Reflections on the MBA journey-Concluding Part

The road ahead:

There’s much to look ahead now that I will go back to the school of life. Needless to say, even the rigours of business school come nowhere close to real business. It would be interesting to apply the knowledge that I have acquired in management school to real life business situations and to compare how different the results can be.
The MBA has taught me so much more than textbook principles. There is no ‘one way’ or ideal solution to a problem. Sometimes the mind needs to open up to a different perspective. I feel I have stopped taking things for granted and begun to question more and tried to see beyond the obvious.

However, it’s not just the MBA of the things in the past seven months that is going to add to my life’s experiences. Living the life of a student in UK has been an experience altogether. It’s great to be a student, carefree and irresponsible except for a few assignment deadlines. Swansea University is vibrant with so many cultural activities being held regularly and the best thing of all, with such a beautiful campus.
Even as I sit back and think of what I want in my career now, my needs seem to have changed over the past few years. More than a high flying career, I would be inclined towards a position which adheres to my internal need for achievement and involvement. Equipped with the degree, I will be more ready to take up challenges or face uncertainties if need be. My MBA has helped me gather friends from all over the world and I feel networking is a crucial aspect of a manager’s life. Apart from the fact that it is a prestigious degree, the MBA experience has been truly enriching.

And to sum it all, it hasn’t been easy to learn the skills to complete the MBA. As Calvin begins to realise here:



References:


Anonymous, Viewpoint; Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 17, No. 3, Year 2003, pp. 23-26.

Bland, M.; “Training managers to communicate effectively, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 30, No. 4, 1998, pp. 131–136.

Crotty, P. and Soule, A.; “Executive education: yesterday and today, with a look at tomorrow”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 16 No. 1, 1997, pp. 4-21.

Elsayed-Elkhouly, S., Lazarus, H., Forsythe, V.; “Why is a third of your time wasted in meetings?”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 16 No. 9, 1997, pp. 672-676.

Fisher, S., Macrosson, W., Sharp, G.; “Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory”, Personnel Review, 1996, Vol. 25, Issue 2, pp 61 – 67.

Gentry, W., Lauren S., Harris, Becca A. Baker, Jean Brittain Leslie; “Managerial Skills: what has changed since the late 1980s”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal; 2008, Vol. 29, Issue 2.

Margerison, C., and McCann, D., “Five skills to improve performance”, Team Performance Management; 1996, Vol. 2 Issue 1.


Shivers-Blackwell, S.; “Reactions to outdoor teambuilding initiatives in MBA education”, Journal of Management Development, 2004, Vol. 23, Issue 7.


Tengblad, S., "Is there a ‘new managerial work’? A comparison with Henry Mintzberg's classic study 30 years later", Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, 2006 pp.1437-61.