Monday, 10 November 2014 00:00
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A message from IIHE
Purpose of an MBA
Purpose of a quality MBA is to transform specialists into generalists to manage an organisation effectively at the apex level, across all functional areas. For instance, a student who has a degree in engineering can follow an MBA to achieve the objectives of managing an organisation one day.
When a specialist is transformed to a generalist, he/she gains the required knowledge across the key functional areas, such as Finance, HR, Operations, Planning, IT etc. In addition, due to the rigor and the diversity of the program, he/she gains additional knowledge on other key areas such as strategic planning, decision making ability and global business operations, etc. All these areas will naturally provide the required impetus to effectively manage an organisation as a General Manager, CEO or Managing Director.
This is the crux of a genuine MBA, which should possess the required knowledge, training and the skills, and not the certificate. As you are aware, a certificate can be bought in this unregulated market for a fee, but not the knowledge.
Hence this article is produced to educate and enlighten the corporate sector to recruit and select the right candidate.
The fierce competition amongst members of the Sri Lankan tertiary education industry is an outcome of its non-regulation. This in turn has created a burning issue for most employers; as potential and current employees buying ‘mbas’ (mutually beneficial agreements) only aiming the next interview or the promotion, and as a result, the knowledge required to perform successfully in the corporate environment is not acquired by the individual.
This issue is justified by highlighting the fact that many employers are recruiting unsuitable candidates based on their paper qualifications and thereby facing management, operational and HR issues in the organisation. The reasons behind this misjudgment is due to mushrooming institutes or ‘fly by night’ institutes that offer MBA programs and degree programs that do not meet quality standards and lack the basic attributes to provide adequate knowledge and skill enhancement to for their students.
Keeping the above in mind IIHE provides the following advice to the Corporate Sector and the Recruitment Agents, on how to identify a recognised MBA compared to a misleading mba.
How to identify a good MBA program?
Admission criteria – Generally the following or similar criteria should be in force for any recognised MBA:
A minimum requirement of having a basic degree, from a recognised university or having completed a professional qualification such as ACCA, CIMA, CIM or a Banking Degree/Diploma or a mature student with at least three years of managerial experience with a minimum of 10-15 years of work experience.
Direct link between the local institute and the parent university
It is advisable to inquire and ascertain from the student whether the institute has a direct affiliation or relationship with the parent university which bestows students with their certification; or whether the institute has several intermediaries between itself before it links with the awarding university. A direct relationship with the parent university is a must due to their close monitoring and scrutiny of the local institute, ensuring the maintenance of standards and quality in all aspects of operations and teaching.
In other words, the parent university will push the local institute to maintain the required quality standards, thus producing better, qualified and knowledgeable graduates who will deliver better results in organisations. If there are several links in between, which is mostly the case in Sri Lanka, it is highly possible that the parent university can be unaware of the existence of the local institute and its certification.
Program duration
The quality and acceptance of MBAs offered or completed within one year are questionable. This uncertainty stems from the fact that an MBA should fulfill the requirement of 30-36 hours of classroom lecturing as well as 20-25 hours as guided learning and 40-50 hours of self study and reliable research based literature for each of all modules.
The modules for an MBA syllabus should number to 10-12 in total including core modules and electives: the completion of which requires considerable time, taking the assignments, group work, case studies, examinations etc. Exemptions given at Masters Level for Bachelors Level or for professional qualifications are questionable as well. Exemptions for an MBA should only be given for any other master’s level qualifications only.
Minimum time period/duration for a quality Masters Program should be 18 months on part time basis and 12 months on a ‘Full Time’ basis, where the MBA candidate should not work and should attend classes during the day time as well, spending at least 24 hours in classroom lectures per week. Hence, completing a part time MBA within one year is a farce.
The course structure
Each module in the MBA syllabus should be designed to have at least one comprehensive assignment or ideally two assignments, targeting to enhance the skills of the candidates based on a practical scenario, individually and as a group. End-of-semester exams are a must in testing the knowledge gathered and observing how such knowledge would be applied, based on given scenarios is very important. No exams means, no way of testing knowledge. It is recommended that these exams should be held inside a proper ‘examination environment’.
The lecture panel
It is highly advisable to scrutinise the quality and the calibre of the MBA course lecturers who are involved in transferring their theoretical and practical knowledge to students while sharing their experience from relevant industry exposure. Also, the lecturers should be qualified academically and practically. To lecture for MBAs, individuals should possess a ‘genuine’ Masters degree with relevant industry exposure, Double Masters degrees or a PhD. A lecturer with masters plus industry exposure is much better than a pure academic with for an MBA program, as pure academics neither possess knowledge about the corporate sector nor the industrial exposure. Hence, look for the ‘calibre’ of lecturers of the particular institute at the interview. We see often, those who are not MBAs, lecturing for mbas!
Conducting research –
One of the significant and salient features of a quality MBA program is guiding the student in pursuing and carrying out a research and completing the dissertation/thesis, based on scientific research methodology. So remember to ask the potential candidate to bring his/her dissertation for the interview. This Dissertation or the thesis is not an assignment. Most of the programmes do not require dissertations for completion.
Hence their MBAs, do not know anything about ‘literature review’, but they have their mba certificates. This is absolutely unacceptable. Some institutes ask for a ‘Final Report’ or a ‘Business Plan’ to replace the dissertation as they neither have the elite supervisory panels, nor an iota of knowledge over research and the facilities to undertake such task. As a result, if these candidates are recruited, their business reports become, inferior with no rational, and obviously will prepare childish reports.
On successful completion of an MBA Dissertation, one would transform him or herself from a normal thinker to a strategic thinker, and make strategic decisions based on market intelligence, data analysis, etc. whereas a normal mba would make decisions entirely based on their gut feelings.
The corporate recruitment function is not a simple task. In an era where many institutes are offering varied qualifications, employers should overcome ‘selection challenges’ through in-depth analysis of candidate’s qualifications. It is not just personality and experience that counts in selecting the ‘Cream’ of candidates that show up for an interview. Quality higher education paves the way for global awareness and strategic thinking, while developing operational skills as well as nurturing and polishing student intellect.
Top six points to ponder when recruiting an MBA
1.Admissions criteria
2.The direct link between local institute and the parent university
3.Program duration
4.The course structure
5.The lecture panel
6.Availability of research
Employers, if you follow these guidelines in selecting the most suitable MBA candidate, he or she would make wonders in the Boardroom, whereas others would just make blunders. An MBA can change the company and take it to a greater height, but not an mba.
