Mba

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Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.....................................................................................................................................................1 ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....2 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................................4 Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................................................................................5 Brief Overview of Audience……………………………………………………………………………………………...5 MBA Programs—Falling Prestige……………………………………………………………………………………..6

Irrelevant Curriculum……………………………………………………………………………………………………..6 The Scientific Model Approach…………………………………………………………………………………………6 MBA Programs—Cost Analysis…………………………………………………………............................................7

Displayed Price Tag versus Actual Costs…………………………………………………………………………..7 Rethink MBA—Emphasis on Pre-MBA Work Exposure……………………………………………………...8 School Selection—Higher ROI…………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Pre-MBA Experience—Relation to Scientific Model Approach………………………………………….10 MBA—Not an alternative route………………………………………………………………………………………10 MBA—Does everyone need it?...........................................................................................................................11

Importance of an MBA to an Entrepreneur……………………………………………………………………...11

Importance of an MBA to a Smart Investor……………………………………………………………………...12 Importance of a degree to Shell Federal Credit Union’s CFO…………………………………………….12 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13 RECCOMENDATIONS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..15 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18 APPENDIX A…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….17 APPENDIX B…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….21

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List of Illustrations

Figure 1 Degree Plans……………………………………………………………………………………………………..2

Table 1 Master’s Degrees………………………………………………………………………………………………...3

Figure 2 Work Experience or Education Importance………………………………………………………...3

Table 2 Kellogg School of Business…………………………………………………………………………………..7

Table 3 University of Houston—Clear Lake and Rice Tuition Comparison………………………....8

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Abstract

This research looks into the details of graduate school, to be specific, going into an

MBA program while considering other factors that may or may not be more beneficial. The

research is a detailed overview of enrolling into a school for an MBA. Additionally, the

costs involved, the amount of time, and money that would have to be invested and amount

of work experience that would be ideal to raise the return on investment are explained in

the paper. The main focus of this research is to guide undergraduate students towards

making the right decision before enrolling into an MBA program.

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Introduction

Background

Master of Business Administration is a type of graduate program offered by almost

every school starting from the Ivy League schools all the way down to schools that are not

as well known. The course work started off as a two year program, but the rapidly

expanding working class forced associates on the education platform to open up shorter

options, making it convenient for a larger group of people to seek higher education. The

course structure is a combination of the analytical, functional, and ethical areas of business.

The analytical area consists of accounting, economics, operations research, organizational

behavior, and statistics. The functional areas consist of financial management, human

resource management, marketing management, and operations management. Ethics is a

combined study of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Some of the major

specializations within the graduate program include entrepreneurship, finance,

management, project management, and marketing. Specializations in areas, such as brand

management and advertising, have also found its way into the list in recent years because

of the rapidly growing competition in the market.

Rapidly growing technology has spiked up the skills required to attain a job that

would offer sufficient pay to sustain the ever-increasing inflation and rising competition. In

turn, this has led to people finding their way back to school to take their qualifications a

step further in order to get ahead of their colleagues. With the rise in tuition and living

expenses, is it always a good idea to go back to graduate school, or is it better to invest time

in gaining work experience? What have studies shown regarding the right amount of

experience needed prior to enrolling in business school?

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Discussion

Brief Overview of Audience

College students at University of Houston—Clear Lake come from a wide variety of

backgrounds. In order to gain a deeper understanding of our classmates, we conducted a

class survey. The questions we asked were geared to reflect their future plans after

receiving a bachelor’s degree. The following visuals represent the educational background

and opinions of students in an upper-level business writing class at the University of

Houston—Clear Lake. There are 24 total students in the class, however, only 19 students

completed the survey.

Source: Suvarna, Kartik. (2014, March). MBA vs. experience survey for class project.

Figure 1 displays the specific degree each student in the class is currently pursuing.

Note that 19 students were surveyed, but we received 20 responses for this question —one

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2 21 1

Stud

ents

Degree

Figure 1 - Degree Plans

# of students

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person is majoring in 2 degrees. We have a wide variety of degree plans displayed , but the

main degree plans are accounting and management.

Table 1 - Master's Degrees

Decision

# of

students

Yes 11

No 7

Maybe 1

Total 19 Source: Suvarna, Kartik. (2014, March). MBA vs. experience survey for class project.

Table 1 displays the results when students were asked if they planned to continue

with education and pursue a master’s degree after completing a bachelor’s degree. More

than half of the total number of students do plan to continue into some sort of master’ s

program eventually.

Source: Suvarna, Kartik. (2014, March). MBA vs. experience survey for class project. Figure 2 represents the results when the students were asked if they thought work

experience or education is of more value to an employer hiring a new employee.

Interestingly, a minority of the students chose only education, as you can see in table 1 that

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EXPERIENCE EDUCATION BOTH

Stud

ents

Results

Figure 2 - Work Experience or Education Importance

# of students

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several of the students are planning to continue on in education. This leads us to wonder

why might a student consider experience of more value, yet based on table 1, several

students plan to continue on in education. This could be to related several factors.

MBA Programs – Falling prestige

Irrelevant Curriculum

Once upon a time MBA programs were more prestigious and respected in terms of

academia all around the world. On average one in fifteen enrolled into the program based

on selective admissions and graduated to a pay package that made it worth the time and

years spent. MBA programs were designed to guide students towards developing

leadership skills, develop ethical behavior, and create a path towards attaining a well-

paying corporate job. Many top business schools today have adopted an inappropriate

model of measuring themselves. Instead of measuring themselves in terms of the

excellence of their graduates and knowledge of their faculties in terms of business

performance, they measure themselves on the basis of scientific research. So much time

and money is spent on research, resulting in little being used in business practices. This

results in an irrelevant use of abstract financial and economic analysis and laboratory

psychology (Bennis and O’Toole).

The Scientific Model Approach

In today’s world, top ranked business schools do not hire faculty members whose

qualifications include being an assembly plant manager or a business article writer. They

instead take an approach called physics envy. In fields like physics and biology much

emphasis is put towards research work, which means faculty members rarely interact with

their students. Whereas in the field of business, a rookie needs to know the problems faced

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by a manager in the corporate world rather than being asked to research ne w ideas before

knowing the basis of the managerial approach towards getting daily tasks done. This is

why it is said that the top ranked business schools have made it easier on the faculty by

adopting the scientific approach thus making it less time consuming for the faculty when it

comes to interacting with their students (Bennis and O’Toole).

This might be a result of the increasing number of students enrolling making MBA a

trend rather than the resource to extend one’s knowledge of the business world th at it once

was.

MBA Programs – Cost analysis

Displayed price tag versus actual costs

MBA costs have increased tremendously over the years, and one of the most

expensive schools among the top ranked schools is Columbia Business School. This again is

due to the rising enrollment compared to 7-8 years ago. Even with mind-boggling costs

making it hard for a student to get through daily expenses, especially in places like New

York and California, something is still attracting a high volume of applicants. Today’s

environment and egoistic thought of having more qualifications on paper than the person

next to you, might be one of the reasons. Another reason would be the marketing tools

many schools have implemented. For example, Cornell has publicly quoted, “It is much

easier to live like a student when you are a student rather than living like a student when

you are earning $90,000 annually. If you were to reduce your student loans from $50,000

to $40,000 you would approximately save $121 per month in student loan payments”

(quoted in Byrne). The marketing approach mentioned also involves hidden costs that are

not included in the program costs that are made mainstream. For example, Wharton

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School of The University of Pennsylvania fails to include the $5,800 - $7,800 cost of Global

Immersion Program in its price tag of $168,000 (“The Cost of an MBA: Why Pay Higher

MBA Fees?”). This forces students into planning a route where they aren’t aware of the

actual costs until they are already in the program and it’s too late to change course. If you

looked at these costs on an international level, it still proves expensive. However, it doesn’t

seem expensive at first glance. Europe has one-year MBA programs that seems cost

effective like the 10-month MBA program at INSEAD in France that costs only $102,714 out

of which $73,000 is tuition expenses. Europe in general is not affordable to many, and

living in France on a $30,000 budget for ten months is only possible if your family is well

off or you live below your means (Byrne).

Now that we have a wider knowledge of these hidden expenses, what approach

would make more sense towards choosing a business school? It comes down to the fact

that even though the University of Texas—Austin is not ranked among the Ivy League

schools, it is still one of the top schools and offers financial aid that covers 75% of the

educational fees (as compared to 50% by most other schools).

Rethink MBA – Emphasis on Pre-MBA work exposure

School ranking does matter when choosing a business school, and there is no

comparison to any of the Ivy League schools. There comes a point where one has to choose

a school based on affordability and outcome. If one chooses a business school to keep up

with a trend by paying no attention to whether one can afford it, or even be able to pay the

loans off on graduating, then one is taking a shorter and irrelevant path towards the future.

Again, basing the decision off of money being invested and the outcome of the investment

does not mean that one should choose a school that is nowhere close to having a

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reputation. This results in the person choosing that path to keep up with the person next

door. It comes down to the fact that it makes more sense to gain some work experience

and climb the ladder in your field before enrolling into an MBA program. This will help one

make practical sense out of the program rather than reading the textbook to attain that

degree on paper. Establishing an ample amount of pre-MBA work experience, and having

climbed the ladder to a managerial position before enrolling into an MBA program, will

result in a high pre-MBA salary thus laying down a wider variety of schools to choose from

when it comes to cost and giving one a competitive advantage over others while applying

for post-MBA jobs. This further results in a higher position and a greater Return on

Investment (ROI).

Table 2 - Kellogg School

of Business 2001 2011

Pre-MBA salary $65,000.00 $73,000.00

Cost of MBA $235,066.00 $310,378.00 32% increase

Post-MBA salary $90,000.00 $110,000.00 13% increase

Source: Byrne, John A. (2011, November). MBA Costs Soar. Salaries?

Retrieved from http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/18/mba-costs-soar-salaries-not-so-much/

The above table 2 gives a numerical explanation on the ROI when deciding the right

time along your career to take the MBA path. It shows how from 2001 through 2011 the

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cost of an MBA has increased by 32%, but the post MBA salary has increased by only 30%.

Thus, the Return on Investment over the years has fallen drastically.

School Selection – Higher ROI

As mentioned earlier, pre-MBA work experience and status opens up options when

it comes to school selection. Going to school to acquire greater knowledge and to get your

money’s worth lays down a straight road towards settling down and being, debt free in the

near future, instead of going only to get the qualifications on paper.

Table 3 UHCL Rice university

Total cost of Attendance $19,772 $58,703

Average post MBA starting

salary N/A $99,000 (W/O Experience)

Source: (2014, March). Find The Best.

Retrieved from: http://business-schools.findthebest.com/compare/126-177/University-of-Houston-Clear-Lake-TX-vs-Rice-University-

Jones-TX

The above table 3 shows the difference in tuition costs between University of

Houston – Clear Lake and Rice University. Rice University proves to be significantly more

expensive than UHCL, but research and interaction with current students at UHCL shows

that people graduating from UHCL with an MBA program have not been able to find jobs

easily. If they do, it has not resulted in returns that were expected. It can be argued that not

getting a high starting salary upon graduation from UHCL is not an issue, as a lot of mon ey

was not invested into the program to begin with. It may seem that way, but people forget

that investment is not only related to the money spent but also the time spent as well. If

instead the same person had gained 4-5 years of work experience and reached up to a

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managerial level, then they would have been admitted to a better business school resulting

in time and money well spent. If one does not want to be in a managerial level at work,

then doing an MBA is pointless. Hence, getting there or close to that level before enrolling

into an MBA would make the program more practically understandable rather than

theoretically understandable, thus, drawing your path for the future rather than spending

time and money irrelevantly and waiting for the path to be drawn. Eventually these results

give one the competitive advantage over others in the hiring process.

Pre-MBA experience – Relation to the Scientific Model Approach

As previously mentioned, schools today take the scientific model approach where a

lot of emphasis is on researching new ideas, minimalizing the interaction between the

faculty and the student. How is one supposed to research a topic related to managerial

culture when one has no managerial experience? One needs to spend enough time getting

to that level and experiencing daily activities of a manager in order to research and think

beyond what one has been asked to do.

MBA – Not an alternative route

MBA programs cost $100,000 dollars or more and take two years to finish, which does

not include a year prior to those studying for the GMAT in order to stand out among other

applicants (Clark). It is a lot of time and money that needs to be spent in order get th e

outcome that is worth it. Many people go through tough times and failures and get carried

away with what other people are doing, making them want to do the same. This results in

not investing time and money the right way. An MBA is an incredible qualification to have

if done right but the following are the wrong reasons to pursue an MBA:

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One is not sure what one wants to do in life.

One’s career is stalled.

One got admitted into MBA School – good or bad school is not taken into account.

One is bored of what one is doing and wants to go back to school.

MBA – Does everyone need it?

Importance of an MBA to an entrepreneur

What is an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is someone who is willing to take risks,

full of creativity and ideas, and willing to put their money on the table knowing that there

are only two ways to go from here – either that money will multiply its way back or will

result in a heavy loss. Knowing these circumstances, the person still takes the approach of

putting his or her ideas to work and is thus known as an entrepreneur.

Now since everyone around is pursuing an MBA degree, is it worth it for an

entrepreneur to give up his ambitions and take the MBA route to keep up with the rest of

the world? An MBA will step up one’s qualifications and teach one all about the corporate

world and the managing and dealing with fellow employees. However, an MBA will not

teach you how to take risks as experience does. Risk taking is an inbuilt personality trait

that a person is born with or grows into as experience comes. A prosperous family

background also gives a person the opportunity to take risks (although not having the

creative ability will not get the person very far). An entrepreneur would rather risk

$100,000 on a work plan to create the path for the future rather than relying on MBA to

help create the path for the future. The dean of the Beijing International MBA program has

quoted, “In my opinion, entrepreneurship is a matter of the heart and education is a matter

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of the brain. It is difficult to teach a heart” (Greer). This being said, it is also true that MBA

programs do help give up a clearer perspective on management and companies thus

making it easier for an entrepreneur to avoid hurdles while trying to expand his or her

business. In all of this, as said by Stephen Greer “only you know whether or not you have

the heart to execute on the opportunities we all recognize to launch a compelling business”

(Greer).

Importance of an MBA to a smart investor

A person who has an undergraduate degree, but has been exposed to how the

markets work on a daily basis, knows exactly how and when to invest rather than spend ing

two years getting an MBA degree. There are people with hands on talent that get real

pleasure out of working on houses and thus have the ability to make real estate investment

and make more than required for a decent living. There are people who are interested in

oil and gas and should thus plan on investing money into moving to a place like Texas and

make a living out of it. Spending $100,000 to go to school for MBA is not feasible for all. It

depends on what one’s goal in life is. If one is already on the right track of achieving that

goal, be it stock markets or real estate, then one does not need an MBA to make achieving

that any easier. In fact years will be lost focusing on the degree for the wrong reasons and

trying to make a return on the investment. One would rather invest the same amount of

money and time in a field where they are already an expert and make a bigger return on

that investment in two years’ time.

Importance of a degree to Shell Federal Credit Union’s CFO

In efforts to gain more of an insight of what employers are looking for, we

interviewed Elizabeth Monroy, CFO of Shell Federal Credit Union. This interview was

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comprised of seven thought provoking questions as to whether an MBA is more important

than experience, and whether an MBA is better than a bachelor’s degree. The questions

were then sent by email to Elizabeth Monroy. As a group, we thought this interview would

give us great perspective into the mind of a working individual who has their hand in part

of the hiring process. With that being said, Elizabeth Monroy believes to an extent, that

both education and experience contribute to getting the job and salary one desires and

recalls on her own experience to getting to where she is now. Monroy said, “My previous

experience allowed me to learn quickly. I was able to focus and grasp complex concepts

that others were not even touching” (Monroy).

When it comes down to deciding which degree is better, Monroy believes it all boils

down to one’s drive to succeed. For example, if an individual has low motivation, then

perhaps it is best not to pursue an MBA. On the other hand, if an individual expresses a

strong tolerance for doing whatever it takes, then that person would greatly benefit from

earning an MBA. It’s like Monroy said, “If you have a bachelor’s and a marginal drive, then

you probably wouldn’t gain much from having a master’s. The slight benefit might not

outweigh the cost of the degree. However, if you are driven, motivated, and have proven

this enthusiasm with a bachelor’s, then a master’s degree will exponentially propel you

forward” (Monroy).

Conclusion

The paper does not lead us to a decision but instead is more of an eye opener to

engage people into thinking before they take the route straight for graduate school .

Pursuing an MBA is an investment in terms of finances and time, which do not always

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payoff in the long run. In order to get a positive outcome of the investment, one would

have to first think of his or her goals in life. Based on those goals, plan the road towards

achieving it. If an MBA turns out to be a step towards achieving that goal, then plan your

school, the money required, and the time without pay that would be invested. Based on

that research, one could pick the right amount of experience one would have to gain prior

to an MBA in order to get a return that is worth it.

Recommendations

By taking into consideration the following recommendations, based on conclusions

discovered through research in this report, one can successfully determine the right path

for themself. While every student is different and has a different situation, these a re just

some basic and general recommendations.

1. Develop goals, big and small. Start with education degrees, and then list career

goals. Lastly, take into consideration financial goals of where you would like to be. Make 5 -

year, 10-year, and 20-year goals as to where you see yourself in the future in all three of

these categories. As a note, these recommendations are in no particular order, and one

should consider all of them at once.

2. If you plan to continue into an MBA program, research the schools that best fit

your degree. See what employers are looking for. This can be done by reviewing job

postings and requirements online in the simplest form.

3. If you plan to work, review your employer’s tuition policies. It is highly likely that

they will reimburse you after you work with them for a certain amount of time. If you did

not plan to work, consider this an option by searching for employer’s who do offer this.

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4. Determine how much you are willing to go in to debt for an education. Consider

the amount of time it will take you to payback all of your tuitions. This could be a huge

determinant to decision.

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References

Bennis, Warren, and O'Toole, James. "How Business Schools Lost Their Way." Harvard

Business Review. May 2005. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Byrne, John A. "How Much Does a Top MBA Degree Cost?" Poets and Quants. 08 Jan.

2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

Byrne, John A. "MBA Costs Soar. Salaries? Not so Much." Fortune Management

Career Blog RSS. 18 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2014

Clark, Dorie. "Grad School May Not Be the Best Way to Spend $100,000." Harvard

Business Review. 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Find The Best. N.p. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Greer, Stephen. "Does an Entrepreneur Need an MBA?" Harvard Business Review. 17

Nov. 2010. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Monroy, Elizabeth. Personal interview. 22 March. 2014.

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Suvarna, Kartik, et al. MBA vs. experience survey for class project. 19

April. 2014.

“The Cost of an MBA: Why Pay Higher MBA Fees?” Top MBA. 23 Apr. 2012.

Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

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Appendix A – Class Surveys

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Appendix B

Interview Questions for Elizabeth Monroy CFO of Shell Federal Credit Union

1. What degree/degrees do you currently have? What experience do you have?

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting. I am currently working on a Masters in Management. I have experience in all facets of the banking industry. My experience began with banks in 1980, eventually moving into the credit union industry in 1996. Finance and Accounting is my strength and it was evident even back in 1980. I was and am still a sponge for learning new concepts and applying them; the key to success in my book. I escalated quickly to leadership positions. At the age of 20, I supervised the accounting department of Bank of America, a significant achievement without a degree back in the day. I fell in love with working, accomplishing, and managing and I am still in love today, 32 years later. Ideally, my position should require a CPA or CMA certification and/or an MBA. Fortunately, because of my experience and my employer's philosophy on education, I am not required to hold these credentials.

2. How did your experience or education get you to where you are now? Do you feel like one benefited you more than the other? If so, please explain.

Both my experience and education contributed equally to my current success. However, there is no doubt that the path I took to gain each in terms of timeline was challenging. To explain, I worked in banking for nearly 12 years before pursuing an education. I learned and applied my knowledge accordingly, however, I hit a career wall. That is, I found I could no longer progress in my career unless I held a degree. I was also capped on compensation; my team all had degrees and all earned more than me. My ambitions conflicted greatly with this; I was frustrated, hurt, and had simply lost my spirit. To remedy this, I decided to go to school. I couldn't get around continuing to work full-time, but I also knew I could not just attend school on a part-time basis. I needed my degree and fast. So I went full-time and just knew it would be over at the blink of an eye. In hindsight, it truly was the best thing that ever happened to me. My previous exper ience allowed me to learn quickly. I was able to focus and grasp complex concepts that others were not even touching. About 4.5 years later, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA from a very reputable accounting school, the University of South Florida and was incredibly proud. Meanwhile, halfway through my education, I joined the credit union industry and met incredibly appreciative and caring people. I met my mentor: a very kind person who pushed me beyond expectations and taught me so much. My pre-education experience made a huge difference in how I assimilated what I learned in school. I feel fortunate to have been able to follow the path that I followed. And, from the banks, I also learned what not to do and how not to be. Bottom line, I would not change a thing.

3. Do you consider experience in a specific field or an educational degree to be of more value when hiring someone?

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The key words in this question are "when hiring someone". If I am hiring from outside of Shell, I zoom in on both education and experience. This is because it is very difficult to get a full understanding of an individual from a resume and/or an interview. No matter how good the interviewer is at "reading" people, it is a 50/50 guess. That's where education kicks in for me. An education validates a person's knowledge. I always request transcripts. I do not want 2.5 GPA's; I want 3.5 GPA's. That is how I know what they are capable of. That said, a degree and grades is only part of the equation. Experience also carries huge value. Even when a candidate's experience is unrelated, a comprehensive interview can uncover what they really know and uncovers their work ethic. For promoting from within, I consider the employee's knowledge, work ethic and character. I refer often to the Jim Collins' book, "Good to Great" where getting the right people on the bus is just as essential as getting the wrong people off the bus. If you don't fit, it won't work. Therefore, first and foremost, it's important to ensure people fit. That is, do they have the knowledge and experience or potential to get the knowledge and experience? Do they have the personality and drive that is needed to get the job done? Not having a formal education is less critical to me when evaluating an employee for a promotion. While I need to meet my business needs, I will not create career barriers for lack of a degree. That said, I encourage all of my employees to get a formal education because they can only get better with it.

4. What is your outlook on a master’s degree versus a bachelor’s degree?

Both degrees bring tons of value. The bachelors earns its' merit because it is challenging; one is learning new concepts for the first time. The Masters revisits concepts already learned, but it is a deep dive. Also, the bachelors work is probably 80% self-study, 20% teamwork. It is the other way around for a Masters. Because teamwork is crucial in any workplace, it is an invaluable experience. Companies that work in silos crumble. Companies that that work in teams across the board are successful. So, learning this concept, however frustrating it is at times, makes an individual stronger and extremely valuable.

5. What advice would you offer someone in college who is considering pursuing a master’s degree but is stuck deciding if it is financially right for them?

I would advise them to hold off for two reasons. Many believe that a master’s degree pays for itself; that it is a ticket to making more money. That is absolutely untrue. A master’s degree enhances what you already have. If you have a bachelors with a GPA of 2.5 and a marginal drive, then you probably would not gain much from having a Masters. The slight benefit may not out way the cost of the degree. However, if you are driven, motivated, and have proven this enthusiasm with a bachelors GPA of 3.5+ , then a master’s degree will exponentially propel you forward. The issue is identifying what bus you are on. The other reason for holding off is that many companies have tuition reimbursement plans. This could be a work as you go endeavor.

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6. In your opinion, is it better to get student loans for a degree or start gaining work experience as soon as possible? Please explain.

In my opinion, a bachelor’s degree is critical, so I recommend either attending sch ool and not working, or attending school while working. If one is able to gain experience while going to school, then that is the best scenario. And, if that means getting student loans, then that is recommended. (This may be different for master’s degrees as noted in #5). The benefits of this scenario are as follows: You are gaining experience while attending school, (2) it is proving that you can handle 2 major challenges simultaneously, (3) you may be fortunate to work for an employer that has a tuition reimbursement policy, and (4) student loans are cheap money and well worth it especially for students falling in #2. That said, my own personal experience worked well for me. I had a family straight out of high school and was unable to start school immediately. Though my intentions were to get a formal education immediately, it took 12 years to enroll. These work experience years served as a foundation in my education. However, not many individuals have the drive to pursue this challenge while working and having a family. It requires a dedicated, focused mindset and minimal sleep.

7. What would you say was your biggest obstacle getting to the position where you

are now? Is there anything that you would do differently that you are willing to share?

My biggest obstacle has been and continues to be my need to be in control. And, that leads to lack of teamwork. I recognize that silos are counter-productive, but I also know that I work best on my own and/or controlling my work teams. I can easily direct, but I am controlling; that is, I like things done my way. This is a character flaw especially when working on tasks that cross into other business units. I have to work hard at being open -minded and at considering others' opinions. I make every effo rt to pick my battles and let go. Though it is a struggle for me, I do it because in the end it is better to have teamwork than not have it. The joy I get from being on a team, however hard it is to let go, is incredibly rewarding. Lesson learned-over and over again.