Some of the most inspirational and exemplary business entrepreneurs like Dhirubhai Ambani, Li-Ka-Ching, Larry Ellison, Jan Koum among others have made their mark in the history of entrepreneurship with their vision, acumen, determination, spirit, and attitude. None of these men were MBA qualified or from illustrious educational or wealthy backgrounds and yet they are some of the richest men in the world today.

Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle Systems, NetSuite, Salesforce.com, Astex Pharmaceuticals and as per Forbes one of the 50 wealthiest men in the world, was an abandoned child and a school dropout. So was Jan Koum, a poor Ukrainian immigrant who became a Silicon Valley tycoon with his world-class start-up venture WhatsApp Inc. So, the obvious question is “What is the secret of their success?” People attribute it to their genius of sniffing business opportunities, risk-taking ability, great interpersonal talent, and excellent resource management capacity.

Research shows, out of the world’s 100 richest men today, 73 percent are self-made and did not make their riches owing to their degree or wealth. Then why do we see the management graduates being hired in almost all the pivotal strategic corporate positions in blue-chip companies of the day?

If we are one of those masterminds who have the natural talent to change and dominate business dynamics without any hard work and study, then we should not waste time to acquire an MBA degree. But for the rest of us, management education is a necessary stepping stone into this corporate world. Let us explore why:

Generalist education approach:

Especially in the Indian context, we have a generalist education approach throughout the formative years of our lives. We learn about almost all subjects from language, literature, history, geography, science, maths to commerce, follow up with a higher education degree at college and then consider job specific specialization study at the post-graduation level. Our aim is to grow in academic richness first and then figure out about our professional goals and what line of study supports that career.

A lot of students start a career without any evaluation of their interests, industry dynamics, and the role requirements to do well in that field. This prevents them from maximizing their career opportunities from the onset. An ideal MBA curriculum will take them through the specifics of performing in a corporate career. The management students get a birds-eye-view of what working in a corporate world is all about and then choose the best-suited role for them in that context.

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An actionable career orientation:

Gone are the days when corporates allowed a priming time for the fresh recruits. Today, the expectation is very clear, that is the corporates need industry-ready professionals who can start from the word go. After all, time is money and you are expected to make that time count. Management course is the best way to bridge the gap between industry and academics. The live projects, internships, case studies, industry interface during the management study tenure prepares budding professionals for actionable career orientation. A real-time MBA degree is not about comprehensive theory study. It equips with the intricacies of practical work experience.

Nowadays, dynamic B-Schools are diligently strengthening their research orientation. Investing in case studies has been one of their most effective techniques to enhance student analysis, interpretation, and problem-solving ability through showcasing and demonstration of successful business strategies. The insight derived from a case study makes it easier for a student to conceptually understand business nuances, rather than learning by rote.

Helps you decide your specialization area:

How can a student be sure that his/her career progression is in the right specialization area? For that, they need to understand the different specialization opportunities that a management career provides. Studying different disciplines in the first year of an MBA program enhances their understanding of different management specialization areas and facilitates informed career decision in the second year. You are aware, even as a beginner whether you want the role of an IT, finance, marketing, HR professional or a management analyst to fulfill organizational goals.

Final Insight:

Whether aspiring management professionals want to optimize their performance, upgrade their professional knowledge, laterally shift their career/field or want to benchmark their profile for growth in their own company or in the industry at large, management study can be a great enabler.

One may not be born with the gift or luck of becoming a great entrepreneur but with the right MBA degree, he/she can nurture their talent to become one. A dynamic management degree is never static, it evolves with the changing business trends and dynamics. It is adaptive to the challenges presented by the real corporate world and sensitizes the professionals to respond to them with pragmatic professionalism. MBA study from leading management colleges helps students to break free and create new paths to shape and sustain businesses as a professional. It facilitates them to make decisions, solve problems, collaborate and lead from the front.