The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

DECEMBER 1992

An MBA Degree?

Un d o u b t e d ly it h as to s ome extent, but the c o n t r a ry a r g ume nt is t h at increasingly employers, a n d mo re i mp o r t a n t ly interviewers, will themselves h o ld an MBA a n d will be l o o k i ng for s ome t h i ng a d d i t i o n al f r om a prospective employee. Clients may also be MBA q u a l i f i e d. A course a p p l i c a n t, w h o s h o u ld have at least five years' wo rk experience, will first have to sit the G r a d u a te Ma n a g e m e nt Admi s s i on Test which tests the a p p l i c a n t 's technical or a c a d em ic abilities to h a n d le t he course. Th is test is r un in mo st m a j o r cities t h r o u g h o ut the world a n d is r un f r om a test centre in P r i n c e t o n, New Jersey. Pre-test courses are available as are revision ma n u a l s. T h e best schools ask for high scores followed by an interview a n d selection process. Mo st of the r e pu t a b le full-time courses in the Un i t ed States are t wo year courses, a l t h o u gh there are a few highly regarded o ne year courses. T h e cost of being away f r om the work place for t wo years s h o u ld be carefully considered if a full-time course in the USA is being c o n t emp l a t e d. C h o o s i ng a full-time course in E u r o pe will generally involve c h o o s i ng between v a r i ous o ne year full-time courses. T h e As s o c i a t i on of MBAs, 15 D u n c an Terrace, L o n d on N1 8BZ, publishes a useful guide to courses, including s ome of the Irish courses. If an Irish solicitor is p r e p a r ed to take time o ut at his or her own expense to d o a full-time degree a foreign course mi g ht be c o n t emp l a t e d. Th is is n ot to say t h at the available Irish MBA courses are not wo r t hwh i le p u r s u i n g. P a rt of the experience of d o i ng an MBA is the p e o p le you will study with a n d t he c o n t a c ts you will make. Foreign schools will obviously a f f o rd you the o p p o r t u n i ty to live a n d wo rk in a (Continued overleaf)

by Richard Devereux

Solicitors w h o are regular readers of the business or financial press will have read c omme nt on the subject of post-graduate ma n a g eme nt education or wh at is c ommo n ly called an " M B A " degree. A Masters degree in Business Administration is considered to be almost a pre-requisite to entry into the business world in the United States where over 70,000 MBAs g r a du a te each year. Ma ny US lawyers hold the degree. T he n umb er of MBAs graduating in the UK each year has risen f r om 1,100 in 1980 to over 4,000 in 1990 a nd currently in excess of ninety e du c a t i on al colleges An MBA degree is a general business degree a nd o ne which is of relevance to any lawyer, whether he or she is a sole practitioner, in practice with others or working in-house. C omp a ny a nd commercial lawyers in particular will benefit greatly f r om ma ny of the skills taught. The degree does not c ome cheap a nd requires c ommi tme n t. An MBA c an be u n d e r t a k en usually in three d i f f e r e nt ways. Firstly, it may be u n d e r t a k en on a full-time basis either o n a 12 m o n t h p r o g r amme or o n a 24 m o n t h p r o g r amme. Secondly, it may be u n d e r t a k en on a p a r t - t i me basis over a three year p e r i od requiring a t t e n d a n ce at a business school a few nights a week a n d also on o c c a s i on al week-ends. Finally, s ome institutions o f f er distance learning p r o g r ammes similar to c o r r e s p o n d e n ce courses which vary in length of d u r a t i o n. Co u r s es o f f e r ed by d i f f e r e nt institutions a n d colleges may vary in c o n t e nt to s ome extent - there are a n increasing n umb er of MBA courses o f f e r i ng a f o c us o n E u r o pe t h r o u g h o ut the UK o f f er MBA courses. MBA courses are now available on a full a nd part-time basis in Ireland in five different colleges.

Dr A JFO 'Reilly presenting the JP O 'Reilly Memorial Scholarship 1991-92 to Richard Devereux for example - b ut the core disciplines are generally the same. Ac c o u n t i n g, Finance, C o r p o r a te Finance, Ma r k e t i n g, H u m a n Resources, Ge n e r al a nd Strategic Ma n a g e m e n t, C o r p o r a te Law, E c o n om i c s, Ma n a g e m e nt Science, Ma n a g e r i al a n d Ma n a g e m e nt Skills, C o m p u t i ng a n d I n f o r ma t i on Systems are s ome of the subjects c o mm o n to mo st courses. T h e work load is heavy, lectures r un f r om 9 . 0 0 am to 5 . 3 0 pm with study a n d g r o up work carried o n o u t s i de class h o u r s. As s e s sme nt of the a c a d em ic side of the course is c o n t i n u o us t h r o u gh individual a nd g r o up wo rk a n d by e x ami n a t i on at the end of each t e rm. Team wo rk plays a significant p a rt of any c o u r se with the d e v e l o pme nt of t e am player skills seen as a priority. T h e final 3 mo n t hs of a o ne year course are d e d i c a t ed to a thesis or p r o j e ct which c an be d o n e t h r o u gh an i n - c omp a ny p l a c eme nt or t h r o u gh research into a theoretical area of s t u dy covered in the course. A mu l t i t u de of MBA courses are r un to-day, n ot all of high quality, a n d a n a p p l i c a nt s h o u ld be discerning. Th is begs the q u e s t i on wh e t h er the degree h as lost its " c a c h e t " a n d h as b e c ome t oo c o mm o n place.

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