Are MBAs finally on their way out?

MBAs create nothing of value; they are simply gatekeepers tasked with policing those who do create and finding ways of monetising anything that can be turned into a commodity. Representation Pic

One of the rare news reports that cheered me up immensely over the past month came from one of our reputed institutes of management. Apparently, over 100 first-year MBA students from the institute in question failed to secure summer internships at recently held placements, resulting in about one in six students with no offer in their hands. If the rest of us were supposed to be saddened by this update, I didn't see any signs of it.

The institute in question - like any institute desperate to keep charging exorbitant fees naturally would - was quick to point out that there was no need for alarm. This is just a blip, it said.

Blip or not, it cheered me up. For too long, I have watched business schools spend millions on public relations trying to convince the world that it needs more business graduates, even as the world has quietly but consistently been pushing back against this ridiculous notion. If business graduates really were the answer, we wouldn't be a species spiralling so rapidly towards extinction.

The fact is, MBAs have been falling from favour for over a decade now, for all kinds of reasons. In the West, it isn't only because more companies need candidates with broader qualifications. It's also a prolonged shift towards a better work-life balance, and an increasing emphasis on individual well-being over corporate success. In India, the reasons are probably just financial. A report published earlier this year analysed MBA fees at top business schools and found that the bottom 50 per cent of graduates were leaving with an average debt of R17.06 lakh. It added that a two-year MBA programme risked placing students in debt for over 12 years.

Four years ago, Forbes published a damning report on American MBA programmes approaching a state of crisis. It quoted the dean of a reputed institute predicting that 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the top 100 MBA programmes in the US would close in the next few years, with greater fallout among second- and third-tier schools. That hasn't happened yet, but it's nice to know a shake-up is inevitable.

However, while announcements of this degree's demise have been making the rounds for a long time, and business schools will argue that this doesn't reflect reality, regular conversations about its validity should still be encouraged. We know the MBA won't die, obviously, not because it offers any real value but because there's too much money at stake. MBA graduates won't buy this argument because anyone paying that kind of money for something so dubious is primed to do everything in their power to perpetuate the myth of its importance. Like an academic Ponzi scheme, today's MBAs will continue to hire tomorrow's MBAs, and the rest of us will continue paying the price.

One of the saddest things about an MBA is what compels it to exist in the first place. It isn't a degree about making humanity better; it exists simply to help people earn more money for themselves or, more often than not, for a corporation or company that hires them specifically for that role. What we end up with is a bunch of people desperate to recoup what they have paid to buy into this idea, at the cost of everything that is good about humanity.

MBAs create nothing of value; they are simply gatekeepers tasked with policing those who do create and finding ways of monetising anything that can be turned into a commodity. It's why, ironically, they may inadvertently cause their own demise. In a recent Forbes survey, half of the CEOs believed AI could potentially replace ‘most' or even all aspects of their own positions. It's only a matter of time.

I am painfully aware of how easily these arguments can be dismissed. I can be accused of not knowing the first thing about business and may be laughed out of a room for not accepting that even journalists need money to do their job well. The point I'm trying to make, however, is about what we push our children to do. Why do so many of us, as Indians, value only an academic path that leads to financial success, as opposed to a path that leads to creative or intellectual fulfilment? It is only when we encourage our children to do what they like, as opposed to studying for a degree that can only take them to an executive suite, that we may bring about the kind of intellectual change this country so desperately needs.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira
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