One of the important decisions to be made early in a MBA education is whether to seek a very broad general business education or specialize. The ubiquitous answer to all business questions such as this is, of course, “It depends”.
The very purpose of an MBA education is to provide you with a broad business background and understand how all the pieces fit. If you are starting your own company or running a family business, you may choose to stop there. My advice however, would be to “go deeper”.
Employers often tell me the reason they are willing to pay an MBA graduate a six-figure salary is that they expect that person to have the ability to immediately contribute to their organization. To do so, they want someone who has both a broad business education and a high degree of specialization in one or more subjects.
Everyone graduating from B-school must be very competent in accounting, finance and statistics; they must have the ability to do the analytical analysis. Those abilities are the order qualifiers. The order winners are often a high degree of specialization in your chosen area of expertise. Perhaps that is investment banking, real estate finance, brand management, or health care. The new career and industry specializations that Owen provides in these (and other) areas are designed to give you that high level of knowledge, skills and abilities.
In addition, employers seek out those individuals who have learned how to lead and to develop others, to work in ambiguous environments and within a global setting. Our Leadership Development Program is designed to give you these abilities and experience. Successful candidates who exhibit these abilities and can communicate well will have a leg up.
Comments