在经济衰退下的各行失业率爆增，我们还有没有必要去攻读MBA?
2001年，詹姆斯•埃茨伯格(James Edsberg)进入法国枫丹白露的欧洲工商管理学院(Insead)攻读MBA课程，希望从商法领域转行到更加商业化的领域。但事态没有完全按照计划发展，在他毕业时，MBA毕业生面临过去10年里最糟糕的市场。
James Edsberg started his MBA programme at Insead, in Fontainebleau, France in 2001, in the hope of moving away from his career in commercial law into a more business-oriented role. But things did not quite go to according to plan and he graduated into the worst market for MBA graduates in the past decade.
埃茨伯格解释道：“即使在最好时期，转行的机遇也很难获得我们毕业时，市场刚刚从互联网泡沫的破裂中复苏，因此对大多数人来说，安全是第一位的。”由于经济上的需要，他的一些MBA同学被迫回到以前的工作岗位，偿还学费贷款成为沉重的负担。
“Career-changing opportunities are tough to come by in the best of times – we graduated into a market that was just recovering from the dotcom, so it was safety first for most people,” Mr Edsberg explains. Some of his fellow MBAs were forced to return to their former jobs, often out of economic necessity, with loans taken out to cover tuition costs being a heavy burden.
埃茨伯格采取了略有些冒险的做法，与别人合作创建了总部位于伦敦的咨询公司Lighthouse Global，目前仍担任该公司合伙人。他满怀热情地表示：“就读MBA点燃了我的企业家精神。我决定在仍然怀有激情的时候把它释放出来。”
Mr Edsberg took a slightly riskier approach, co-founding the London-based consultancy, Lighthouse Global, where he still works today as a partner. “My entrepreneurial spirit was lit during the programme and I decided to give it a go while the fire was still in me,” he enthuses.
今年毕业的许多MBA学员将面临类似决定。他们也许还会对MBA的价值及其当前的负面形象进行反思。随着人们发现几位知名的MBA毕业生在当前金融危机中犯下错误，许多商学院开始注意自己的名誉，考虑是否应该用道德和社会责任取代利润率和股东价值。
Many MBA graduates:天译时代翻译培训网 will face similar decisions this year. They may also reflect on the value of their MBA and the bad publicity that currently surrounds the degree. With several high-profile MBA grad天译时代翻译培训uates found culpable in the current financial crisis, many business schools are looking to their laurels and considering whether ethics and social responsibility should replace profit margins and shareholder value.
但是看看自2001年第三届全球MBA排名以来，英国收集的6.5万余名校友的反馈吧：MBA学员的动力来自获得一份更好的工作。当被问及攻读MBA的理由时，职业发展一直是最重要的因素。实际上，在2001年（对1997年的毕业生进行了调查）至2009年（对2005年毕业生进行问卷调查）的9年间，其中有6年受访学生都认为职业发展是最重要的考虑因素。
But looking at feedback from more than 65,000 alumni, gathered annually by the Financial Times since the third Global MBA ranking in 2001, what motivates MBA students is getting a better job. When asked about their reasons for studying for the degree, career progression is consistently reported as the most important factor. Indeed, between 2001, when the graduating class of 1997 was surveyed and 2009, when the graduates of 2005 completed the FT questionnaire, it was the highest priority for students on six out of nine occasions.
在学员们列举的攻读MBA的最重要理由中，加深对商业的了解或许是职业发展的一个前提列在第二位，而增加收入职业发展中最切实的益处排名第三。
Students rate a broader understanding of business – perhaps as a precursor to career progression – as the second most important reason for studying for an MBA, while increased earnings, the most tangible benefit of professional development, comes third.
就实现上述三个关键目标而言，商学院与学员的目标完全一致。在可获得实现课程目标的可比数据的2005年至2009年间，近90%的受访校友表示，他们丰富了自己的商业知识。而有关收入增加和职位发展的数据显示，86%的毕业生表示，在攻读MBA之后，收入有所提高。
Business schools are as consistent as their students when it comes to delivering these three key goals. Between 2005 and 2009, where comparable data on achieving programme aims are available, almost 90 per cent of surveyed alumni said they had increased their business knowledge. And data on increased earnings and career progression reveal that 86 per cent of alumni said that, following their MBA, their earnings increased.
学员攻读MBA前和毕业后3年的就业数据支持了上述结论。在2001年至2009年的调查期间，平均有6成的学员在读完MBA后得到了更高的职位。
Employment data for alumni before their MBA and three years after graduation support these findings. Between the 2001 and 2009 surveys, on average, six out of 10 of alumni secured a more senior job following their MBA.
不过，利用上述数据预测未来趋势或许并不明智。近期事件对MBA品牌的损害可能会降低MBA毕业生对雇主的吸引力至少在短期内会如此。当前就业机会减少的事实信贷危机的后果将产生一定影响。
Using this data to predict future trends, however, may be unwise. The damage to the MBA brand by recent events may make graduates a less attractive proposition for employers, at least in the short term. The fact that there are currently fewer jobs available – a result of the credit crunch – will have an impact.
鉴于MBA毕业生总体水平令人满意，有关必须进行根本改革的主张似乎有些反应过度。但这并不意味着没有改进的余地。一个明显的目标是增加攻读MBA的女性人数。在MBA项目中，女性一直是少数，平均占2001年以来所有接受调查毕业生的四分之一。
Given the general levels of satisfaction of MBA alumni, talk of the need for radical change appears slightly reactionary. That does not mean there is no room for improvement. One obvious target is female participation. Women are consistently in the minority on MBA programmes, on average comprising a quarter of all alumni surveyed since 2001.
至于女性的升迁和薪酬问题，女性MBA毕业生每年都报告其收入低于男性毕业生，在公司高层中所占比例也偏低。
As for female seniority and remuneration, year after year female MBAs report that they earn less than their male counterparts and are also disproportionately under-represented at the highest levels of companies.
但埃茨伯格对自己的MBA经历很满意，这种经历至今对他仍然很有用。他表示：“我的MBA经历与我生意的成功彻底融为了一体。”
But Mr Edsberg is happy with his MBA, which continues to stand him in good stead. “My MBA has been utterly integral to my business success,” he says.
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