Pursuing an MBA

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azurebluee
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Pursuing an MBA

Post by azurebluee » 2nd Jul, '12, 14:48

hi guys,

I am considering pursuing a part time MBA, preferrably an American program. There are a few US MBA programs in Singapore Buffalo EMBA, Rutgers EMBA and Temple EMBA.

I maybe moving off to the US for work in a couple of years. It would be great if perhaps if an American forumer can advise which program is a good investment?

Best,

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Morrolan
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Morrolan » 3rd Jul, '12, 09:05

MBA's are so 1990's. a waste of time.

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Lili Von Shtupp
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Lili Von Shtupp » 3rd Jul, '12, 10:28

These days, everybody and their brother has an MBA. If I wanted one, I'd first narrow down my specialty within business admin based on career goals, and then look at how programs rank in that specialty and what kind of jobs/promotions people have moved on to from there. Then, with that information, I'd choose the best program that I can afford.
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Kooky » 3rd Jul, '12, 11:45

I'll pass on your thoughts to Neo, M, but maybe not to the employer that sponsored his and recently promoted him on the basis of his achievement of a lot of his development goals :lol:

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Morrolan » 3rd Jul, '12, 12:41

he's lucky, then, k.

we don't give any candidates an advantage on whether or not they have an MBA. won't even look twice at it.

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by slinky » 3rd Jul, '12, 13:18

Morrolan wrote:he's lucky, then, k.

we don't give any candidates an advantage on whether or not they have an MBA. won't even look twice at it.
I can't comment on whether it does or should give any advantage to a candidate, but in the case of Mr. S, his undergrad degree is technical -- he had no business or finance classes whatsoever (what engineer does??) and I'm guessing Neo's undergrad degree was also technical rather than business related. In that case, when a technical person wants to move into higher level management, I think it can be helpful to get some sound business and management principals under your belt, so to speak. Of course, it's particularly helpful when your employer is willing to cough up the cash, given the way these things are priced :o

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Kooky » 3rd Jul, '12, 16:27

Wot she said.

I think he'd also tell you that he has enjoyed it despite having to change his method along the way and do more weekend courses because he was travelling too much for weekly classes. There are days when he's come home on an absolute high and I've let him rabbit on a while before either telling him I studied that 30 years ago or that I had no interest whatsoever in it ;) It has also proven to be a great networking opportunity.

The advantage when looking to move companies may not be the piece of paper, but what it has done for his CV where he already is. Walking the walk is what he now has to do :D

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Fat Bob » 3rd Jul, '12, 16:57

Guys and girls, we've had this conversation before.

[url=http://www.singapore-forum&#46com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5556&hilit=mba]Rehash this thread[/url]
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by slinky » 3rd Jul, '12, 17:37

The fact that companies are (still) willing to pay the costs for certain employees to get an MBA tells me that they see some value in an MBA (and the employee they are willing to pay for). However, the person who pursues an MBA under the assumption that he/she will get an automatic salary hike and/or some great position with any company they choose is probably a bit delusional. The degree itself doesn't give or guarantee anything.

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by jay82 » 3rd Jul, '12, 19:04

MBA's arent a very profitable investment in terms of returns from jobs. There are more MBAs now then enough jobs to appoint them all, the market has become too saturated. so its more advisable to opt for a field that has slighter less exposure but greater potential in future:)

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Morrolan » 4th Jul, '12, 07:59

Fat Bob wrote:Guys and girls, we've had this conversation before.

[url=http://www.singapore-forum&#46com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5556&hilit=mba]Rehash this thread[/url]
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Kooky » 4th Jul, '12, 16:03

We've had lots of conversations before. Doesn't normally stop us.

(Been going ten years now, y'know. Blimey - that means ten years next week since we left the UK. Ten years I've known most of my strange internet friends.)

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by avatarless » 4th Jul, '12, 21:01

Kooky wrote: Ten years I've known most of my strange internet friends.

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by daffodil » 4th Jul, '12, 21:08

Ah but K was referring to people she'd met on another forum...right K? K? ;)
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Kooky » 5th Jul, '12, 05:01

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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Joseph27 » 5th Jul, '12, 07:24

An MBA is still largely about getting a great network of senior people - so to paraphrase the great Dr Flamond from Top Secret, an MBA from a 3rd tier Uni with minimal contact time is "worth less than a truck load of dead rats in a tampon factory". An EMBA from Chicago, INSEAD, and a few other senior Business Schools which combine NUS/Shanghai, Duke or whatever other mix could be useful if you have a spare $100k - the others are a waste of money.
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by Spike » 6th Jul, '12, 09:50

slinky wrote:The fact that companies are (still) willing to pay the costs for certain employees to get an MBA tells me that they see some value in an MBA (and the employee they are willing to pay for). However, the person who pursues an MBA under the assumption that he/she will get an automatic salary hike and/or some great position with any company they choose is probably a bit delusional. The degree itself doesn't give or guarantee anything.
Agree with Slinky. I coach people who are senior managers, up to their armpits in MBAs and academic paperwork but they still get leadership horribly wrong. So much of good leadership is down to self-awareness, communication skills, understanding other people's motivations, influencing skills and behaviour, very little to do with academic prowess.
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Re: Pursuing an MBA

Post by goldenegg » 1st Aug, '12, 11:31

I second Joseph27 than an MBA is still largely about getting a great network of senior people. If you look at the average age and work experience of the candidates in top MBA schools like the one mentioned, and to include Nanyang, you'll notice that they maintain a certain caliber of students. I also find it hard to believe that you'll fail to learn business skills that will come in useful in your career. Why go through the hassle of making mistakes, learning on the job, missing out opportunities when you can take out a few months and go to school?!

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