Professor Elam

2 responses to “Whither the MBA?”

1. 

   Jordan McClary

   May 22, 2007

   Ok so I can somewhat agree here with you. How ever there are some employers that can’t really afford those Ivy leaugers required pay stubs so, if there willing to sacrafice and pick me up for a few buck cheaper, Im on board. It gives me an opportunity to stick my neck out there and maybe somebody will notice me and my good skills and the things I have accomplished. I for one would tell you that unless its math related, a degree may be worthless. I can count numerous people in the business world that I know, that didn’t even as much complete one hour of college and are extremly successful. So, how would having an MBA make them any better.
   I could be wrong, but I believe George W Bush is the first president to hold an MBA. Would you agree it made him any smarter or better? I think his acceptance rate speaks for itself and most of his predecessors easily out performed him. I dunno, thats just my opinion. What say you Dr. E?

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2. 

   Dennis Elam

   May 22, 2007

   Jordan
   Good points all! I certainly think that a UNT MBA is an asset especially since there are some 70,000+ alums in the area. I wouwl also agree that it needs to be related to a specific skill, some schools allow one to specialize in finance, marketing, etc. but this is probably the time to rifle in on what you want to do and try to customize the MBA to your desired area. Which is to say that if you have a logistics background like Jason did, I would write papers with a logistics bent to them. I would then put those papers in a portfolio and empahsize my specialty. I would also consider coupling the MBA with some sort of certification. No doubt there is some sort of Certified Mortgage Specialist in Jordan’s field, if so and you want to stay in that field, by golly, I would certainly set my sights on getting one. I will be putting all the various specialities available in Accounting on the blog this week, you will be amazed.
   Now consider this, I never particularly wanted to do accounting but I will assure you that being a CPA has enabled me to do many things that otherwise would not have been possible, a certification is always a good thing.
   Now, as for George Bush I and II, and Al Gore, and Tommy Lee Jones, and Gerald Ford, and both Clintons (Yale Law) gee funny how they can all go to the same school and reach opposite conclusions but I digress….
   I honestly believe the rigor at Yale and Harvard has gone down, consider that Bill Clinton did not arrive at Yale until after working on the McGovern campaign thru Nov 2, how on earth did he pass the semester afer missing most of it, the answer is that if you are admittted to Yale, you will graduate. The Ivy League schools are the ultimate fraternity, getting you into corporate boardrooms, state housees, Wash DC politics, etc.
   I met the current president when he was campaigning for office as a congressman, he lost, in 1978. He was and is an affable guy. He may have an MBA but he went bust in the oil bidness as Molly Ivins liked to say, when every one else was making money. He and his Dad were tag a longs, someone else made the money they were just there at the right time. He got someone to bail out his business by getting them some drilling right courtesy of Dad. Later oil friends installed him on a baseball team to burnish his business credentials. His Dad made money at Zappata thanks to Hugh Liedtke who went on to run Pennzoil. Most politicians are not much at making money, they just use their position as Cheney did to become Pres of HAL. Look at how Edwards got into a Hedge Fund and made a bundle, not because he brought any real added value.

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