Whatever Happens, Happens For The Best

There is famous saying in Hindi which when translated reads as “Whatever Happens, happens for the best”. It is basically a statement meant for the optimists and indicates that there is always something positive that comes out of any event that takes place.

Take the current economic climate for instance. There is a lot of concern and apprehension in the minds of the students, employed and un-employed professionals about how long the global financial crisis will last and what the future would be like. However not all industries are being adversely affected by the current crisis. Business Schools around the world are witnessing a surge in applications as people realize that this is probably the best time to invest in oneself and go back to being a student.

Business schools however are not taking it easy. The fact that most of the decision-makers who led the world to the current economic crisis were MBA’s has put a lot of pressure on b-schools to change their curriculum so that it addresses real life problems(read here). At the full time MBA program at AGSM for instance the lectures and course contents are being changed so as to include some detail about the crisis and how such scenarios can be avoided in future.

The picture above is what the AGSM MBA is like, except that you can’t afford to keep those binders on the shelves for too long. Most of the subjects that you see above have introduced some component that talks about what caused the current crisis and what we as future managers should do to to avoid it. So while the Organizational behavior lectures talk about tackling and preventing “groupthink”, the accounting classes talk about how difficult it is to recognize and value assets correctly and how in today’s times it’s better to be conservative in preparing financial results.

Our economics classes have taught us that the media definition of a recession(2 consecutive quarters of negative growth) is absolutely incorrect. As we move ahead into the program more changes are being made to make the learning more relevant and practical. A major step in this direction is AGSM MBA Integrative experience, a rigorous 2 week period where the entire Full Time MBA class would work on real life cases where they would have to bring together their knowledge from all the subjects that they’ve studied. Catch the Academic Director of AGSM MBA Programs, Professor Murali Chandrashekaran talk about this in the video below.

So while the global financial crisis of today can be partly attributed to MBA’s, I suppose the good thing is that it is leading to a re-structuring of the curriculum and should lead to smarter future MBA’s who would be able to ensure that a similar crisis does not occur again. Thus we probably can agree that whatever happens, happens for the best

The Credit Crunch MBA Life

Q. How much would you pay for a life where you had to work and study about 70 hours a week, save money wherever possible and always be uncertain about the future ?

I’m sure you are scratching your head and asking yourself as to why you would pay anything for a life like that. Well, as it turns out that is what an International MBA at a top business school is like and people pay thousands of dollars for it.

Life during an MBA is an experience by itself. There is always so much to do that one can get overwhelmed very easily and it’s hard to keep calm at times. I suppose the MBA trains its students to master the art of multi-tasking and prioritizing as those are the scenarios that any manager has to face in the real world.
The MBA program has a number of unique qualities but the one that stands out the most is that your average class would have people with various years of work experience and a great deal of diversity. During a good economic environment people would tend to maximize their learning and enjoy their time at school in the company of similar people. However given the GFC and the current economic turmoil this facet of MBA life has definitely been affected.

The “Credit Crunch MBA” generation comprises of people who’ve always wanted to get an MBA and found the current financial atmosphere to be the most suited for it. Present MBA students who would be passing out in the middle of next year are strongly hoping that things would get better by that time. This hope and expectation coupled with news of the tough job market and the need to be a perfect match for any position has led to a highly competitive environment. Getting the best grades has suddenly become a high priority as everyone strives for perfection.

The MBA however is also a great platform to showcase your leadership and ability. One of the positive things that have come out of the GFC for current B-School students is that people have realized that there is no right or wrong solution. Thus class lectures devote more time to discussions and student feedback on lectures is taken very seriously by the academic affairs.

Overall it is said and widely believed that the MBA experience is a tough but highly rewarding and satisfying journey. The Credit Crunch MBA generation is certainly hoping for the same.