The MBA qualification is perhaps the most questioned
qualification among a wide variety of people of various hues; in fact, there
are standing jokes on this qualification. And more than a few deep searching
questions have been asked on the course as well as on its graduates by a wide
variety of industry and academic experts – alongwith deep criticism of them as
a class. This is one of those fields in
education and industry that is currently being examined deeply by one and all. At this point, before I progress further – fair disclosure : I myself am an
MBA,9-Pointer, 17 Yrs Workex.
That is why a Book on the MBA Course and its
“hapless” graduates attracted me
immediately : Maybe This Or Maybe That,
written by Pen Name Abhaidev. {Authors
Real Name? Its in the book. Get it and find out! }. My
expectations? To be frank, none. Where an MBA is concerned – you never can tell,
and that is no joke or sarcasm. Blunt, Frank & Straight. I honestly did not
know what to expect; other than the fact that this was on my educational
qualification, I knew nothing of it. {If by that you, the reader, glean or extrapolate that anything with the term
“MBA” in it attracts us MBAs like a powerful magnet – your assessment would be
bang-on accurate.} {{Yup: loooong and/or
complicated words. Another of our irritating traits. Do the words fit – who cares?
Didn’t anaylse that far!}}
THE BOOK
What can I say – this is a book that goes on
for about 90 pages; and after reading, I cant honestly say what it was about. Neither
can the author, I am dead sure. Just like those reports we tend to create;
which go on for pages and say everything while taking no decisive position either
way; letting us Managers use our “gut feel of the market” to take decisions,
despite not having visited the field for years, decades and maybe even centuries.
{Yup – Managers have looong lives} {{Very Evil Smile}}
Ok,
ok, ok, ok – let me get to the point; I can hear your mind, enough of the
background already! This is getting more n more like your lovely mails and
reports now. Get on with it! Well,
friends – I have already given 50% of the premise of this excellent work – a systematic
sarcastic takedown of all that is “right” and right with MBA graduates – mint-fresh
naye murge as well as experienced – AND the MBA Course. {Why two rights – Coz MBAs
are never wrong, that is Gospel}.
The balance 50% of the book is where the
real Gems are, where the author drives home strong points, well-argued solid factual
points, pointers and guides to all of us, where the Author explains, laced with
sarcasm at times, what the MBA really teaches us, and what is really does to
skill sets. Read it for this alone – you
wont be disappointed. For example – the smallish section on what an MBA really
teaches us is one of the finest expositions in minimum words I have read. The
book takes on from there – and doesn’t look back, as it makes a rollicking
sarcastic and learning filled book….
THE ANALYSIS
Most of
the sarcasm and the takes, the learnings and the heart-felt expressions are
genuine as well as accurate; and timely advice. MBA Students would do well to
heed the advice; that said, is this mode of teaching – sarcasm – good? It is –
if combined with other modes, that go into factuals and do an honest
soul-searching. It takes all types of messages to convince a diverse population;
so this style cannot and should not be discounted. All in all, an excellent
learning filled sarcastic and jokey, yet very serious contribution to the
literature around MBAs. A very welcome effort indeed. Rated 3 stars on 5 :
docking 1.5 stars for the major major gaffes below.
There are only a couple of places where the
author goes wrong big-time; what I
felt to be the flippant sarcastic take on Ethics – too serious a matter to be treated
thusly; and the portion where he advises silence on certain aspects. To be
clear- the author advocates & supports Ethics, but he advises silence in some
places. If something is wrong – it is incumbent upon the employee to point it
out – even if it means losing your job.
Nothing is more important, repeat nothing – than truth, integrity, honesty and honour.
It is the silence, nay, pusillanimous horrifying self-centered silence of
people that cause scams, scandals, business losses, company closures; causes one-off errors to go systemic and
more. This is what causes MBAs to be questioned and ridiculed more than
anything else…. Food for thought for all
"This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program and Blog Tours. To know more log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.in"
Comments
Post a Comment