Every month, Prepadviser publishes its podcast sharing practical advice to help turn your MBA dreams into reality. In this episode members of the Unimy team spoke with Prepadviser host, Martina, to explore how and why you should consider cultural fit when choosing your best MBA.
Joining Martina were Georgi and Anietie from Unimy and Beyond, Unimy’s boutique consultancy which provides free support to MBA candidates, and Madeleine Corcoran, PR and Brand Manager for Unimy, who gathers all the stories behind the MBA Cultural Fit. What were the key takeaways?
How can you find a program that aligns with your own values and the ways you like to learn?
Georgi: “Start with yourself. Know your own values. Check a university’s mission or purpose statements. Usually, the mission or purpose statements should contain the essence of their values… but that is not enough. Values are subjective. So to answer this question, consult with professionals. Consultants work with different universities so they can compare. Also, speak with alumni - they could give you a glimpse of what the values are, or at least their perception and experience.”
Madeleine: “I was thinking just then about the importance of talking to alumni and that is exactly the data that makes up our cultural fit tool. It’s almost like we’ve talked to loads and loads of alumni for you and we’ve systematised their answers. You can therefore get an objective view of a lot of people’s opinions - like a macro view, the overview, in order to orientate yourself, as a first step.”
“Of course, all schools like to promote their good values… but it’s worth being discerning because some of them do have really good practices in diversity or women in business - so it’s worth considering what relates to you. The MBA Cultural Fit considers the liberal vs classical dimension and we define that as liberal schools are those which welcome and encourage a variety of behaviours and carry a consciously progressive outlook. Whilst ‘classical’ schools, or as I think of them ‘heritage’ schools might emphasise more on tradition and an inheritance of manners and self-presentation that maybe you think of as more typical of a business school - which can also be a really empowering thing, to learn these codes and succeed in these environments. So, once again, we are not positing them as better or worse, we are thinking about what suits you.
“In general, we see West Coast schools are the most ‘liberal’ which is what you’d expect and Asian schools tend to be more ‘classical’ and more traditional. If you use the MBA Cultural Fit, it’s going to give you an idea of where you stand in relation to these different qualities.”
More tips covered in the episode:
• Consider the balance between honing your existing skills and tendencies, and choosing an environment that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Do you want to go deep or broad?
• Consider your learning and communication style and whether a school aligns with those.
Why is diversity so important when studying for an MBA? And how this will help students in their professional career?
Georgi: “With the help of diversity you are able to gain so many different points of view. Let’s clarify diversity because that can mean applicants from different countries, applicants from different industries, applicants of different age groups, and applicants of different genders as well. Diversity is being pushed forward in MBAs nowadays mainly because it allows us to acquire different problem-solving skills - to see problems with a different mindset.”
“Having an MBA without this diversity is a great drawback. For example, some of our partners are having 20 to 30 different nationalities and it is quite sought after.”
Madeleine: “Yea, as Georgi says, different people from different backgrounds bring different skills and perspectives to bear upon any challenge or problem. If you are aspiring to be a top business leader, you are probably looking for a global perspective – a way to do business in the world and to use insights from everywhere, not be limited by one place or set of experiences.”
“You are not just learning from your professors. Classmates should be peers that you aspire to learn from and to be like.”
Is it appropriate to ask myself what I would like to change and improve about myself during an MBA? Is it going to be helpful when it comes to choosing the right school?
Georgi: “Many of the MBAs I work with are helping you to not only transform professionally but also, as a person. Many high-ranking MBA programmes are now labelling their study experience as ‘transformational’ and embed individual coaching sessions and career consultation with professionals”
“The added value is that you are not only going to be a more knowledgeable person, and a more skilled person, but also, you are going to be a different person.”
Madeleine: “Yes, I’ve noticed this too, this push towards – at least promoting - the idea of personal transformation alongside the professional transformation. I think if you are paying as much money as one does for an MBA you should hope to be growing in multiple ways! I’ve been impressed with the way Cornell’s leaders talk about ‘self-awareness’ being the key to becoming an effective leader – understanding your limits and how to create teams to bring the qualities you might personally not provide so well. That strikes me as not only coming from within the occupational psychology/organizational psychology realm but also something of the personal - that is about self-reflection. There is a bridge being built between the personal and the professional. I wonder if it’s a wider trend of personality being a bigger feature within business.”
“It definitely is something to reflect upon. When I’m talking to students and alumni who’ve come from one culture, moved into another, maybe they are studying on the other side of the world - that transformation of just being in a different location - and then they’re meeting loads of people from other countries - that’s huge on a personal level as well as a professional one.”
What can you do next?
• Listen to the full episode to get even more in-depth insights from the experts.
• Find your cultural fit in 5 minutes to start your cultural journey into an MBA.
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