Management Education, Satisfaction, and Career Growth: A Perspective of Techno-Managers

Introduction

The world is moving at a faster pace. In this Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) world, there is a considerable need for leaders and efficient individuals who can face challenges and turbulence in their roles at their organizations. In most cases, an engineer in today’s world is technically strong in his specialization and is transforming himself into a manager. While this transformation happens, it would be of immense use to have pursued a management degree. A management degree will help engineers to make their final transformation into an all-rounder, charged with looking after a variety of departments and functions, not just their technical teams. It paves the way for accelerated promotion and enables them to realize their potential at an earlier age of their career.

Engineers are accustomed to solving technical problems, but managerial situations often require the use of much broader thinking, involving, and having concepts like financial or marketing or human resources. As they advance to the top-level positions in their career, they will need to think beyond their engineering domain, i.e., overall business like working with teams, projects, budgets, new product development, understanding customer needs, and analyzing market dynamics. These skills are essential as skills of engineer viz. elements of design, development, and engineering production (Caldecote, 1986). One who understands every aspect of business and builds a robust set of business skills can perform their duties efficiently and effectively. Management skills can take an engineer’s career to the next level. To stay competitive in the job market, aspiring managers and engineers who want to advance in their careers need a diverse and robust set of skills. Baruch and Peiperl (2000) found MBA graduates to report higher workplace skills/competencies after their MBA education.

In India, the engineering curriculum represents more about their specialization in their engineering stream. After understanding the need for the management essentials in engineers, some of the technical institutions have started introducing one or two courses like engineering economics, accountancy, project management, human resource management, marketing management, and entrepreneurship in their curriculum. It is only when their roles begin to change, and while they grow up their career and when they start to take on broader responsibilities, they will realize the importance of these skills. Studying one or two courses in management essentials may not help an engineer to work efficiently or to face the problems that arise in the real world. To overcome them, engineers would need to have the management blend. A successful career after MBA entails both securing the entry-level position and doing well enough in both that position and subsequent positions to have a career growth.

Many engineering students would want to turn themselves into an entrepreneur by seeking entry to the world with their innovative ideas. They might have a very creative idea, but it should also be supported by awareness in business decision-making to have a strategic advantage in the current competitive world. The one who understands both technology and its social potentials has a competitive edge on the problems she faces (Ben-Haim, 2000).

Progressing to a higher level in the organization structure is the motive behind choosing the course. Thus, it is essential to know how vital an MBA is after engineering. Also, it will be of use to study about pursuing an MBA program after engineering makes a positive contribution to career success and satisfaction. Management education is vital for engineers in a competitive world. If an MBA does not contribute to career success and satisfaction, perhaps management institutes should reconsider their curriculum and teaching methods. It is evident and is need of the hour to study the factors contributing to the career satisfaction of the MBA after engineering. Thus it will help lots of prospective learners decide on choosing an MBA program. Given this background, understanding possible influencing factors on the choice of student’s career is an essential issue for institutions. More importantly, how satisfied with the profession as well as job need to be addressed so that upcoming techno managers will decide to have a career in MBA. This chapter aims at throwing some light on the relationship between MBA education and the subsequent upward mobility in management that is career satisfaction. In other words, does being a techno-manager enhance long-run success is the critical question that this chapter aims at addressing.