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GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1992
An MBA Degree?
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
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.
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
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.
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)
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