MBA or PhD in Business

Question

I am interested in studying/doing research in the areas of
new product development and the role of innovation in 
emerging economies. 

I have over 7 years of industry experience mainly in the areas
of new product research and entrepreaunership.

Unlike engineering PhD, business PhD seems to be geared towards 
teaching and academic careers. I am not very particular of teaching 
at this point of time, but would like to do that maybe in about 8-10 years.

I have also looked at MBA programs but they seem to be 
very general and lack specialization (any comments?)

MBA or PhD in business, i would like to know your comments and
suggestions.

Sameer · Answer

Hi Praveen
Welcome to GMATClub.

I am not sure of the query but would put my comments as under

1. I am not sure of your comment regarding Engineering PhD. A PhD is ALWAYS for Research and Teaching career. Why would you do a doctrate otherwise ? It is a very big commitment. How many doctoral candidates are there in industry around you ?

2. Your interests are better served by an MS/M Tech rather than an MBA or a PhD. 

3. your name suggests you are posting from India. If you want a NPI focused course, perhaps M.Des at IIT Kanpur and IIT Mumbai are what you are looking for, the latter is well received by Indian Industry.

4. Alternatively, if you want a research career OUTSIDE a university surrounding, but in new product development and innovation related areas, then a Business PhD in operations stream is well suited for you. Teaching is NOT the only thing you can do after a biz PhD, you can also have (though rare) an industry career. 

Net, I am sure you will agree that the answer to your question is "It depends". On you that is. Certainly motivations for an MBA are very different from that of a PhD, and I am not quite clear what is it that you want from your further studies that you do not have today. If you will care to post again and set a dialogue, perhaps you will get more replies and clarifications from me and other people.

Best of Luck !

hpraveen · Answer

Thanks for your insights, Anupag

I have a strong bent towards research, and most of
my research until now has been in high-tech industry 
(research groups, startups)

In the quest of trying to find solutions to problems(non technical) i
encountered during my career in NPI and startups, 
i realised that fundamentally we are lacking the product development 
culture, which we have seen in other parts of the world like US, Japan, 
Germany, Korea etc Incidently, i was not able to see even one *world 
class* product from India (our automobile industry is openeing upto 
innovation now, pharma is still in its infant stages, IT is struggling to get 
out of the comfort zone of services industry...)

When i strated mulling over this topic. i realised that there are a 
lot of other non-engineering issues related to (macro)economics, 
behavioral & policy sciences etc. My lack of understanding of these 
subjects convinced me to get back to academics. Initialiy i thought 
of MBA but soon i realised that MBA with thesis/ research is not a norm.

Understanding NPI is not the only thing i want to do so engineering 
schools alone may not be helpful

PhD seems to be ideal, but i need to really think abt the commitment. It
would be helpful if anyone can give me info on the kind of stipend that is 
typical for PhD students in business
 
To answer your Qs on PhDs in engineering: It is very common to see
PhDs to be working in the industry (atleast hi-tech)

promothesh · Answer

Hi Praveen,

About the stipend thing...if you surf the web sites , you will find that they range from $12000 to $27000( that's the max I could find). This apart from tuition waver. Basic sustenance id possible!

Normally in the US , Ph.D. is only for Research and Teaching!

Praetorian · Answer

Welcome to GMAT Club. its nice to see a good discussion in the phd forum.

Most profs do consulting, author books and have an important thing called job security when they get a tenured position. You can take sabbaticals , teach at other universities etc. Most guys like the life because you can do things at your own pace ( most of the times) , unlike a regular full time job, which can often get tougher and tougher as you move up the management chain. Sure, Most might like that 150K+ salary or would love to be a partner in Mckinsey any given day.

The absolute best thing you can do is find a prof. who is working in your area of interest. Then have a discussion with him .... he might be working on a project or he might be interested in your idea.

I wouldnt go in for a Ph.D if i had too much of a financial concern. the process of getting a Ph.D might be so difficult that the last thing we want on our minds are financial problems.

Sameer · Answer

Hi Praveen

Praet has set the ball rolling. Thanks Praet.

Yes, contact profs and search university websites. Not only in US but also in Europe. Innovation research and allied areas of dynamics of strategy related research is at its peak at the following institutes, although it is Prof dependent and you will have a lot of choice once you start surfing and contacting profs

1. MIT - Sloan school
2. London Business School
3. University of Eindhoven, Netherlands

The area of operations that is coming close to what you are talking about is the area called "System Dynamics". Search MIT Sloan website and System Dynamics department there for more. Related reasearch is also in the area of entrepreneurship, going on at London Business School, Insead, MIT and Cornell. These are only some names that come top of the mind.

For living during the Phd :
Well, first, it is a long term commitment. Four-Five years.
Second, a PhD in Biz is ALWAYS funded. Mostly the stipends are generous. 
Third, The tution fees is ALWAYS waived - at least at tier I institutes. 

See more in previous posts by Praet and myself. Also see the page link that I have provided in another post of Dr. Pranab Majumder (who is a Asst Prof at Duke) for more info. Pranab's page details Simon School, Rochester but advice is applicable for any school.

Write back !

hpraveen · Answer

Thanks Praet, Anupag for providing very useful information!

Your posts are useful, informative and relevant. Thumbs up for you!
 
Continuing the discussion, i have few more Qs 

When is the ideal time to start communicating with the Profs
or does it matter?

Apart from providing information, can the Profs influence anything
else for the application?

What are the typical factors(apart from GMAT, GPA) adcoms look for 
in a PhD candidate, we all know that for MBA its leadership, management 
expereince, leadership outside work etc

Does it make sense to prepare for a MBA application as a backup, in case
we dont get a call from the place we want for the PhD addmissions?
Can a MBA be logically continued for a PhD, the way it happens for 
MS and PhD in engineering disciplines?


Praveen

Praetorian · Answer

It doesnt matter. the ideal time depends on you. I would suggest taking all the time you can because it will help you to talk to professors at many other universities. four years is a long time to spend with your advisor. you better get to know him/her well. you can find info. about a prof. indirectly be contacting students from universities. Most of the students will be helpful and will give you the inside story.

The idea is that your application packet should speak for itself. They cant influence decisions based on what they know about you. Decisions are usually made a committee.

Talk about influencing decision, Letters of Recommendations can do a great difference. if your prof is well-known, its a good thing to have a recommendation from him.

Strong Math Background, Great Undergraduate and Graduate GPA,  atleast  90 percentile on the quant and a similar percentile on your verbal, Relevance of your Undergrad and grad major to your Ph.D program, Fit of your Research Interests with the schools overall research emphasis.

If the undergrad major or grad major is closely related to the field you want to do your PhD in, its a plus.

Good question. maybe anupag can answer it better. all i can say is..MS and MBA are vastly different programmes. in your MS, you might take some research oriented coursework or do a masters thesis. that is why MS-PHD is very common model. MS is great preparation for a Ph.D. MBA courses are hardly research based. Plus, MS can get you some research experience, MBA cannot.

If you do a Ph.D in business without an MBA , the only difference is you might have to take some extra courses. at Bauer, i think its 5 extra courses. I like that actually. you are going to teach B- School students someday. you better know what you are talking about. 

sorry i was not able to help here

Finally, your greatest asset is your industry experience. as a prof, you will have more to say to your students about real world experiences, team work , leadership than i would. you will be able to choose an area for your dissertation based on the problems you observed in your industry. my masters thesis was based on a supply chain problem in my industy. finally, most profs. consult for many industries. Success in consulting wont be as difficult for you as it would be for someone like me, who has only 15 months work experience. 

hope this helps

bkim213 · Answer

I think that what is crucial in deciding whether to commence in studying a PHD or an MBA are the objectives you hope to achieve.

Research the area you wish to specialise in, as previously suggested it is always good to contact the relevant schools/professors regarding the subject area.

I can't give advice on a PHD, but having done extensive research on the Benefits of taking an MBA, i believe that in terms of career progression an MBA can make an individual stand out to prospective employers. Attending a top business school such as Havard, London Business School or Stanford, will certainly increase the chances of climbing the career ladder.

MBA or PhD in Business

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