business school to get that MBA? An MBA program offers a range of benefits for the successful applicant. The MBA program and business schools give you valuable knowledge about business and all its related aspects. You learn about business strategies and concepts, not just on paper, but the training and internship required in an MBA course, teaches you how to use these skills in practical life and in day to day business operations.

An MBA degree involves rigorous training, assignments, reports, presentations, and group projects, all of which give you the necessary abilities to handle real-life business situations. This helps to set you apart from those who do not have such expertise and can make you a leader in your chosen field. Also the alliances and the network that the course offers to the MBA student is deemed as one of the most important contribution's that an MBA program can offer the participants.

Therefore, a good MBA expands a persons critical thinking capacity and develops a person's conceptual understanding of managerial concepts like change management, CSR, Share Holder Management, risk management and leadership to name a few. Those concepts however taught by a smart professor and debated by high-powered peers can do wonders for the MBA Student. So while a good MBA can help you to land a good job, however to survive and move beyond that one needs to have some essential traits.

These traits include integrity, social skills and emotional maturity, which are essential requirements for any leadership position.

They are given or must haves. So beyond that one needs to have the positive energy, the ability to energize others, the ability to make tough calls, the ability to make things happen and the passion to believe in what they are doing. Therefore those CEOs with a good MBA are not only successful because of the piece of paper they received on graduation day, but also because they have the acumen to perform at the cutting edge of business, make the people around them look good and have delivered solid business results over time.