MBA
Skills
Information
provided by Kaplan Test Prep
What
Do You Need to Succeed?
What
skills does an MBA student need? While students entering
business school have tremendously different sets of skills, all
students need at least a minimal amount of proficiency in
certain areas. Without these abilities, you'll have a hard time
adjusting to the b-school world. So what are they?
Quantitative
Skills
It has been said that
mathematics is "the language of business." But many
MBA programs are moving away from the heavily analytical
approaches that predominated several years ago and are giving
increased emphasis to the "soft" areas of
communication and interpersonal skills. That said, the
quantitative elements of business studies have not gone away.
The
actual level of mathematical knowledge that you'll need varies
widely from program to program. Some schools expect you to have
studied statistics before entering the program. Some will expect
you to use calculus on a regular basis. Generally speaking, you
should certainly feel comfortable with college algebra and brush
up your quantitative skills if they're rusty.
It's
a tech world out there
In an ongoing effort to adapt
to technological change, almost all business schools have
integrated personal computers into their programs. Many schools
will require you to have your own laptop. The extent to which
you'll be expected to use a computer will vary from program to
program, but you should make an effort to have at least a
minimum comfort level with word processing, spreadsheets, and
databases before starting school. You may want to check with the
schools you're interested in to find out the hardware and
software specifications.
Are
you a team player?
One of the ways schools are
mimicking the business environment in their academic programs is
in the use of student teams. As corporations have increasingly
turned to teams to work on projects and to solve problems, MBA
programs have converted an increased share of course work from
individual work to team work. Many programs now incorporate
training in teambuilding somewhere in the program — either as
part of new student orientation, in team building workshops, or
as a topic in organizational behavior courses.
Teams
may be formed for the purpose of one project in one course or
they may remain together for months, working on multiple
courses. In the often competitive environment of MBA programs,
the cooperation required of teams doesn't always come naturally.
Since team work is almost always time consuming, students in
schools that use teams may find that activities and even
policies on work during the academic year reflect the heavy time
commitment of working with others.
MBA
Basics
The fundamentals of business
are taught in every MBA program. Accounting, economics, finance,
organizational behavior, marketing, statistics, and operations
form the primary business disciplines and skills and are in the
expected repertoire for any MBA. How and when students cover the
basic skills varies, however. In most programs these subjects
will be taught in a group of core courses required of every
student. These core courses consume most or all of the first
year of study in a two-year fulltime program. In some programs,
students who have a prior background in business can be exempted
or waived from some or all of the core courses, on the basis of
either a special examination or an evaluation of the
undergraduate transcript.
Some
programs regard a few areas as background knowledge and expect
you to have learned the material before you start your graduate
program. Statistics, economics, and accounting often fall in
this group. When you're comparing the length of programs and
calculating time to degree, be sure you remember to consider any
program prerequisites. (Calculus and computer skills are also
common prerequisites for MBA programs.)
Other
programs take another approach, offering the core courses within
the structure of the program but requiring this course work only
of those students who have not mastered it previously. If your
program has two tiers, with different entrance points—for
students with undergraduate degrees in business and those with
degrees in nonbusiness areas—you may be exempted from some or
all of the first year of the program if you were an undergrad
business major.
More
Information Learn more about business
school admissions at www.kaptest.com/business
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2002 by Kaplan Educational Centers. Graduate Management
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