The 10 Most Under-Rated Reasons Why You Should Get An MBA

Here’s a list of the top 10 most under-rated aspects of getting your MBA.  These are things you’re probably not even thinking about if you’re in B-School today but will mean something several years from now:

1. The chance to stop and reflect on some big business issues.  Taking two years off to sit in a classroom might seem crazy in today’s deadline-driven world.  How can you possibly forgo two years worth of salary, plus pay the tuition?  Yet, on the other hand, it’s an amazing luxury to be able to get out of the day-to-day grind and actually sit and learn with a little reflection mixed in.  It might seem like a luxury to those who can’t afford to do it, so appreciate it and make the most of that reflection time.

2. The chance to make some lifelong friends who will accomplish great things over their careers in business.  This is probably the big one that most MBA grads talk about several years down the line.  You go through a tough experience like getting your MBA together and it’s hard not to make a few friends along the way.  These friends are more than just good people.  They’re likely to go on to be successful in their speciality of business that they focus in.  They’ll be sounding boards for you in the future.  Friends of their friends will probably be potentially invaluable contacts for you down the line.  Meet as many friends in your class as you can and keep up the relationships.

3. The chance to realize how little you understand about the world.  When you get into B-School, you think you’re the best-of-the-best.  And you are, to some extent.  But you’re probably only in your mid- to late-20s.  Even if you were tops in your high school, went to a great college, and had an amazing job prior to Business School where you were pulling in big bucks, the chances are extremely high that you’re still an idiot.  It’s not your fault.  You’re still the best of the best in your cohort.  It’s just you’re still very green.  You’ve got a ton to still learn about business and the world.  Well, good news. You’ll get a chance to make a dent in that ignorance while getting your MBA.  Go in with your eyes wide open.

4. The chance to learn about how to get a bunch of high-strung, Type-A personalities to work together as a team.  At any good Business School these days, you’re going to get the chance to work on a series of team projects.  This is very important.  All of you best-of-the-best students are keeners.  You all think you’re brilliant.  You all likely want to be the leader when a task presents itself.  It’s a great challenge to learn how to work together and get other Type-A types like you moving in a similar direction.  You may not figure out how to do it perfectly but you will get the chance to learn.

5. The chance to think about the global economy and not just your little world where you used to work.  At most good B-Schools these days, you’ll notice a lot of international students surrounding you.  Some schools will even try to use their international student body as a competitive advantage against other schools.  It is really important these days that you get out of your little perspective of whatever your last job was in your little corner of the USA.  You need to know that their are Chinese, Indians, Russians, Swedes, and Argentinians who are dying to go back to their homelands and eat your lunch.  Better realize there’s a big world out there and you need to figure out how to make some profits in it that will be sustainable.

6. The chance to interact with Professors who will really challenge you. To succeed in your career, you’re going to likely have to find and nurture at least a couple of good mentor relationships.  At B-School, you’ll probably get a handful of professors who really stretch your thinking.  You’ll hear about them from other students.  If you’re lucky, you’ll get into their classes.  If you’re smart, you’ll try to build relationships with the professors and make the most of learning all you can from them.  If you want good mentors later, start by learning how to build a mentor relationship with one of these dynamite profs yourself.

7. The chance to go listen to as many accomplished executives when they come to talk at your school.  I went to Columbia Business School in NYC.  I was fortunate because I could have gone to hear an amazing executive speak every other day if I wanted to.  When it becomes a daily occurrence, you start to take it for granted.  Don’t. If you want to be great, you’ve got to learn what’s made great people great.  You’ve got that chance when these people come through and talk.  And don’t just listen. Sit up at the front of the auditorium. Be the first one to ask a question afterwards.

8. The chance to refocus yourself.  Even though you’re in your mid- to late-20s, the clock is ticking and your career window is closing. You can’t reinvent yourself at 30 and then 35 and then 40.  The people who really go far in their business careers focus.  You’ve got your chance now at B-School.  If you worked in manufacturing before and now you want to focus in on finance, you can do that.  If you did accounting, but want to focus on private equity, you can do that do.  The sooner you pick the area you want to focus on, the more you can focus on the right classes, the right clubs, and the right summer job to go after between 1st and 2nd year.

9. The chance to learn about managing people.  You will get a few classes in managing people.  They might be called leadership or motivation, but they’re about how to manage a group of people working for you.  Prior to B-School, you probably will have had little opportunity to manage big teams.  Therefore, you might blow off these “human relations” classes.  However, post-B-School, you have no idea how important managing people will be to your career. Stop snickering and start opening your ears to what concepts they’re talking about it these classes. You’ll thank me a few years from now.

10. The chance to learn how to get up and string a few sentences together.  It seems silly but a big part of your success in business will depend on how you present.  A lot of people just basically can’t get up and talk.  I went to a Dale Carnegie class in my 20s and they told me that more people are afraid of giving a speech than dying.  It seems crazy that more people would rather die than give a talk.  The MBA student population is more speech-savvy than the general population, but a lot of B-School students stink at speaking too.  Nevertheless, you’re going to get lots of opportunities to improve it.  You might as well take advantage of it and actually get good.  

You’ll be amazed how far it takes you later in life.

Good luck, MBAs.  Enjoy your time in B-School and make the most of it!  You have an incredible opportunity in front of you.

INSTANT MBA : Stop Being a Perfectionist And Pay Attention To Customers

Today’s advice comes from our interview with Rob Weber, co-Founder of W3i:

“Owners of new products or new businesses really need to guard themselves against over investing themselves in a certain concept. Otherwise they run the risk of really burning too much energy on something that has no real opportunity to succeed.”

When entrepreneurs focus solely on their idea and get too attached, they lose sight of what customers want. If you’re constantly working on perfecting your idea or product, you become disconnected from customers because there’s no time to check in with them for validation that you’re actually meeting their needs.

Instead of being a perfectionist, Weber suggests you accept something that’s minimally viable so you can get it out there. Weber experienced this at W3i  when he worked on a project for over a year only to realize it wouldn’t work.

“We were so worried about getting it perfect that by the time we finally got it released, it might have been perfect for what our vision was, but I don't think our vision was right. That’s the problem with perfectionist thinking."

Want your business advice featured in Instant MBA? Submit your tips to tipoftheday@businessinsider.com.  Be sure to include your name, your job title, and a photo of yourself in your email.

Compensation of top school MBA grads continues to rise

The value of the MBA, in terms of the starting salaries of graduates, hasn’t lately served as a ringing endorsement for the degree. According to a report last month by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which publishes the GMAT B-school entrance test, median starting salaries have been more or less stuck at $90,000 since 2008.

What about the degree’s value over the course of an entire career? Exclusive new research suggests that this, too, has stalled. What’s more, while top-ranked programs continue to deliver the greatest returns on the b-school investment, the gap between them and the rest of the B-school pack is growing.

“The effects of the Great Recession on the labor market for MBAs can still be felt today, a full three years after the official end of the recession,” says Katie Bardaro, analytics manager at PayScale, which conducted the research. “Jobs are fewer and further between and wage growth is far below its pre-recession levels. The only MBAs who appear to be escaping these stagnant wages are graduates from top-ranked programs.”

For the fourth year, Bloomberg Businessweek asked PayScale to tap into its database of 100,000 MBA graduates to calculate the median cash compensation—salaries and bonuses—for those with degrees from ourtop-ranked U.S. full-time MBA programs. PayScale, which collects salary data from individuals through online pay-comparison tools, determined the pay for graduates with pre- and post-MBA work experience of less than two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years. We then used those data to calculate a rough estimate ofmedian cash earnings over the 20-year span.

Harvard Business School took the top spot in the ranking, with 20-year pay of $3,639,643, followed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School($3,460,707) and the Stanford Graduate School of Business ($3,432,013).

On average, graduates of all 57 programs earned about $2.4 million over the two decades, or $122,513 a year. That amounts to a slight increase from last year, when annual pay for the group was $122,146. Graduates of the 10 programs with the highest earnings took home nearly $3.2 million apiece, or $159,122 a year, an increase of 3.6 percent. The remaining 47 schools averaged $2.3 million, or $114,724 a year, virtually no change from last year.

Over the course of the 20-year period, graduates of all 57 programs averaged a 90 percent increase in pay. But numerous factors, from geographic location to the career paths of graduates, resulted in wide differences among schools. Those institutions with the lowest starting salaries typically had the biggest increases. The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Businessexperienced the biggest gain—174 percent, to $139,000 at the 20-year mark. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management had the smallest, at 41 percent, to $169,000.

The MIT numbers highlight one of the study’s inherent limitations: Pay data for smaller schools such as MIT may be based on fewer than 50 reports and may not accurately reflect pay for the entire class. The pay figures themselves do not include stock or stock options, which can make up a significant portion of MBA pay, especially in later years. And the study itself is not longitudinal—the pay reports are for groups of people who graduated from the same school at various times, not for one group of people who reported their pay throughout their careers.

Despite those qualifications, however, the PayScale study yields a number of insights. For example, the average compensation for all 57 schools at the 20-year mark is $147,000, about three times the median income for all U.S. households. On average, total compensation for the entire 20-year period for every school except Harvard is two-thirds that of Harvard, ranging from 95.1 percent for Wharton to 49.5 percent for the University at Buffalo. The value of the MBA degree closely correlates to rank. Of the 10 schools with the highest career pay, eight are top-10 schools in the latest Bloomberg BusinessweekBest B-Schools ranking; of the 30 schools with the highest career pay, all but five have a top-30 Best B-Schools ranking.

A key factor in determining how much an MBA degree pays out over time is the career path followed by graduates. Among the 10 schools with the highest career pay, about 28 percent of 2011 graduates went into consulting and 34 percent pursued finance—figures that have been fairly consistent for at least 10 years at schools, like Harvard, that publish historical data. At schools such as George Washington University, where nearly one of four MBA graduates ends up in government or nonprofit service, or Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, where four-fifths get hired by regional employers at graduation, both starting salaries and career pay are far lower.

Source

Too old? Too young? What’s the right age for business school?

Barbara Bierach

Typically, business students enter graduate school with a first degree and about five years of work experience, meaning they are generally in their late 20s –an age where change is still part of the lifestyle. People in their 40s and older on the other hand are rather settled in their careers and work at a level where additional skills don’t necessarily guarantee substantial plus on the payback.

For some people, though, business school is right regardless of age. Philip Delves Broughton, an author who graduated from Harvard Business School in 2006 writes: “Overconfidence can occur at any age, but it seems to be rarer among those who have done more between university and business school than spend a couple of years knocking around with like-minded souls on a management or analyst program. But experience also has its risks, notably overbaked assumptions and habits that can be hard to change.”

A graduate degree can increase career options at any age. For people over 35 it can for example help to move from a small entrepreneurial environment to a larger cor-porate one. Or it can assist to acquire the skills for a new start in a different industry.

Nevertheless, today’s GMAT-takers are younger than the degree seekers of the past. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, 37 per cent of those who took the test were under the age of 25 in 2007. In 2011, this number in-creased to 44 per cent. The percentage of test-takers over the age of 31 in the same timeframe has dropped to 16 per cent.

Some institutions are catering to those who wish to enter graduate programmes sooner. At Harvard Business School for example students can apply for a spot in a so called 2+2 Programme. According to the school’s website, those who are ac-cepted into this track spend two years after college working and then an additional two years taking MBA courses. The Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola University Maryland offers an Emerging Leaders MBA. The average age of students enrolled in this 12 months long track is 24, and 6 out of 10 are immediate college graduates.

In many European schools on the other hand, the median age of students entering a full-time programme is considerably higher, at Insead for example it is 28, at IMD it’s 30.

And then there is always the alternative of an Executive MBA where the average age of most candidates is between 30 and 40. A few business schools featured in the QS TopExecutive statistical review have candidates with an average age of 40 plus, including the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Helsinki School of Economics, which offers its Executive MBA in Finland, South Korea and Singapore. National University of Singapore, HEC Paris, Athabasca University in Canada, Melbourne Business School in Australia and the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine,he Trium Global Executive MBA from NYU Stern, HEC and London Business School also have an average candidate age of 40.

Sources:

BusinessweekU.S. NewsQS TopMBA

15 Myths and Misconceptions About Job-Hunting

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

How much of a job-hunting expert are you? Read over these 15 myths and misconceptions about job-hunting and see how many of them you believed in and how many you knew were incorrect. Once you know the truths about job-hunting, you should have more job search success -- and less stress.

Myth 1: Registering at Several Internet Job Boards Will Result in Multiple Job Offers
One of the most prevalent misconceptions in job-hunting is that job-hunting on the Web is some magic elixir that will result in employers lining up to interview you. While job-hunting on the Web should be one component of a job search for most job-seekers, it should not be viewed as having any higher success rates than applying to help-wanted ads in the newspaper or trade magazines. Only about 5 percent of job-seekers obtain jobs through ads. 



Myth 2: Want Ads and Other Job Postings Represent the Majority of Jobs Available
At the very most -- and some say this number is too high -- only about 15-20 percent of all available jobs are ever publicly advertised in any medium. The vast majority of job openings are part of the "hidden" or "closed" job market. And the higher the position and salary, the less likely the position will be advertised at all. How can job-seekers discover these jobs? Through networking. Networking is by far the most effective job search tool you can use. Networking is all about building relationships with people who can help you in your job search; it doesn't mean that you need to ask everyone you know if they have a job for you. 

Myth 3: Job-Seekers Who Change Jobs Often are Frowned Upon by Employers
The notion of "job-hoppers," those job-seekers who had multiple jobs with short stays listed on their resumes, has been disappearing for years. Ever since the great "downsizing" and "rightsizing" of companies during the 1980s and 1990s, employers have recognized that there rarely is any logical progression -- or corporate ladder -- within any one company anymore. To get ahead and gain new skill sets, job-seekers often need to make multiple moves. Avoid really short stints -- under a year -- but otherwise don't be too concerned with moving around. And if you are concerned, focus on your transferable skills with a functional rather than chronological resume. 


Myth 4: A Cover Letter is Not as Important as Other Job-Hunting Materials
Every time you apply for a job, you should send a cover letter written specifically for the position and company you are applying to. The only exception to this rule is when the employer explicitly states that it does not want a cover letter. A cover letter, also known as a letter of introduction or letter of application, must be an integral part of your job-search strategy. A resume is useless to an employer if s/he doesn't know what kind of job you are seeking. A cover letter tells the employer exactly what job you are seeking -- and how you are uniquely qualified for that position. 


Myth 5: A Resume Must Show a Logical Progression of Jobs and Increased Responsibility
The most important part of a resume is showing that you have the skills, education (or training), and experience that the employer seeks. Most employers will spend less than 20 seconds reviewing your resume, which means you need to focus on the key components of your resume that will result in getting a job interview.

Myth 6: As Long as You're Sending out Cover Letters and Resumes, You'll Get Interviews. Maybe in the tightest of job markets, or maybe if you are only applying to specific positions for which you are perfectly qualified, will this kind of passive job-search strategy produce any job interviews. Job-seekers must be proactive in your job search. You must follow-up every job lead. Call employers and request an interview. If you are under-qualified for a position or changing careers, request an interview anyway. You may not be qualified for that specific position, but the employer may have other openings (or know of other openings).

Myth 7: Lowering Your Salary Demands Will Make You a More Attractive Job Candidate Job-seekers should never lower reasonable salary demands because doing so will just make you appear desperate for the job -- and will likely result in your not getting the job offer. And even if you got the offer and accepted it, you would most likely never be happy in your job or with your employer because you would feel you were cheated out of the salary you deserved. As long as your salary demands are within acceptable range for the job you're seeking as well as the industry and location of the employer, stick to them. And never be the first to bring up salary; let the employer raise the issue. 


Myth 8: If You Can't Schedule Job Interviews Between 9 am and 5 pm You're Out of Luck While it's certainly true that a majority of job interviews are conducted during traditional business hours, employers will certainly find time during "off-hours" to interview desirable job-seekers. And it's often better to interview during these times because there are fewer distractions. 
Myth 9: The Most Qualified Job-Seekers Get the Best Jobs
Probably the biggest misconception about interviewing, it is not always the best qualified person who gets the job, but the job-seeker with the best mix of qualifications, interviewing skills, and rapport with his or her interviewer(s). So, don't be too cocky if you feel you are the most qualified person for the job - and don't be too discouraged if you don't feel you exactly match up with the job. If you get a job interview, it's because the employer thinks there is a strong enough match of your skills, education, and experience to do the job -- and at the interview, you need to prove why you are the best person to fill the job. 


Myth 10: Headhunters and Executive Recruiters Have Your Best Interests at Heart
Headhunters and executive recruiters get paid by the companies that hire them to fill their open positions, so where exactly is their loyalty? With their client companies, of course. Recruiters will not market job-seekers to companies; instead, they try to fit job-seekers into well-defined positions with the companies that employ their services.


Myth 11: Changing Careers is Nearly Impossible. As the workplace continues to change and evolve, more and more people will change careers in their lifetimes -- and many will change careers multiple times. As long as you have a plan and do your best to stick with it, you should be able to switch careers. That said, switching careers is not easy. It takes much effort to switch careers and may involve getting more education (or training), getting experience in the new career field, and focusing on how the skills you currently possess transfer to the new career field.

Myth 12: Job-Seekers Should Not Have to Sell Themselves to Employers
For better or worse, job-hunting is all about marketing yourself to employers -- which often means using some key selling skills to close the deal and get the job offer. You are the product, and you need to show the employer why you are the best product for the job. In today's job-hunting environment, the most successful job-seekers are those who understand the value of marketing and apply to themselves those principles that companies have used for years to successfully sell their products.

Myth 13: If You're Over 50, You Will Have a Hard Time Finding a Job
The baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are completely redefining the meaning of age and older works, and thus older workers should theoretically have a lot fewer problems finding new jobs than in the past. The critical issues are whether you have the skills, education, and experience that the employer seeks -- and whether all those are current. You also have to have the proper attitude -- that you are a team player, not a seasoned professional who knows all the answers and is unwilling to change. And, of course, if you are employed in an industry that focuses more on youth, then it may still be harder for you to find a new job. 


Myth 14: It Takes One Month of Job Searching for Every $10,000 of Current Salary
No one seems to know where this calculation comes from -- and no one has ever substantiated it. The fact is that every job search is different. And external factors such as the economy and demand for your particular set of skills and experiences will impact your search time. Noted career expert Richard Bolles (of What Color is Your Parachute?) states in a Q&A we conducted with him: "I think people adopt unrealistic guesstimates about how long their job hunt is going to take. We should expect that our job-hunt may take months, but if we persevere, we will find a job."

Myth 15: When Times are Tough, Take the First Job Offer You Get
In all my years of experience, the one truth is that job-hunting is streaky. You'll have weeks where you interview for positions and you are sure you'll get an offer and no offer ever comes, and then there will be weeks when you get multiple interviews and perhaps multiple offers. Should you take the first job offer that comes along? Only if you are sure that the job and the compensation represent the right career move. If not, a better offer will come along -- and as long as you are not about to lose your house or suffer other financial or emotional consequences, you should hold out for the job offer that best fits the direction you want to move in.

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Obtaining An Online MBA And Its Rewards

If you are busy with work but you desire to get a graduate degree then studying online might only be the thing that can assist you. One of the things which busy working people try is an online MBA so they can continue working and yet they can also obtain the degree that will aid them advance in their selected professions. If you feel that an online MBA is a thing that you could be capable to gain from then just simply keep reading for more info.

There are numerous schools that come with online MBA programs but one factor that you have to do if you want an MBA would be to choose a school that is reputable. That’s right, you can find online MBA programs which are offered by genuine schools and there are those programs that are being provided by schools that you can’t rely on by any means. If you’d like that MBA degree to be worth anything then make certain that the school you select is legitimate.

You’ll be investing a long time, effort, and money with an MBA online so just what you must do is obtain a list of school that provide programs on an MBA online and you can check their certifications. As soon as that is done, you could conduct a examine of their MBA programs and see which one fit you best. There are several schools that provide quick track programs so those might be of interest to you if you happen to are in a rush.

Are you aware that obtaining a master of business administration online also can cost you less money compared to standard schooling? That’s right, and this is also a key reason the reason why more and more people choose the distance learning programs. You know how tuition in traditional schools can cost an arm as well as a leg but this is not the situation with the online programs.

After you have made up your mind about obtaining a master of business administration online then you might want to look for several study instructions. Studying online might sound simple nevertheless it has issues of its own and you need to be ready for all of them or else you may just never finish that online degree. If you wish to obtain points on precisely how you can effectively acquire a degree online then you might examine the message boards through the school that you have signed up for. It’s now standard practice to have a discussion board exactly where all distance learning students might talk.

Want to find out more about online MBA, then visit FKB Consulting's site on how to choose the best online MBA programs for your needs.

Decisions Executive MBA Students Face

The decision to enroll in an Executive MBA program is one rife with difficult questions, the answers to which may well determine the extent of your success as a future executive. Most people entering Executive MBA programs are young professionals aspiring to reach greater heights in their field; they want the education to temper their passion for leading a business in the right direction, but it’s not easy choosing the best program or teaching style. Business schools around the country design Executive MBA programs in any possible format: online education, classes that emphasize peer involvement, mentorships from industry professionals—the list goes on. I wish all MBA students could take the outstanding classes offered at various Executive MBA programs, but that’s hardly a realistic aspiration.

Let’s address some of the biggest decisions a student has to make when you look through potential Executive MBA programs.

Classes taught online or in person?

The difference between online and in person education is one of the biggest issues concerning graduate business degrees in general. There are strong arguments to be had on both sides, but I think the decision really hinges on whatever works for your unique lifestyle. If you’re simultaneously interning at another business or even running your own small enterprise on the side, you might see great appeal in taking an online Executive MBA program that offers a relatively freer schedule. You might be the lone wolf student who thrives on the challenge of completing coursework on your own, relying on your own philosophy of leadership to guide them through lessons and hypothetical management scenarios.

On the other hand, you might thrive in an environment where you’re among your peers, bouncing ideas and strategies off one another. The idea of working alongside a professor with real world experience leading a business and a team of trained professionals might appeal to you if you’ve never worked with someone like that before. If you’re looking for greater involvement and interaction from your faculty and classmates, taking your MBA classes in person is obvious the right choice for you.

Fulltime or balanced with work?

Once you’ve decided on the atmosphere of your Executive MBA program, it’s time to decide the extent to which you want to involve yourself in classwork. Some students prefer to get their degree out of the way as quickly as possible so they can enter the working world immediately. These ambitious students usually cram as many classes as they can per semester, trying to graduate in record time. You might prefer the lightning round MBA path, but there are more steadily paced options.

Though it’s tempting to choose the quickest path to your Executive MBA, not every student has the luxury of dropping everything in their life to go back to school. It takes a serious time commitment to complete an MBA, and you might not have the option of sacrificing your day job for it. If that’s the case, then I highly recommend completing your Executive MBA over a number of semesters, giving yourself only as much classwork as you can handle. There’s no use overloading yourself if you have obligations outside of class.

Where to find the best connections

And finally, you want to be careful about choosing the Executive MBA program that has the right connections for you to advance your business career. This isn’t as simple as choosing a business school with the most famous faculty; it’s a matter of researching business schools with professors and lecturers with experience and knowledge that’s relevant to your field of interests. If you have ambitions to found a startup tech company, you want to look at schools with faculty that have successfully founded small business venture in that field. Applying anywhere else would be to miss the most important aspect of graduate education in business: meeting the right people, absorbing their industry advice, and applying it to your own venture.

Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.

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Education transformed by Distance Learning

Education transformed by Distance Learning

The process of learning is a continued and a complicated process. With the conventional education sector going almost out of spin, it’s the process of learning by distance.

Educate yourself crossing all limits

With the increase in the popularity of distance learning process it is making education affordable to the masses. This will help many students to enter the learning process quite a few years late. The distance learning process helps you to attain the learning program at your own pace at any time of the day. The increase in the online capability has increased the overall reach of the students to a large number of subjects.

There is hardly anything like the professional education, this make courses like the MBA in such a popular mode. The online MBA is one of the most demanding courses in the professional fields.

It helps to nurture the talents of any technically qualified personal in the most effective way. This will help the worker to qualify for improving their talents in various fields. It will also lead to improve their career prospects even further. They could be promoted to the managerial position and their salary will increase almost simultaneously in a progressive manner.

With the increase in the popularity of the distance learning process, the distance education is basically based on the process of spread of the internet technology. This has eventually increased the popularity of the distance education and the most popular among them is the online MBA. The management degree will help an ordinary worker to qualify for the process of the next promotion. The process of education is a rather a continuous process and this makes it popular among the working professionals. This will certainly enhance their talent and their overall experience of the matter of getting the professional degree.

There are various learning institutions who tie up with various industries in order to equip their students with the online MBA. These professionally qualified students can avail this facility through the distance learning process. The distance mode of education will help the students to carry on their studies from the comforts f their home. This is the real joy of distance learning and it can be accessed from any part of the world, just an online connection is needed. With the increasing number of online universities ruling the roost in the world of education, there is really nothing to lose and all to gain in this very process.

Steve Johnson here writes about the various online MBA and how they can prove beneficial in one’s career.

For information on distance learning please visit http://www.fkbconsulting.com

Should small business owners do an MBA?

Could an MBA be the catalyst that your business needs?

There is a definite perception that an MBA is more suited to those who wish to pursue a career in the corporate world and that MBA graduates are the future CEOs of global business. Conversely, there is a perception that entrepreneurism is a built-in characteristic that only the lucky few are born with.

I would argue that the perfect businessperson should have a blend of both entrepreneurial spirit and solid business acumen.

So, what skills could a small business owner learn from an MBA? Here I have highlighted three key benefits that an MBA could provide to a small business owner.

Finance

One of the most important things about being a small business owner is to have a good handle on finance. After all, cash flow is probably the single most challenging aspect of being a small business and ultimately companies go bust because they run out of cash not because sales slip a few percent or the social media marketing campaign didn’t quite do as well as expected.

Finance is a core part of any MBA program and having a solid grasp of finance can only help small business owners to make better informed decisions and evaluate risk more effectively. Being an expert in the finances of your business could be difference between you or your competitor going bust in times of economic strife!

Sales & Marketing

Another core part of the MBA curriculum that would definitely help small business owners is sales & marketing. A lot of people think they know about sales & marketing and that they do it well, but if you ask them to provide proof that an activity or campaign has been successful they are unable to provide sound return on investment (ROI) figures. Measuring sales and marketing activities is key to understanding what works and what doesn’t and in a small business environment, where time and resource is precious, you need to know this!

Networking

The final benefit of doing an MBA (assuming you would not opt for an online MBA) is the opportunity to network with people from a range of different backgrounds and industries. The benefits here are twofold; firstly you may uncover a new customer or strategic business partner and secondly you could learn techniques from other industries and perhaps even be the first to apply these to your own sector.

Barriers

The main barriers to small business owners doing an MBA are obvious – time and money! To address the first problem of time, there are many options now for doing an MBA with many business schools recognising the need to provide flexible courses. Some schools even offer weekend classes to help people who are too busy to attend class during the week. Another option is to look for a course that has a blended curriculum of classroom and online study.

With regards to the second problem of cost, this may not be quite such an issue for a small business owner as it is for somebody who is trying to forge a career in the corporate world. The reason for this is that the requirement to get your MBA from a top business school is not there. If you are a small business owner you can freely choose the MBA that fits your needs and not worry about whether your MBA comes from a top ranking business school like Stanford. If budget is really tight then you could look at a completely online MBA, however, you would lose the benefit of networking opportunities mentioned above.

In summary, don’t exclude the idea of an MBA if you are a small business owner. It could be just the catalyst that your business needs!

Online MBA and its Benefits in Todays Scenario

With so many complexities involved in today’s competitive scenario and people tending to forget about what matters most in our lives – Happiness. In such hectic and troublesome times, we may easily tend to get biased towards any particular aspect of our lives and in the process we forget to pay attention to other aspects of equal importance – Sometimes more.

 This emphasizes that we all need to become good managers in our lives in order to lead a happy and satisfying life. Management does not always mean a professional degree gained in order to get good salary hikes and better status at workplaces and society around us. But management essentially means art of being able to manage all aspects of our lives in such a way so that each gets the attention and time it deserves.

 This ability is getting more and scarce today and rightly so owing to high amount of stress and pressure faced by all of us at workplaces.

In such conditions, we tend to forget about spending quality time with family and that over time enhances nothing but stress on our minds.

 By now, we must have realized the need to become good managers and that is why having a practical approach towards life is so important today. This approach is only attainable by practicing in real time environment that is provided to us in various MBA Courses. However, many of us have constraints over the amount of time and money we may put in to earn a rewarding MBA Degree.

 Keeping in view various such factors, MBA courses in India have been designed such that everyone of us with any sort of constraints has a type of  course available that will still meet our needs and give us the desired result in terms of being a good managers of our lives ranging from Professional, Familiar and personal aspects.

Online MBA is really emerging as a good option now a day as participant does not have to be in the college necessarily in order to get knowledge.

The revolution of Internet comes into act this time and gives Online MBA the edge of simplicity, availability and other benefits over traditional MBA courses. Of course, Traditional on Campus course are more impactful if you do not have any professional or other responsibilities but if you do, then Online MBA is a really good option catering all the needs without having to spend all the time in Campuses. 

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Three Tips to Create Effective Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are on the rise and can be more productive than in-person teams, but it isn’t enough to just equip employees with the technology. Make sure you take these factors into account first.

In today’s virtual environment, airplanes, hotel rooms, coffee shops and practically anywhere along the way can instantly transform into a mobile office — making us more connected, more engaged and better able to collaborate and execute on the fly.

Virtual teams are on the rise, and in some cases can be even more productive than in-person teams, according to research by the American Productivity & Quality Center, a professional consulting organization. As a result, increasing numbers of companies are either migrating to these new types of teams, or creating a hybrid workforce augmenting on-site teams with virtual workers.

Some are tapping into familiar technology such as video conferencing and virtual document sharing, while others are leveraging more complex communication systems, such as online discussion groups and social media. But while technology plays a huge part in closing the distance between virtual teams, these tools alone are not enough to achieve collaboration.

While there are advantages to having virtual teams, talent managers must be aware of certain pitfalls when building and managing virtual teams. Here are the top three, along with ways to avoid them.

Don’t employ a one-size-fits-all approach. Hiring strategies for virtual team members are vastly different than for in-office positions. A virtual workplace requires far more self-reliance and self-motivation than needed for in-office employees. That’s why it’s important to identify the right individuals who demonstrate necessary skills — such as the ability to think independently, make clear decisions and take decisive action when called for, often without direction from higher-ups.

But a talent manager’s work isn’t done once the hire is made. Even if the employee possesses all the skills needed to be successful, additional training may be required to ensure communication across team members is happening, which can vary depending on the individual and the project.

Don’t assume collaboration will happen automatically. More than 60 percent of respondents in a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey on virtual teams reported that no specific training for online collaboration was provided — undoubtedly a hamper on team productivity.

Investing a small amount of time upfront ironing out strategies for proper communication and collaboration in a virtual setting as well as having regular check-ins on how these processes are working will pay big dividends down the road. Regularly setting measurable goals and deliverables, providing timely feedback and creating clear accountability for both virtual and on-site team members are essential building blocks for successful virtual teams.

Don’t think advanced tools will spell success. Many companies make the mistake of assuming the latest, most complex technology will foster the highest level of collaboration and productivity. While online technologies can make working together virtually as effective, or even more effective, than collaborating in-person, complex tools are not always the right ones for the job.

Take transactive memory systems (TMS), for instance, which offer a window into the technical, cultural and tactical knowledge of each team member to help employees solve complex problems by identifying who on the team has the expertise for a particular issue, or who can refer you to the appropriate resource. While they can be immensely helpful, building a TMS requires a significant investment of time and money and may not be the best answer for a company’s needs. In some cases, a simple instant messaging system or Skype call could get you to the same place faster, with far less expense and training and better results.

Working in virtual teams is not without challenges, but can reap significant business benefit when correctly executed. With thoughtful planning, effective communication and an open mind, companies can take their teams to the next level.

Susan E. Cates is president and associate dean of executive development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and executive director of MBA@UNC. She can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com.

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How to Choose an Online MBA Program ?

Search for "online MBA programs" and you'll be met with a staggering array of options. These days, it seems every institute of higher learning offers an online MBA program.

Demand for business degrees is high, especially among engineering and IT professionals, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, studies show that professionals who hold master's degrees earn more money than those with bachelor's degrees, says Bonnie Diehl, chief academic officer for the SANS Technology Institute, a for-profit educational institution offering advanced degrees in IT security management and engineering.

Second, many IT professionals who've worked in the field for a few years decide to pursue an MBA because they realize they may not be able to progress in their careers without one, says Susan Cates, executive director of the University of North Carolina's online MBA program, MBA@UNC.

"Engineers, for example, come out of their undergraduate experience and go into a functional role in a company with a very specific set of skills. As they grow and are given broader sets of responsibilities, they reach a point where their job becomes more about their leadership and management skills, their ability to think about strategy and financial decision-making, rather than about tech skills," says Cates. "When they need to broaden out their skillsets, it's a natural conclusion for folks with an IT or engineering background to see an MBA as a good path for expanding their career opportunities within their company or industry."

About half the students currently enrolled in UNC's online MBA program have a background in science, engineering or IT, adds Cates.

Martha Heller, president of Heller Search Associates, a retained executive search firm specializing in technology leaders, says that MBAs can be advantageous to CIOs with traditional technology backgrounds and to some of their direct reports, such as business relationship executives.

"What CEOs looking to hire CIOs care about is the CIO's ability to contribute as directly to the business as possible," says Heller. "The best way to demonstrate that experience is to have worked in the business, to have run a non-IT operations group, to have been a general manager. If you have that experience, the MBA is redundant."

However, if you lack that business management experience and are gunning for a career in industries that want their CIOs to make a direct contribution to the business, "an MBA will help," says Heller. "All things being equal as a recruiter, when I'm looking at a resume, I would rather see an MBA than not."

These trends have led online MBA programs to flourish. But with so many options, how can IT professionals determine which have the best reputations and meet their specific or needs Here's some advice.

1. Identify the characteristics of an online MBA program that are most important to you. Don't apply to an online MBA program just because you've heard of it, says Cates. Do some research first and consider what's most important to you in a program, whether that be the school's reputation, the quality of the teaching, the rigor of the academics, a particular concentration in a subject area, or the flexibility the program provides, she says. Your employer's HR personnel might be able to tell you which MBA programs have worked well for other employees.

2. Make sure the institutions you're considering are accredited.Some employers don't recognize degrees from non-accredited schools, notes Cates. Moreover, if a school is non-accredited, you may not be able to transfer any of your credits if you decide to enroll in an MBA program at a different institution.

3. Find the program that best fits your lifestyle and learning style.Cates says that professionals turn to online MBA programs for a variety of reasons: Many can't afford to drop out of the workforce for two years to pursue a traditional MBA. Others, due to demanding business travel schedules, can't be geographically tied to an evening or weekend executive MBA program. And some need the flexibility to take courses and complete the academics on their time.

Since online MBA programs vary in structure in style, to find the one that best suits your needs, Cates recommends asking the following questions:

• What learning formats are part of the program? Books? Webinars? Video conferences?

• Does the program repurpose on-site coursework for the Web, leaving you largely learning on your own? Or does it promote interaction with other students and faculty throughvideo conferencing and/or online discussion groups?

• Is there on-demand access to course materials?

• Is there real-time access to faculty for office hours?

• When are classes held? Are they offered during times that are clearly built for working professionals, such as evenings and weekends?

• Can you take classes anytime?

• Can you scale up or down the number of credit hours you're taking during any given term?

• Can you begin the program at different times of the year, or only in the fall?

4. Talk to current students. "There's no substitute for talking to current students to give you a sense of what is really happening in the program," says Cates. Conversations with professionals currently enrolled in the program will help you determine whether the program may meet your needs, she adds.

5. Evaluate whether the program offers career support. Good online MBA programs will offer leadership development and career coaching, says Cates. They also offer robust alumni networks that can come in handy when you're looking for a new job.

Meridith Levinson covers Careers, Security and Cloud Computing for CIO.com. Follow Meridith on Twitter target="_new">@meridith. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Meridith at mlevinson@cio.com.

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