Paul --
MBAs certainly have been saddled with a persistent stereotype, and it
is not pretty.
In choosing online material to outline this stereotype, I have tried
hard to use sources, such as business school students and
administration, recruiters, journalists and others, who may be
expected to be particularly attuned to the prevailing stereotypes.
Many, many other sites confirm elements of the stereotype, but my goal
was to find some especially knowledgeable sources to use here. I have
also made the reasonable (I think) assumption that references to
stereotypical traits of MBA students are as useful to you as those of
MBA graduates (since these students "grow up" to be full-fledged
MBAs).
So, let's "build" our stereotypical MBA:
First, who is this person anyway?
"Although enormous changes have taken place in the design and delivery
of MBA programmes and the outlook of business schools and recruiters
over recent years, one factor has remained remarkably constant: MBA
students themselves. The typical MBA student is still male, white and
aged 24-29. He is highly motivated, knows what he wants from the
programme, scores well in the GMAT, knows how to fill in application
forms and write essays, and is generally aware of what to expect."
The Economist: Economic Intelligence Unit: Which MBA Online (5/12/03)
http://mba.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=view_article&eiu_article_id=1446117744
What's he look like?:
"Think of an MBA graduate and you might picture the media stereotype
of a preppy all-American . . . ."
Bob's Guide to Online Degrees, Online Education, and Distance Learning
http://www.mba-bs-ms-online-degrees.com/article20.htm
Now we're ready to take this young person and add some personality
traits (although the prototype MBA is a white male, I have found no
evidence that the stereotypical traits don't apply in full to female
and non-white MBAs):
First, a 2000 graduate of Emory University's business school
acknowledges the hyper-competitiveness of the stereotypical MBA
candidate:
"Instead of the back-stabbing cutthroat stereotype, Goizueta Business
School is a school where the students genuinely support each other,
both in the classroom and during the job search."
Business Week: Business School Profiles: Emory University
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/01/full_time_profiles/emory4.htm
Next, A prominent technology executive believes that the typical MBA
is focused on making as much money as possible as soon as possible.
Here's the quote from Kevin Ryan, President of DoubleClick, at a
Columbia University symposium:
"MBAs overvalue money right away. In the scheme of things, money is
irrelevant . . . ."
Columbia University: Columbia Students Embrace New York's New Media Industry
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/business/botline/spring99/3_4/nynm.html
This money-grubbing stereotype is also acknowledged (and rejected, of
course), by a Georgetown professor:
"While there?s certainly some truth? to the stereotype of an MBA
candidate whose sole focus is personal wealth -- "we have students
here who are very much of that type of mindset -- the school?s
religious roots mean students know that ethics education ?will be
taught with some favor here.? (quoting George G. Brenkert, Professor,
McDonough School at Georgetown University)
National Catholic Reporter: Ethics education grows in importance for
MBA candidates, by Joe Feuerherd
http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/102502/102502w.htm
Peter Swann of Manchester Business School adds that the stereotypical
MBA candidate is single-minded about his career and is not idealistic:
"[MBA students] are often portrayed as very career-driven, very
market-oriented, and not very idealistic, but in my opinion many do
not fit this stereotype."
LTSN Economics Teaching Support: Case Study: Teaching Economics to MBA Students
http://www.economics.ltsn.ac.uk/advice/mba.htm
Add to this the portrayal in a notorious Federal Express commercial of
the stereotypical MBA as arrogant and unable to perform simple,
practical tasks:
"A current television commercial pokes fun at the stereotype of the
MBA as a bit arrogant and so overeducated that they can't perform
simple tasks. In the Federal Express spot the boss has to show the MBA
how to use the package-tracking system. The slogan, "Even an MBA can
do it," ends the commercial."
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: MBA Know-How (11/17/03)
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/7284653.htm
Arrogance seems to the common denominator of many versions of the
stereotype. Here's another example:
"In The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive business-school survey,
corporate recruiters repeatedly complained about the arrogant and
cutthroat attitudes of business-school graduates and recommended that
schools instill humility in their students and encourage more teamwork
and collaboration."
Wall Street Journal: Career Journal: MBA Grads Could Benefit
From Grace Amid Competition, By Carolyn Woo
http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/perspective/20010625-fmp.html
Here's yet another example of the "arrogance" charge from an executive
recruiter, who also mentions its close cousin "condescension":
"Over the years I?ve had some tough questions posed to me by cocky,
arrogant and sometimes condescending MBA types (this problem does not
limit itself to MBAs as I?ve heard similar stories in IT and
engineering fields)."
IRES Recruiting Services: Got cocky MBA's?, by Frank Risalvato
http://www.iresinc.com/articles/publish/article_16.html
Seconding the notion that "the human element" is lacking in MBAs and
that they are a "focused" bunch is a female executive who placed a
personal ad in the Harvard alumni magazine:
"A classic Harvard MBA type is sort of focused and there's not a lot
of human element to it."
Washington Post: Harvard Personals Just Can't Be Matched
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A54556-2003Feb10¬Found=true
Here is a Columbia Business School student describing the "typical"
MBA as having a "controlling personality":
"Remember, you don?t always have to be working or multi-tasking.
Sometimes you can just relax and let the server pour your soup for you
(Emily, having a little of that typical MBA controlling personality in
her, had trouble with this one but finally learned.)"
Columbia Business School: Botline: Power Lunching: Where to Go, What
to Eat, How to Do It, by Emily Allen and Linda Keegan
http://www3.gsb.columbia.edu/botline/spring00/4_20/Power.html
A University of Chicago career advice publication suggests that MBAs
are not good at self-examination:
"If you're like most MBAs, you're action and result oriented.
Stopping to take stock -- not of a business opportunity but of
yourself -- is not something MBAs are particularly good at. It's also
hard because it means acknowledging of your weaknesses, not something
that the business school environment makes easy."
University of Chicago: Chicago Career Catalyst (9/11/2000)
http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:cfE3FmCpWuAJ:gsbwww.uchicago.edu/gsbcar/resource_center/catalyst/Catalyst%2520Vol%25205%2520PDFs/Catalyst%2520Volume%25205%2520Issue%2520CORE.pdf+%22mbas+OR+mba+is+OR+are+typically%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Here's another example of a business school representative
acknowledging an element of the negative MBA stereotype -- here, greed
-- while denying its truth:
"Everyone thinks they know that MBAs are avaricious and greedy. And
while no one is claiming that they are perfect, it turns out that MBAs
are willing to forgo a significant percent of their income to be more
moral across a number of dimensions."
Stanford Business School: Research: MBA Graduates Want to Work for
Caring and Ethical Employers (1/04)
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/hr_mbajobchoice.shtml
From "the horse's mouth" -- that is, the dean of a business school --
comes this sweeping indictment that he only partially dismisses:
"Among employers, the complaint remains that MBA candidates are too
theoretical, overly ambitious, unmanageable, and perhaps even
arrogant. That maybe a bit harsh, but there is no question MBAs are
impatient."
Kogod Business School: American University: Dean's Annual Address (9/30/03)
http://www.kogod.american.edu/ViewItems/MediaItem.cfm?MediaID=209
Finally, this particularly damning assessment by a prominent professor
at a business school in India shows that the stereotype (with which
this writer appears to agree) is international in scope:
"During my discussions with some businessmen and senior executives, I
realized that while they consider MBAs as good and fast machines, they
do not consider them as good humans. Their concern is that the MBAs
are on a fast track, self-centered, hasty, and greedy."
Speakers Platform: Are MBAs Tainted?: by R. C. Natarajan
http://www.speaking.com/articles_html/R.C.Natarajan_686.html
While the vast majority of online stereotyping of MBAs is negative,
not all of it is. So let's end with this compliment to a well-known
MBA:
"Bush makes policy decisions in a crisp, decisive, and disciplined MBA-type style."
National Review Online: Larry Kudlow: 100 and Counting (4/30/01)
http://www.nationalreview.com/kudlow/kudlow043001.shtml
There you have it. According to conventional wisdom, MBAs are
arrogant, greedy, controlling, unable to perform simple tasks (too
theoretical), back-stabbing, cutthroat, unidealistic, lacking the
"human element," unreflective, unmanageable and impatient. On the
plus side (I guess), they are focused, decisive, result-oriented and
disciplined.
Additional Information:
MBAs have their own website, which, as far as I can tell, does not
acknowledge their negative stereotype (a site search for "arrogant"
turns up nothing):
MBA.com
http://www.mba.com/mba
Another specialized MBA website is called MBA Style, and it seems to
focus largely on "dressing for success":
MBA Style Magazine
http://www.mbastyle.com
Search Strategy:
The challenge here was separating the wheat (authoritative sources)
from the chaff (everyone else) among the thousands of websites that
talk about MBA types and stereotypes, mostly in unflattering terms.
For example, the following simple Google search turns up over 11,000
"hits":
mba OR mbas arrogant
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mba+OR+mbas+arrogant
In order to come with a manageable number of the most relevant sites,
I used various combinations of search terms, including, among many
others:
mba OR mbas stereotype OR stereotypical
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=mba+OR+mbas+stereotype+OR+stereotypical
"mbas are" arrogant
://www.google.com/search?q=%22mbas+are%22+arrogant&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
"mbas OR mba is OR are typically"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22mbas+OR+mba+is+OR+are+typically%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N
In light of your clarification, I am confident that this is the
information you are seeking. I hope you don't object to the
"tongue-in-cheek" approach to the material that I used at times. As a
retired member of another much-maligned professional group (lawyers),
I enjoyed (maybe too much) the task of collecting information about
this one. If any of the above in unclear, please ask for
clarification before rating this answer.
markj-ga |
