A Set of Tools

Our Managerial Accounting Professor keeps reminding us that the course is just a set of tools and we have to use to them to solve different problems. I think exactly the same way about MBA. Education can just provide a set of tools, paradigms and concepts that can be used to handle business decisions/problems, but ultimately the individual matters the most. Given a situation, the decision/solution is very subjective depending on one's perspective and preferences. Different ppl using the same tools and same process of analysis can come up with very different decisions.

That's the beauty of world of management, its all about our thought processes, our baises and our intuition. MBA education can provide a structured way to think about problems, best practices and different metrics to measure success, yet the crucial aspects of decision making can be developed only through application. I am not underplaying the role of education, what I want to reflect is that education can take us to a certain level, beyond that its individual's ability which matters.
MBA becomes essential because it equips us with some skills in a real short time and helps us take our thinking to a next level.

Bottomline, MBA is essential but not the only way to succeed in life.Doing an MBA can't guarantee success(though it can increase the probability) because ultimately its all about individual's application skills.