Set Objectives to Be a Successful MBA
@Rumana Maner
MBA students spend months if not years working to get into an MBA program. However, once they are in a program, the everyday demands take over and students have little time to think about how to get the most out of their program. To better understand how to hit the ground running and to make sure you maximise success in your MBA program, we turned to recent and current students of top-tier MBA programs for advice.
What Is Success?
Having a personal definition of what success means to you, and then setting goals accordingly, is the only way to make your achievements truly meaningful. Striving to succeed according to somebody else’s standard or definition may win you the admiration of others, but will it bring you a sense of personal accomplishment?
If you want to be a success on a level that makes you feel truly satisfied, then I encourage you to take some time right now to write down your personal definition of success. Be specific for each area of your life.
Think about what being financially and emotionally successful would feel like. What kind of relationships would represent successful relationships to you? Once you’ve achieved some success in these areas, how will you spend your time, your money, and your energy? Who would you spend them with?
What makes you a good candidate for MBA admissions and degree success? Who do you need to be, in order to gain access to the many benefits of a top-tier MBA? There’s no single answer to this complex question; each MBA candidate brings unique strengths and weaknesses to the table.
It’s not that hard to understand that the reasons you might have for pursuing an MBA (Master in Business Administration) degree are numerous. Increased earning potential, great networking opportunities, and the chance to prove yourself in the eyes of the business world. These metrics are a proven benefit to MBA graduates the world around.
When it comes to assessing business school applicants, there are a number of factors that influence admissions decisions. The list starts with the quantitative and verbal skills necessary to complete a rigorous curriculum. However, that’s just “table stakes.” When evaluating MBA applications, reading third-party recommendations, and interviewing candidates, admissions officers drill much deeper in search of other traits that make a particular applicant more promising than others who share the same basic qualifications.
At The MBA Exchange, we’ve got extensive experience helping an MBA candidate find their strategy for MBA admissions victory. Tell us a little more about your candidacy, and we can identify the strengths that show off your full potential to MBA. The journey starts here! Where it ends is up to you.
There are some set objective to be a successful MBA
· Practical Knowledge
· Communication Skills
· Innovative Ideas
· Leadership Qualities
· Networking
· Time Management
· Team Player
· Decision Making
· Negotiation
Practical Knowledge:
Practical knowledge is the knowledge that is acquired by day-to-day hands-on experiences.
In other words, practical knowledge is gained through doing things; it is very much based on real-life endeavours and tasks.
practical knowledge is gained by doing things.
Practical or informal knowledge manifests itself as skills or ‘‘knowing-how’’. Practical knowledge is very important to understand how things work.
As it occurs and develops in those concrete situations where it is learned, it is contextual and social and helps you acquire the specific techniques that become the tools of your trade.
Practical knowledge leads to a much deeper understanding of a concept through the act of doing and personal experience.
Practical knowledge helps you acquire the specific techniques that become the tools of your trade.
It sits much closer to your actual day-to-day work. There are some things you can only learn through doing and experiencing.
The practical is learned through the reality of life.
Communication Skills:
Main Types of Communication Skills
Communication skills at the workplace can be broken down into three distinct categories: verbal, non-verbal, and written.
Verbal communication is communication that is spoken. However, it gets trickier, as effective verbal communication involves nuances such as the tone of your voice, enunciation, and inflection.
Non-verbal communication is communication that is transmitted and received via other mediums, such as touch and sight. The most common of these include eye contact, hand gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
Written communication is communication through the written word, including handwriting and typed text. Though it seems as if it should be included in non-verbal communication, HR managers like to differentiate here, as it is a major part of occupational dialogue.
Listening:
Good communication starts with listening. Listening skills are essential here.
You can launch a diatribe at your cat about who won the election, and the cat will hear you. That’s not listening. Listening is not just hearing something; it must be accurately received and interpreted for it to have been done effectively.
A bad listener makes for a bad manager or employee. They won’t be able to comprehend what’s being asked of them, much less get it done.
To paraphrase author Stephen R. Covey, “Don’t listen to reply, but rather listen to understand.”
Confidence.
Be confident in how you communicate. People shouldn’t just believe in what you’re saying, they should believe that you believe what you’re saying.
Let’s say you’re a manager. You’re trying to assure your team layoffs won’t happen. Employees will believe you if you back it up with a confident attitude, and if they can feel that you mean it (well, data and a renewed contract would help!). Morale will not get further diminished, and you can get great support from team members who will still have your back.
Portray a lack of confidence in your message, or fail to believe in it at all, and people will pick up on it. In the same scenario, morale will decline, workers will bail, and you’ll further struggle to right the ship.
Clarity:
Be clear and concise in a business environment.
Your meaning or instruction shouldn’t get lost in a sea of extraneous words and examples. Rambling is unprofessional, confusing, and the listener may just tune you out - a detrimental outcome when it comes to the workplace.
The best way to be both brief and clear with your message: think before speaking. If you have time, you can also jot down some notes to help you get your point across. Listeners will thank you!
Innovative Ideas:
Innovation is the practical application of ideas that result in different types of new offerings, like products, services, processes, and business models, intending to improve or disrupt existing applications or creating new solutions.
It doesn’t matter if you are getting the ideas from outside the organisation, through Brainstorming, combining existing ideas, or radical new thinking within your field. But it should be at the heart of your business and it should constantly be done to ensure business survival.
Leadership Qualities:
Leadership is an important element of the directing function of management. Wherever, there is an organised group of people working towards a common goal, some type of leadership becomes essential. “The power of leadership is the power of integrating. The leader stimulates what is best in us; he unites and concentrates what we feel only grudgingly and shatteringly. He is a person who gives form to the coarctate energy in every man. The person who influences me most is not he who does great Deeds, but he who makes me feel that I can do great deeds.
Leadership is the ability to build up confidence and zeal among people and to create an urge in them to be led. To be a successful leader, a manager must possess the qualities of foresight, drive, initiative, self-confidence and personal integrity. Different situations may demand different types of leadership.
Networking
A network, in computing, is a group of two or more devices or nodes that can communicate. The devices or nodes in question can be connected by physical or wireless connections. The key is that there are at least two separate components, and they are connected.
The scale of a network can range from a single pair of devices or nodes sending data back and forth, to massive data centres and even the global Internet, the largest network in existence. What all of these networks have in common, from the smallest ones to the largest, is that they allow computers and/or users to share information and resources. Networks may be used for:
· Communications such as email, instant messaging, chat rooms, etc.
· Shared hardware such as printers and input devices.
· Shared data and information through the use of shared storage devices.
· Shared software, which is achieved by running applications on remote computers.
Time Management:
Time management means organising our time efficiently. It refers to the ability to use our time well. If we have good time management skills, we are able to complete all of our projects in time, and to avoid wasting time when we could be using it for something worthwhile.
Time management is the exercising of responsible and informed control over one’s time for example in a project. Time management for anything in life requires wisdom and skill as well as the ability to lead oneself towards the achievement of set targets or goals.
Good time management is not just about getting all of our work done. If we are good at managing our time, we can make sure that we use our leisure time as well as possible too. It also means leaving ourselves enough time to relax and to spend time with our loved ones.
Time management is a skill we should all develop. Whether you want to turn up on time for all of your appointments in the future, or whether you want to be able to learn a new language alongside your work schedule, there is no denying that time management is a very useful skill for people in all walks of life.
Team Player:
A team player is someone who actively contributes to their group in order to complete tasks, meet goals or manage projects. Team players actively listen to their coworkers, respect ideas and aim to improve the product or process at hand. Team players understand that their team’s success is their own success, and they share responsibility when their team experiences difficulties along the way.
1. You understand your role
As a team member, you understand your role within the team and work to achieve your duties to the best of your ability. Though you may offer help or solutions to other team members, you also respect the boundaries of your position.
2. You welcome collaboration
Working with a team means there will be varying opinions and ideas. Even if you think your idea is best, you should listen to all ideas before pushing yours. Search for compromises, and remain respectful if your work is criticised.
3. You hold yourself accountable
Take responsibility for your mistakes and look for solutions. Understand how your actions impact the entire group. In doing so, you will learn from your errors and command more respect from your team.
4. You are flexible
You should readily accept any tasks your manager gives you. Flexibility in your role allows you to learn more and help your team. Look at every opportunity as a chance to learn.
5. You have a positive attitude
Maintaining a positive attitude even during stressful times helps the rest of your teamwork through that difficult time without getting upset. Your positive attitude will create a better atmosphere.
6. You commit to the team
You should be fully invested in the team. You will be a great team player if you can show others that you believe in the group, the process and the goals. This sort of positivity can radically increase morale and productivity.
Decision Making:
A decision is the selection of a course of action (or decision) out of many available alternatives. The marketing manager may arrive at a particular decision by analysing, evaluating and carefully planning.
The decision making is the basic and fundamental key of all managerial activities. It is the study of identifying and choosing best possible choice (or option) based on the values and preferences of the business organisation
Characteristics/ Nature of Decision-Making:
· Selective Process
· Human and rational process
· Dynamic Process
· Continuous Process
· Environment
· Goal oriented process
· Effective communication
· Timing
· Pervasive process
· Psychological Factors
Negotiation:
The term negotiation refers to a strategic discussion that resolves an issue in a way that both parties find acceptable. In a negotiation, each party tries to persuade the other to agree with their point of view. Negotiations involve some give and take, which means one party will always come out on top of the negotiation. The other, though, must concede—even if that concession is nominal.
By negotiating, all involved parties try to avoid arguing but agree to reach some form of compromise. Negotiating parties vary and can include buyers and sellers, an employer and prospective employee, or governments of two or more countries.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Negotiation is a strategic discussion that resolves an issue in a way that both parties find acceptable.
Compromise is normally the basis of negotiation.
Negotiations can take place between buyers and sellers, an employer and prospective employee, or governments of two or more countries.
Negotiating is used to reduce debts, lower the sale price of a house, improve the conditions of a contract, or get a better deal on a car.
When negotiating, be sure to justify your position, put yourself in the other party's shoes, keep your emotions in check, and know when to walk away.
By
Rumana Maner HR Manager
