Return on Investment MBA Education Funding Essay

As change happens, we can take the fact that Masters of Business Administration degree is still a constant to embrace. In between the complex setting, a modern manager must still do what managers in every past era had to do in order to become successful. Recently, the once-lonely voices of demur have advanced into choruses of recrimination when the practical value of an MBA degree is in question. They say that MBA curricula are inaccessible with the real world desires, claiming that the degree is over-hyped and many programs have a culture which turns a blind eye to deceit. If businesses follow the naysayers’ advice, $100,000 tuition fee or the crucial decision to pay huge bucks to hire an MBA might start to look like less of a sound investment (CBS MoneyWatch, 2007). My decision to obtaining an MBA is not only personal, but also professional. The pursuit of an MBA degree is surrounded by many negative connotations. Questions arise regarding whether or not the pursuit will increase the Pay range of a person with an MBA versus a person without an MBA. Simmering and Wilcox identified 5 factors that largely affect the decision to pursue an MBA graduate degree. The five factors centre around the career exploration opportunities, personal prestige associated with the MBA, goals for improving and developing interpersonal skills, increasing career mobility and entrepreneurial aspirations. The Graduate Management Admission Council survey carried out by Simmering and Wilcox, discovered that that the MBA Class of 2012 had 69% into mid-level jobs, with 21% taking entry-level positions, 8% taking senior-level spots, and 1% taking the executive positions. This is considerably worse when compared to last year, where only 17 percent of the class went to entry- level spots, while 14 percent of the total went into senior-level jobs, and only 3 percent accounted the executive position (Lavelle,  2013).Housing market crash will impact on the value and positions or jobs that an individual with an MBA graduate degree will get. For instance, since 2007, the economy has played a huge part in not only downturn and fluctuations, but also landing jobs. In MBA class of 2011, the average full time salary for MBAs that were employed was $79806, a year over a year decrease of 5.4% or $4,533, not including the inflation (Brewer & Brewer, 2012). The Graduate Management Admission Council survey also calculated the return on investment and considered it ‘Stellar’. The alumni recouped a third of their B school investment within a year of graduation, 100% 4 years out, doubling the monetary value after 10 good years. On statistics, if a person obtains an MBA is not a full guarantee to getting an executive level spot after graduating. It is more of investing that has the highest probability of paying off over time. The survey as it pertains to the return on investment is simply looking at the B schools, which solely would imply the A schools return on investments is speedier and higher. Therefore, it might not be the actual degree rather the school that a person obtains his or her MBA degree which will impact on his or her potential income. For instance, I can refer to my cousin as a good example of the impact of obtaining an MBA. She studied at Princeton University for her master’s degree and after her graduat ion it took her 3 years to get employed. She found that because she was younger and the degree program which she chose, was actually intimidating to older managements. She also encountered remarks of her being â€Å"too qualified† for all jobs. It became so frustrating for her. Similarly, so many people reason that an ‘A school’ master’s degree means an automatic employment with high salaries, which is not usually the case. My investment decision will be based on the returns I get. The payback period for my accounting occupation will for instance be; payback period is obviously between 3 and 4 years as the identical initial outlay is $110,000 which is between $90,000 and $170,000. For exact period, Payback period for my desired occupation = 3years + ($110,000 – $90,000) / $79,806 = 3 years + $20,000/$50,000 = 3 years and 4.8 months. The NPV for my accounting occupational will be; Net Present Value @ 12%; Years 1 2 3 4 Net Cash flow (NCF) $000 20 30 40 50 Cost of Capital @ 12% 0.893 0.797 0.712 0.636 Present Value $000 17.86 23.91 28.48 31.8 5 70 0.567 39.69 141, 74. Net Present Value = $141,740 – $110,000 = $31,740. The IRR for my accounting occupational will be; Internal rate of return = positive rate + (positive NPV / (positive NPV + negative NPV)) x range of rates = 20% + ($2,880 / ($2,880 + $10,860)) x (25% – 20%) = 20% + ($2,880 / $13,740) x 5% = 20% + (0.21 x 5) = 20% + 1.05 = 21.05% Internal rate of return for my desired occupation= 21.05% and is a good one since it is greater than cost of capital. A main factor that most objectionable to an MBA is the monetary cost of obtaining the degree. Tuition fee can range from $30000 to $ 50000 per annum. Other expenses raises the cost to about $85,000 yearly, implying the cost of about $170000 in two years. Although the cost for an MBA may be quite high, according to a statistics by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the average package for an MBA in the last ten years was $110000, which is up from the average of $87,000 in 2007. The average salary of graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in 2011 was $48351. The difference between an MBA and Bachelor’s is an increase of 195% or $45649. The ‘return on investment’ is 171.7 %, using the cost of $170000 from and the average increase of salary over a bachelor’s degree for a ten year period (Lavelle,  2013). Different people have varying reasons as per MBA value, when it is about obtaining it. The reason I have for obtaining an MBA is personal and is something that I have always wanted in my life. It may not be of benefit to me in my current job in terms of earnings potential income, but I believe it will make me more marketable if I decide to change careers or companies. Many statics show a path of MBA negativity from a viewpoint of new graduates without careers versus those with careers, those with who are employed and are from the a-schools versus the b-schools. I believe MBA is of more benefit to those individuals who have a career and are looking for new career change or looking to moving up in their own personal companies. If a person is feeling stagnant in his or her career, then getting an MBA will be the excellent way to take himself or herself to the next level. For most people an MBA will open up more new opportunities, whether it is a career that will makes more sense for your life and skills or a career that will promote you to a better position within your company. The act of getting an MBA shows that you are serious about your potential to succeed and other people are most likely see you in a higher regard because of undertaking such an action. For most people, MBA continue to be the building block of ultimate success. References Brewer, Kristen L.; Brewer Peggy D. (2012). Influencing variables and perceptions regarding MBA degree programs. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. CBS Money Watch. (2007).Five hard truths about the MBA. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51170538/five-hard-truths-about-the-mba/ Lavelle, L.  (2013).  Bloomberg business week: the MBA’s value? Debatable.  Retrieved fromhttp://www.businessweek.com/bschools/blogs/mba_admissions/archives/2014/11/the_mbas_value_debatable.html Source document