Does an MBA help in PR?

The Ragan Report had a story last week about the value of having an MBA for a job in Public Relations.  

Before getting into the benefits, the writer notes that very few people in PR hold an MBA.  He surmises that the reason is probably because PR requires a specific range of abilities that are best learned by experience rather than study -- writing, pitching, media or community relations.

The article lists five benefits of having an MBA --

1)  It focuses your thinking on business goals.

2)  It teaches you the "dialect of the tribe,"  i.e., how to speak like a business executive.

3)  It gives you the tools to run your own shop.

4)  It pays.

5)  It grows your network.

I happen to have an MBA -- in Public Relations, of all disciplines.  I got it when I first entered the job market in the early 1970s, and Pace University in New York was one of the few schools at the time offering an MBA in PR.

I had to study the general business subjects like advanced accounting, economics and statistics, as well as a course in human dynamics.  The core courses in PR covered the history of PR, some theory and some practice. 

Ironically, the PR courses I took in grad school didn't really give me much I could use.  I really learned how PR works once I was on the job.

But the MBA did get me something valuable.  It got me my first meaningful job in PR. 

When I got my degree, my first job was assisting a PR oldtimer with a few industrial accounts.  I learned about printing inks and textile equipment, but mainly, I learned how to write.  After several months, I moved to a new, fast-growing agency where I ended up staying for 13 years, becoming a partner and a manager.  I got that job specifically because I held an MBA.

I later learned that I was one of two final candidates for the spot.  It went to me because I had an MBA.  The agency felt I would be on a more equal footing to deal with all the young MBA-types in the marketing and PR department at the client -- Hanes Hosiery.  In all honesty, the MBA didn't help me perform my job any better.  And I don't recall having "MBA chat" with my counterparts on the client side.  But the agency felt it mattered, and that's why I got the job.

I'm a firm believer in education -- any education.  Learning never goes to waste.  Even if you don't use it directly in your career, it makes you a more rounded and interesting person.  My daughter, for example, got her degree in anthropology.  She has never worked in that field.  But I saw how much the knowledge stuck when I went with her to the Museum of Natural History.  She knew so much more than what was written on the little placards on the exhibits.  

So I won't quibble with the five benefits listed above, even if I don't think each one (especially #3 and #5) is that relevant.  It's education, and that never goes to waste.

So, students -- learn what you can in school.  Get an advanced degree.  It's a good credential to have.  And when you couple it with what you really learn on the job, it can be a powerful knowledge combination.  

 

Comments

[Peter Rothholz]

I was a History major as an undergraduate and it was only when I studied for my MBA at NYU that I first learned about marketing and the roles played by p.r. and advertising. I never tried to get a job in p.r. but my studies certainly helped me to establish my own p.r. agency and keep it alive and moderately profitable for forty years.

[Al]

Does anyone just talk MBA? Does anyone just talk PHD? No, they don't it is about knowledge what you have learned. As you take any classes, read series of books, concentrate in an area of study you become more efficient. So does your MBA help, sure it does most likely without you even realizing it.

[David Reich]

Al, I agree. The "talking like the tribe" benefit is not mine, but from the Ragan post I referenced. And, as I say above, I never had any "MBA chat" with clients or colleagues.

But education is knowledge and it never goes to waste. As you correctly said, it often helps without you even realizing it's helping.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

[Keith Trivitt]

Great points all around, and a really unique perspective, particularly given the fact you earned your MBA in public relations (rather than the more traditional MBA in general business).

Here at PRSA, we have created an MBA Initiative specifically to explore the value of public relations professionals getting an MBA, as well as to better educate MBA program directors on the value of including public relations and strategic communications courses in their required courses.

At PRSA, we work with a number of business executives who have MBAs and work extensively within the areas of executive communications and management. The one thing I have consistently heard from them recently is that the lack of public relations courses within MBA program curriculums is hurting MBA students and the diminishing the quality of executives they become.

Particularly in light of increasing crisis issues and corporate scandals where it has become quite clear many executives don’t understand how to effectively communicate with key audiences and build trust for their brands, it’s becoming quite clear that while many MBA graduates may know how to run a business, they often lack the requisite knowledge to communicate the value of their business.

These are all issues that MBA courses in public relations would help MBA students better understand.

If you review the curriculums of the top-5 MBA programs in the world, according to the Financial Times' Business Education rankings (http://ow.ly/3TVwK), and found that not one program requires students to take a course in public relations, nor even offers elective courses in that field. And while most MBA programs require some marketing courses, anyone who works in PR, and any executive who oversees marketing for a company, will quickly tell you there is a vast difference between marketing and public relations.

It's great to read perspective from someone who has been through the trenches of an MBA program and can express its direct value to a career in PR.

Keith Trivitt
Associate Director of Public Relations
Public Relations Society of America

[David Reich]

Thanks for your insight, Keith, and welcome to my 2 cents.

I've long believed that any marketing program or even a single marketing course should include more than a few paragraphs on public relations. PR should definitely be included in any MBA curriculum or course that touches on marketing, since, as we know, it's a very different and distinct marketing tool.

[cmneedles]

via Twitter

I say yes. I'm working on mine now (after 10 yrs in PR), so may be biased!

[Asa Moran]

Sir, thank you for confirming what I have been trying to communicate to many people for many years. I'll finish my MBA this May and I've a deep desire to become a better writer. Writing is what I know I do best. Thank you again for the encouragement.

[ron yorton]

MBA has many benefits for students. In this blog people can know benefits of doing MBA.