The conclusioin of the article rhythms with my philosopy, to be a very good politician I need to get an MBA from a top Management School. And people look at me like I am crazy. B'cos most of the people think that Law is a better route for politics, but in my opinion more than creating laws having the ability to create wealth for the society is more important to become a productive politician and an MBA will help to arm yourself with necessary skills.
Well, now read on the article that is rated the best.
That business school develops the "leaders of tomorrow" is one of the more painful clichés that adulterates the MBA experience. A successful manager is not synonymous with a visionary leader. Leaders don't sit around assessing their twelve leadership traits. But what do I know? After all, in the recent LTA (Learning Team Assessment), I received a 3.57 out of 5 for my VI (Vision and Inspiration), compared to the school-wide average of 3.86 and cohort average of 3.98.
But I no longer aspire to be a visionary. I had enough visions during my late teenage years. In Wharton's leadership class, my vision statement prophesized, "By the age of fifty, I will retire to the Caribbean, drink exorbitantly expensive wine with my excessively beautiful wife, and take early morning walks through lush gardens." Of course, this prophecy is potentially compromised by my score of 3.33 for IT (Integrity and Trust), which is low relative to the 4.18 class average. One of my teammates observed, "While I view Ari as trustworthy, I know that he plays the game following a different moral compass." True enough, though too bad I have been lax in following my own scruples: "When you are above praise and blame, when your heart flows broad and full like a river, a blessing and danger to those living near- There is the origin of your virtue" (Nietzsche). Here at Wharton, my heart has not been flowing like the raging rapids of a torrential river. It's more like I've been living in a fish bowl.
Nevertheless, my Wharton experience has measured on a logarithmic scale. Would law school have been the same?
We are all familiar with the perennial debate about the merits of a law degree versus an MBA. In rationalizing my personal choice, my application essays to Wharton argued, "I see an MBA as something more than the acquisition of quantitative skills. In conceiving of the ideal Republic, Socrates insists that until the philosophers are kings, or the kings are philosophers, the perfect nation-state will not be feasible. In today's context, the successful business manager best represents the philosopher, who ideally possesses a broad background that enables him or her to apply theoretical frameworks to diverse, real-world situations."
Was I serious? A vital framework to grasp the state of modern society is that presented by Gendron in Technology and the Human Condition (1977). Human history can be broadly understood as having three general phases of technological innovation: Agrarian, Industrial, and Postindustrial (which I refer to as Cybernetic). Agrarian technology enhanced the finesse of human limbs, such as wheels, plows, or knives improving upon the legs, arms, and hands. Then came the Industrial Revolution, starting with the steam engine and culminating with nuclear power. Industrial technologies magnify human muscle power, and they enabled the emergence of transportation and communication networks, as well as the metropolis and mass production. Finally, the most recent and current phase is the Cybernetic (Postindustrial), which started in the early 50s, galvanized humanity in the 80s/90s, and continues to transform the human experience. As an exponential augmentation of human cognitive function, cybernetic technology, or the computer, has become intrinsic to the infrastructure of developed civilization.
In this context we can appreciate the contemporary value of an MBA. Humans live in a highly complex society, unlike anything conceivable even three decades ago. From extending our limbs, to magnifying our muscle power, we have now exponentially enhanced the capacity of the human intellect. In today's world, therefore, our decision-makers face an overwhelming abundance of data. The leader, or manager, must develop a framework that coherently explains our complex, cybernetic world in a way that enables productive activity. An MBA education, with its broad curriculum, practical application, global approach, and quantitative underpinning, cultivates the ability to develop frameworks that allow for the intelligible aggregation and analysis of these myriads of data. Such frameworks constitute the basis for substantive strategic insight and decision-making.
There are dozens of other contrasts between an MBA and other graduate school programs. Having worked for a few years and then having been subject to a rigorous screening process, MBAs tend to be highly accomplished, intense individuals. The public critique of an MBA degree as not necessarily cultivating "good managers" is moot. We are unequivocally the most promising, pre-screened pool of potential managers relative to any other identifiable demographic group. Here lies the hint as to how to improve the quality of the Wharton MBA: Be sure the new admissions director can live up to the legacy of Rose Martinelli. Hire another opera singer.
For it is the experiential element of an MBA, more so than its academic component, that accounts for its value. Our social culture, our Walnut Walk, our Halloween party, our orgiastic trips to Vegas and Puerto Rico-in short, the friendship between diverse, dynamic, Type 'A' individuals-uniquely characterizes the MBA experience at Wharton and (to a lesser extent) other elite business schools.
Anyway, I am tired of hearing discussions about the "value of an MBA." Our experience cannot be quantified. It can barely be described to those living outside our fish bowl. Personally, I came to Wharton to develop as an artist, to deepen my understanding of life, and to pick up undergraduates. Only the latter remains unimplemented. And despite my mediocre VI score (Vision and Inspiration), I feel the universe coursing through my blood, and the voice of nature stirs my spirit. But I shouldn't be telling you that, because that's sort of crazy. As for the value of an MBA, our education could best be described as "Applied Philosophy." In today's complex world, only three things are certain: Death, taxes, and that until MBAs become politicians, or until politicians get MBAs-or at least hire us-then the perfect society will not materialize.
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