The master of business administration degree was once an essential rung on the career ladder for businesspeople looking to climb into an executive position. Whether the course was relevant to a specific job or the career plan of the individual was incidental: three magic letters — M, B and A — were often simply a door-opener for the boardroom-bound.

In the last few years, however, things have changed slightly. A proliferation in the number and variety of MBA courses available means that the qualification is more accessible than ever before and can, to a greater extent, offer those with a particular career in mind a tailored management course that is both practical and vocational.

On the other hand, it can be argued that the more people that have an MBA, the less value it has. The qualification, so the argument goes, loses its exclusivity while competition for management-level jobs intensifies. Therefore, the fundamental questions are not just which MBA to take, but whether to take one at all.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE

Arunswasdi Pachra Bhuridadtpong from the career services centre at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration.

When it comes to the pros and cons of management training, the person is as important as the course, says Arunswasdi Pachra Bhuridadtpong from the career services centre at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration. Basic skills such as leadership, analytical thinking, decision-making and teamwork are key. In addition, knowing exactly what the course offers and the motivation for doing it are vital.

“Only those students who have fully grasped the concepts behind the MBA have a real chance of succeeding at management level,” says Arunswasdi."Those who don’t know why they wanted to study an MBA in the first place may not be as successful."

So how can a potential candidate decide whether an MBA is for them? According to Artit Serngadichaivit from MBA Planner, which provides consulting to aspiring candidates, the best approach is to set a clear career goal some five to 10 years into the future. Then, by working backwards, candidates will have a clearer indication of whether a particular course is right for them. They may be surprised at what they find out about themselves.

Artit Serngadichaivit, co-founder of MBA Planner.

“Those who really don’t like to talk with people or who want to work as specialists in a particular profession, such as researchers or computer programmers, may very well find that an MBA is not what they need at all,” says Artit.

Looking at this from the opposite point of view, an MBA may be highly suitable for those looking for a career change or a move from something specific, like engineering, to a more general management field, like finance. After all, MBA programmes usually incorporate more than just general management theory. Students usually choose a variety of topics to study, ranging from marketing and finance to information technology and media management. This allows students who have little experience in a particular field to broaden their horizons.

“My academic background was in accounting, but I also wanted to specialise in marketing,” says Patranee Vichayanotai, a recent graduate from Sasin. “Studying for the MBA allowed me to be able to specialise in two areas that complement each other. So instead of working as an accountant, now I can switch my career path to corporate finance, marketing, or even start my own business.”

Naturally, many potential management trainees will initially also wonder whether or not a business-oriented background is a requirement for acceptance on a course. The answer is no. A good MBA school will place a high value on real experience because classes are structured around case studies and class discussions. This experience is then invaluable in helping broaden students’ perspectives and approaches to solving problems. In addition, all students, regardless of their background, have to complete certain core classes before studying individual majors.

SOME EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

While a background in business is usually not a course requirement, MBA students are generally encouraged to have at least two years of work experience under their belt. Without any experience at all, students may not be able to contribute to class discussions and may have a difficult time completing case studies, since most of them are modelled on situations or issues found in real working environments.

“Almost every theory we learned in class was accompanied by case studies,” says

Patranee Vichayanotai, a recent MBA graduate from Sasin.

Patranee. “For example, while some of my finance classes were theory-based, others were based mainly on case studies that we had to analyse in groups before discussing them in class.”

Of course, while work experience definitely is important — if not required — it is not the only quality business schools look for in a candidate. Top-level MBA schools often have a highly selective applications procedure that can also take into account GPA scores, letters of recommendation, essays and, of course, interviews.

Although not every MBA school uses such a selective application process, those that do are mostly well-established, reputable schools that, through name and reputation alone, can make or break a job application.

But it’s not only the schools that need to be selective. Despite the lack of standardised ranking of MBA schools in Thailand, responses from the corporate world can be used to measure a particular school’s strengths and acceptance in the business community. These responses can give a true reflection of the degree’s value for the potential student.

The remaining question is, then, where to study the MBA: in Thailand or abroad? While there is no clear-cut answer, there certainly are some advantages and disadvantages. According to Artit, networking and alumni connections give graduates from an MBA programme in Thailand a big advantage, while those who choose to study abroad — particularly in the top 10 MBA schools in the US — will gain tremendous experience from an international pool of peers and professors.

Those who prefer to study in Thailand will also face the question of whether to choose an Thai or English programme. To many Thais, studying in English may sound intimidating, but in today’s globalised world, the importance of English as a common business language is undeniable regardless of whether one course is subjectively “better” than another.

Clearly, while seen by many as the ultimate key to wealth and success, clear judgment must be exercised when deciding whether to take an MBA. Goals must be established, and if those goals indicate that single-subject study is the right choice, graduate students should not shy away from deciding that business administration isn’t for them. After all, two years is a lot of time to waste.

MBA RANKINGS Although there is no standard ranking system for MBA schools in Thailand, a number of international publications, such as US News and Asia Inc., publish annual rankings of top schools around the world. Asia Inc. 2005 MBA Schools Ranking 1.      National University of Singapore’s Business School, Singapore. 2.      Nanyang Technological University’s Business School, Singapore. 3.      Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) School of Management, Thailand. US News 2005 Business Schools Ranking (US) 1.      Harvard Business School, Harvard University. 2.      Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. 3.      The Wharton School of Management, University of Pennsylvania. For more information on the rankings, visit www.asia-inc.com and www.usnews.com.

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This article is part of a series looking at career and education choices for Thai graduates. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this story or about the subject in general, email me at oratipn@bangkokpost.co.th.

SINGAPORE — A weight-loss programme common in many Singaporean schools that singles out apparently fat children may be contributing to eating disorders among girls, a study published in the Straits Times said last Monday.

The study of 4,400 female students found that 7 percent were at high risk of disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, with many of them former or current members of the Trim and Fit programme (TAF).

TAF, which carries the unfortunate reverse acronym of FAT, involves overweight students being separated from their school friends for compulsory exercises up to five times a week.

In some schools, only thin students are given colourful “I'm Trim and Fit” wristbands to wear, while TAF members are banned from eating certain foods at the canteen.

The TAF programme was launched in 1992 and the government credits it with helping to cut the number of overweight students from 14 percent in that year to 10 percent in 2003.

However, the programme is a cause of concern for many parents, who feel the potential weight loss benefits for their children are outweighed by the psychological pressures and the inevitable name-calling.

“After the first two weeks in TAF, my son would not eat rice or bread,” the Straits Times quoted Theresa Tan, whose son has been in the programme for three years, as saying.

“I agree my son needs to lose weight, but I wish the school would involve all the kids, overweight and normal. And could they not make it fun?”

The paper quoted another mother as saying her secondary-school daughter went from 60 to 48 kilogrammes in five months on the TAF programme, but only realised afterwards that she vomited after every meal. AFP