Elite MBA Programs Report Steep Drop in Applications

Re:Elite MBA Programs Report Steep Drop in Applications by stevesimmons on Tuesday October 15, 2019 @02:18PM (#21261813)

> what part of getting an MBA filters for "possessing soft skills, being personable, ready to meet with clients or manage people and probably well-connected"?

MBAs at the top schools demand intense team work. Without it, you won't pass.

My MBA experience was INSEAD, in France. For the first 3 terms (of 5), all work was done in teams of 5. The school chose the teams explicitly to maximise the chance of conflict (by maximising differences in background, nationality, prior education, work experience, age and gender). The professors then threw tons of work on us. A well-functioning team could just about cope. Totally impossible if working individually.

So we had no option but figure out how to work together, maximise the combined value of each person's skills, and rely fully on each other.

A few teams exploded spectacularly. But most of us learned how to work as a team and succeed under intense pressure.

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Re:Elite MBA Programs Report Steep Drop in Applications by chrisfinazzo on Tuesday October 15, 2019 @02:58PM (#21262314)

HBS still does this, as far as I know for first years ("learning teams"). Although you may be evaluated individually, success or failure is a team effort when everybody brings something to the table.

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Re:Elite MBA Programs Report Steep Drop in Applications by golemiprague on Tuesday October 15, 2019 @04:30PM (#21263381)

So if diversity makes things so hard why everybody insists on creating diversity in your teams? I understand you might need to face it but why not keep team homogenous to get the best out of them without too much trouble?

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