Ask the expert: MBA study should enhance prospects

By MARIE WILSON

Q. I am on the verge of enrolling in a postgraduate degree as a first step towards studying for an MBA (Masters in business administration). What are your views about the relevance of an MBA in New Zealand industry and what sort of an acceptance does an MBA graduate from my chosen university have in the global work place?

A. In terms of career development, a blend of education and experience throughout your career helps to keep your skills up-to-date and your thinking and analysis honed. An MBA can be part of this process, in terms of broadening business skills if you are very specialised, or raising your thinking to a more strategic level.

For employers, it may be a positive factor, when combined with appropriate experience and fit to the requirements of the job. A number of employers, including most of the banking and finance industry, expect managers and senior professionals to hold advanced qualifications such as the MBA.

The MBA is a brand, which is then combined with the prestige or otherwise of the university that provides it. You'll want to make sure that the MBA programme meets your needs, and that the content will increase your skills and understanding. Who you study with can be as important as what you study, as longer term career prospects can also be increased if you have a broad and well-established set of business relationships.

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Q. My organisation made about half of the workforce redundant last year. Many of my former co-workers have yet to find work and I find it so depressing. My boss says I should feel glad that I was selected to stay, but I don't and now I'm starting to worry that if I don't "cheer up", I could be next.

A. Many people don't realise that workers who aren't made redundant may be demotivated and depressed by a phenomena called "survivor syndrome". If you have had a long-term work relationship with your co-workers then they are no longer employed and disadvantaged in finding work, you may feel guilty and depressed that you "survived" when others did not.

Employers can reduce survivor syndrome through outplacement services that help the displaced into other work, by maintaining social contact between retained and former co-workers, and by communicating clearly the rationale for selection and the successful results for those made redundant.

Employers should also anticipate that retained workers may feel depressed or de-motivated and need time and support during a transition period, and that without clear communication, employees may assume that the first cut is just the beginning of a longer series.

As an employee, you can discuss this with your manager, and see if EAPs (employee assistance programmes) are available to help you to come to terms with the redundancy and increase your satisfaction and productivity at work.

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Q. A new business unit head was appointed about 18 months ago. He's good at some technical things, but his people skills are very weak. Since his appointment, some really good people have left. Of the 30 people in the unit, we've lost 20 in the past year. We've had trouble hiring replacements, and the remaining "old-timers" are stressed by all the orientation and training that they have to do with the newcomers. Our sales and service ratings are suffering as a result. Several of us went to senior management with a complaint about the way our manager handles staff issues (badly!), but we were brushed off with "there are always settling-in problems with new managers".

A. Few organisations account for the cost of staff turnover. International estimates on the cost of losing a seasoned professional staff member are 80-150 per cent of their annual salary. This takes the form of lost productivity, job search and replacement costs, training of newcomers, loss of knowledge base and relationships, and lost goodwill with customers.

There are few industries where a 67 per cent turnover rate wouldn't be viewed with some alarm. The operations manager is correct that a change of manager often results in a slight increase in turnover, just because of change and increased or reduced opportunities.

Unless turnover has always been high, and your letter suggests this is not the case, a year-long period at this level would be worrisome and expensive for the business. Perhaps if you added up the salaries and multiplied by the turnover cost, and provided information about loss of sales and customer satisfaction, your manager and the operations manager, might see the need to pay attention.

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