By Julian Goldsmith, 19 August 2008 10:00
NEWS
CIOs say MBAs are a useful tool for their jobs - as long as they are studied for the right reasons and combined with plenty of practical experience.
In the latest silicon.com CIO Jury poll, the 12-strong panel of IT chiefs voted eight to four in favour of the qualification, although even some of the supporters said experience is a critical attribute.
Following a piece on silicon.com discussing a book by Philip Delves Broughton entitled What They Teach You at Harvard Business School: My Two Years in the Cauldron of Capitalism, three CIOs said an MBA was not worth the time and effort.
CIO50 2008: Top 10
The UK's leading CIOs revealedÂ…
1.Robin Dargue Royal Mail
2.David Lister Royal Bank of Scotland
3.Neil Cameron Unilever
4.Catherine Doran Network Rail
5.John Suffolk UK government
6.Gordon Lovell-Read Siemens UK
7.Paul Coby British Airways
8.Tania Howarth Birds Eye Iglo Group
9.Simon Post Carphone Warehouse
10.Ben Wishart Whitbread
When asked if an MBA is worth it, The London Clinic IT director Mike Roberts said: "Only if your boss wants it. Very often, people assume that if they have an MBA they should be the CEO. However, an MBA doesn't teach experience of dealing with people. All senior management is about people."
Ted Woodhouse, ex-IT director of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust went even further in his condemnation of the artificial nature of MBAs.
He said: "MBA is definitely not worth the effort. My experience of people with MBAs is that the qualification gives them the skills to 'talk the talk', but certainly not to 'walk the walk'."
AOL Broadband director of systems and operations Steve Clarke, said personally an MBA was no use, but might have been early on in his career.
He said: "There was a time when I believed I should do an MBA but now I believe my personal development and job prospects will be enhanced more through my coach and mentors. From them I have on-going access to vast amounts of experience and wisdom that I can immediately put in to practice in the real business world, that's something two years in a classroom just can't compete with."
Those in favour of MBAs were also equivocal in their support of the course. They acknowledged it was no substitute for skills and experience gained on the shop floor, but it did provide a fresh perspective.
Gavin Watrup, group IT Director of marketing services company Creston, said: "It depends on why you're doing it. If the criteria for success were career progression and salary increase, I'd say 'no'. If I wanted to employ a CIO I'd prefer practical experience over theoretical/academic experience every time. But if the point is to add to your toolkit, and completely refresh your outlook, then absolutely, an MBA is worth it."
Nic Bellenberg, IT director of Hachette Filipacchi UK, noted that MBAs are worthwhile in that they goad people into making up for the lost time.
He said: "I think the value is to the individual. Those I know who have completed MBAs have had to make sacrifices of money; putting their immediate careers on hold; or spending less time with their families. Post MBA they have then been very driven to ensure that their careers advance accordingly and repay the sacrifices. If you were to do an MBA without a specific goal in mind, then it may mean less to you."
Today's CIO Jury was:
- Nic Bellenberg, IT director, Hachette Filipacchi (UK)
- Graham Benson, IT director, M and M Direct
- Peter Birley, IT director, Brown Jacobson
- Ben Booth, European and UK CTO, Ipsos Mori
- Steve Clarke, director of systems & operations, AOL Broadband
- Steve Gediking, head of IT & facilities, Independent Police Complaints Commission
- Mike Roberts, IT director, The London Clinic
- Richard Storey, head of IT, Guys & St Thomas' Hospital
- Gavin Watrup, group IT director, Creston
- Steve Williams, director of information systems and services, Newcastle University
- Ted Woodhouse, Ex-director of IT, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Graham Yellowley, director of technology, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International
If you are a CIO, IT director or equivalent at a large or small company in the private or public sector and want to be part of silicon.com's CIO Jury pool, or you know an IT chief who should be, then drop us a line at editorial@silicon.com.
Comments
There are 2 comments. Join the discussion
1. N. Venkatraman
My comment is admittedly a biased one. I am a professor at Boston University School of Management where we have designed and offered a dual-degree MS-MBA Program for several years now. The rationale is to educate and train managers with dual-competency: all the skills and perspectives of general and functional management and in-depth understanding of how IT impacts strategies and operations. The current senior middle managers are not well-versed with IT because they got their MBA degrees during an era where IT was at best a suppport function. The MBA curriculum needs to change to allow a broad cross-section of managers to appreciate and critically assess how these technologies impact their management practices and not be simplistic about IT's role.
2. anonymous
MBA qualification has both disadvantages and advantages.
Advantages:
- Makes the whole business processes and systems less intimidating. As an MBA you are trained to see the issues clearly quickly.
- You tend to take a strategic view of most things and see the whole picture and therefore tend to become a people person especially in service sectors. Most companies need mixture of professional input but certain sectors within the company can become isolated from company objectives. An MBA person can be good at joining the missing links.
- Certainly makes one feel in control as you are not afraid to ask questions and challenge other professionals such as the financial and marketing people.
- Certainly allows personal growth and one tends to become more self assured.
Disadvantages:
-Very expensive and therefore tend to restrict numbers unless your employer is magnanimous
- Can create a feeling that you are superior to other managers and therefore may create jealousy and rivalry in teams.
- Some sectors may not welcome MBAs especially ones like the NHS and some government services where the senior managers tend to be home grown and have strong old boy network.
- Some MBAs may become arrogant and cocky and as such can cause strong distrust.
- There is a tendency for MBAs not to stay in one company too long and may start chasing promotion to be CEOs etc. thus making company investment on their education a “cost”
Overall MBAs are good for business, especially in growth areas and strategic development. They tend to have overall picture and are good in analysis and planning – obviously there are variation in style as there are different personalities in people.