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{{B}}Educational Background of
Successful Managers{{/B}} Psychologist Douglas Bray and Ann Howard have for more than 25 years been studying college graduates in entry-level management rank for AT&T. Here are some of their findings. Master's degree can be{{U}} (19) {{/U}}Howard says of Master's degree holders, "They bring us greater{{U}} (20) {{/U}}and interpersonal skills and more motivation for{{U}} (21) {{/U}}and money, but they are not any smarter." This applied equally to{{U}} (22) {{/U}}of an MA, MS, and MBA. There are key{{U}} (23) {{/U}}between technical and non-technical majors. Business majors led the pack in organizing, planning, and decision-making skills{{U}} (24) {{/U}}and social science graduates also{{U}} (25) {{/U}}high. Math, science, and engineering majors scored much, lower in these skills. Technical majors did have{{U}} (26) {{/U}}general mental ability, but they were not as{{U}} (27) {{/U}}or as good at interpersonal skills. As you might expect, social science majors were quite low on{{U}} (28) {{/U}}skills. Business majors were the ones most eager to get ahead. For the future managers, AT&T is still looking for about a third each of business, technical, and liberal arts majors. While they are still looking for master's degrees, some firms say that the{{U}} (29) {{/U}}of the MBA has passed. Many companies{{U}} (30) {{/U}}the same management training programs for their new people, whether or not they have a master's degree. {{U}}(31) {{/U}}the success/failure studies of managers, educational background is probably less important than{{U}} (32) {{/U}}skill that people develop. As one president of a large company puts it, "We're really looking for a particular kind of{{U}} (33) {{/U}}rather than a particular degree." |