MBS in Review: The Core Subjects

I had a chat with one of my fellow Melbourne Business School bloggers this past weekend, and he mentioned wrapping up his blogging with some closing remarks regarding his studies at MBS and his MBA in general. Not wanting to be outdone, I thought I would chime in too.

A little context. I am currently half way through my last term at MBS and my second-last term of the program. My last term will be spent on exchange. I have very ambivalent feelings about MBS and I will try to structure my entries in a fair way and I am happy to amend each post as comments are made or to respond to others in the comments section.

The MBA at MBS is divided into the "core" subjects and electives. This entry will be about the core subjects.

There are 9 electives and one subject called World of Management that I'll discuss separately. The core subjects are similar to offerings in other business schools. Overall, I'd rate their content and breadth highly. After completing all but one (Managing Processes), I'd say my metaknowledge has increased (I now know how little I know) but can still hold an intelligent conversation on subjects like accounting and finance. I also have the tools to continue learning in these areas. I'd say that after completing the core, I'd make a better manager and can better engage with "the business."

I was fortunate: I'd rate the lecturers I had for most of the core subjects above average. This wasn't the case for everyone. Most of my intake, for example, has a very poor experience in Financial Management. Because I fell a bit behind with the core subjects, I was fortunate to get someone better.

Some of the core subjects, such as Data & Decisions (D&D) and Managerial Economics, are somewhat mathematical. As MBS students have such a diverse background, some students with rusty math skills struggle with the quantitative subjects. Others, particularly those for whom English is a second language, may struggle through the qualitative subjects. Luckily, MBS allows students to "test out" of a few core subjects. This, no doubt, saves former statisticians the boredom of 12 weeks of D&D. However, for people who have a relatively strong quantitative background (me: major in computer science, master's in software engineering), the math isn't that challenging but I probably won't be able to test out of any of the subjects. Yet, they move a pace more suitable to those without any background in hard sciences. I get get bored…

One last point about the electives. When people ask me why I chose an MBA, one of my responses is that "an MBA is a good course for someone who doesn't know what to do with their lives." I stand by that. An MBA is probably the broadest of all professional degrees. One outcome has been that I can definitely eliminate certain careers from consideration. For example, I now know I have little interest in finance.

World of Management (WoM) is a different beast. This is the very first subject you take at MBS. It is only offered as a one-week intensive (basically 9-5 Monday to Friday), with separates weeks for full time and part time streams. There is no real structure or pattern to WoM. It introduces you to a potpourri of "business related" concepts such as diversity, public speaking, and stress management. No knowledge from anything in these sessions is retained, and I have basically done WoM twice! (Long story, and, no, I didn't fail.)

One good thing about WoM is that there were many break-out activities such as a negotiations exercise, a public speaking contest (I won!), and some peer-to-peer interviewing. So, more than anything, WoM solidifies a connection between new classmates. I'd describe it as a week long orientation. However, unlike a real orientation, you pay for it as if it was a normal subject. That makes it a very expensive orientation. Even more so if you are working and need to take the week off.

In conclusion, I'd rate the MBS core subjects highly for both their breadth and the quality of teaching. However, variance in teaching quality and student capabilities is definitely a problem. World of Management, on the other hand, makes for an excellent social experience, but offers little in terms of learning outcomes. Fortunately, as this point, you only have a vague concept of "value for money."