By Sagar Upadhyay
So…..finally I am writing. And it is quite sometime that I penned down anything, be it in a structured or unorganized format-who bothers ! It took a very close and special friend of mine (who asked me what MBA is all about) to get me back to the writing saga. As you can see from the title, we can be sure of at least one thing about MBA and that is non discrimination on the basis of sex. The degree provides equal opportunities for both Aadmi and Aurat to be pronounced Bekaar for the rest of his/her life. Well to be very honest I have my own opinions on what an MBA world provides to individuals and based on my beliefs, which in turn are based on my experiences at the B school, with all due respect I will like to disagree with the non-discriminating aspects of the aforesaid statement.
Let us begin with the negative aspects : what an MBA world looks like, so that we can conclude the article on a positive note. First of all I will give an unsolicited advice to every individual who is aspiring to do an MBA from any renowned university across the world. The advise is to undergo a Personality Fit test before actually thinking of pursuing an MBA. Only an individual who can take loads of pressure (academically, emotionally & personally), who is ready to be shameless on occasions (you have to get out of your comfortability zone on numerous occasions and do things you would have never thought of doing as an individual you are), who is ready to be highly selfish and put own interests above of others & finally who is not affected by the surroundings but is highly focused on getting that one thing; such an individual makes a perfect fit for the MBA world. The one thing I just mentioned can be a predefined salary package, a set domain of own choice or a GPA of highest standard. This world is not for people who have a high E.Q. (emotional quotient) as there is no time to get out of a situation whereby your peer’s words have hurt you. An opportunist reading this might suggest that this lack of available time might teach one to forgive others but than an individual must be ready to forgive and forget others for his/her entire stay period while pursuing MBA!
If you are still interested in reading this article further, I am taking it for granted that you have passed the Personality Fit test or for that matter you are willing to change your personality to adapt to the MBA world as you have a hell bent mind to pursue MBA, no matter what. Talking of some of the challenges one faces at a B school, all the students enter the gates equally and begin their journey walking hand in hand. But on graduating and finally departing in different directions, the only thing which unifies all the travelers is a common Brand name. It is like a common Brand Identity which stays with everyone forever but all throughout the journey the travelers are Segmented (on basis of GPA, work-ex, communication abilities, domain background) and forced to move in different directions.
In order to excel in MBA, one shall be ready to sell himself on plethora of occasions. What actually counts is not what you are or who you are in reality, but what actually you can showcase yourself as ! Here it is all about getting the proofs (more the forged ones, the better it gets ) and resume points and presenting them aesthetically in a limited space. The choice of those points coming from being a club member or securing good grades or winning competitions is individualistic. No matter what truth is-no one bothers! Just thinking about the ends and forgetting means altogether will ensure a success in an individual’s endeavor.
Having gone through the success mantra, now let us talk about some of the positives which are bound to be imbibed in every individual who takes on this journey of excellence. One can be sure of having developed a wonderful ability to work with all kinds of people possible on planet earth whether one likes/dislikes his own group members. You will never ever feel that any deadline in this world is impossible to achieve and (regardless of quality) you will instill confidence of doing any assigned project even with the shortest possible deadline. Above all you will learn that life is all about survival and if you can successfully complete the simulated game of life in 2 years, you will be in a position to publish noble prize winning theories on how to just hang on in ups and downs of life and you can also call up Mr. Obama and say Yes, I can !
No one can deny that having said and done everything, in the end it is up to an individual as to what he does with the opportunity which keeps knocking at his door. One gets ample opportunity to learn from this world of deep & profound knowledge. Apart from the real life lessons of survival of the wisest, there are many subjects which equip an individual with an armor for fighting the real managerial scenarios. Be itMarketing which tells about the value adds to the customer to be kept at the helm of all product decisions or Finance which tells you about NPV of your assets. Be it the advantages of Outsourcing overVertical Integration taught through Supply Chain Management or the importance of Motivation, Leadership & Personality imbibed in every individual through courses on Human Resources. This place is an eternal bliss for individuals who consider knowledge as their true wealth in life. Just be clear as to what you really want to achieve in life and in which direction you want to head into, before embarking upon this journey. If you really think that the platform provided by the MBA world is just a first step into becoming what you really aspire, I welcome you aboard this experience which is going to stay with you forever: just a word of caution-be ready to make sacrifices !
(This article contains personal views of the author, it shouldn’t be regarded as a fact. Author is a Guest Blogger and a management graduate from IIM Bangalore, original article can be read on Facebook , Follow him on Facebook)
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