Executive Education
Growing your human capital
Why an MBA sends signals of success in turbulent times
By Paul R. Harvey
Smart Business Philadelphia | November 2009
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Anthony Rohach, Esq., MBA, J.D., Associate professor, Delaware Valley College
Today’s sluggish economic conditions may be just the start of a lengthy recession. And while experts point fingers and prognosticate, employers large and small still have a business to run.
To keep their doors open, employers are downsizing through layoffs, enacting hiring freezes and implementing early retirement packages. It’s a scary time to be an employee.
“The question is, who is tough enough, capable enough and committed enough to help employers get through these challenging times?” says Anthony Rohach, Esq., MBA, J.D., associate professor, Delaware Valley College. “An MBA can certainly provide a strong signal that you can.”
Smart Business spoke with Rohach about why now, more than ever, employees with advanced skills will be in high demand.
How does an MBA add value?
An MBA improves the most important source of wealth for most people, ‘human capital.’ Most people aren’t born with a well-diversified portfolio of securities and real estate holdings. Most people have to build their own wealth by contributing what they have in most abundance — human capital — or to put it another way, ‘what can I do that adds value?’ It doesn’t matter if the value added is for yourself, in the case of an entrepreneurial operation, or by adding value to an existing entity as an employee. Added value can take the form of improved decision-making capability and greater appreciation of the balance between business research and application. After all, an MBA isn’t going to be hired to take tests, he or she will be hired to understand the underlying nature of business problems and bring together both theory and practice to arrive at an effective solution set.
In what specific ways does an MBA enhance human capital?
The improvement to human capital that an MBA adds takes many forms. However, the main goal of enhanced human capital is to improve productivity. Through an MBA, this is accomplished by providing increased direct business knowledge and the ability to seek new knowledge by improving research skills. MBA training also improves analytical and problem-solving skills as well as improving leadership development and superior critical thinking and reasoning skills. Written and verbal communication skills are emphasized because communication attributes — whether internal or external to the organization — are the cornerstone of an organization that understands marketplace needs and can execute internally to provide those needs. It also provides an important global perspective on business operations and strategy and hones strategic thinking skills. Futher enhancement to human capital occurs when the productivity of an MBA has a synergistic effect on other employees, which also enhances total labor productivity.
