Is there a relation between higher academic background and competence for business?

Tatiana Zanon
Purchasing Specialist at SAP Brasil
Is there a relation between higher academic background and competence for business?
What are the skills someone should have to get a successful career? To be as Director or CEO a higher academic background is essential or what bring up the person to that position is related to its native skills for doing business? Or both contributes?


Steve Durkee
Market Strategist/Analyst/Executive Director
Best Answers in: Education and Schools, Occupational Training
That would depend on the individual. I have seen both sides of this in my professional life. Just because an individual went to a highly-competitive/well-respected school does not guarantee a certain learning outcome for that individual. We have seen this in world leaders and CEOs. If an individual approaches a rigorous curriculum half committed, and received barely passing marks, would you hire them because of their alumni status from a particular institution over say someone who has operational knowledge of specific areas of improvement and measured success in previous like-situations? In the world of business I have seen this happen (the title syndrome) not only because of academic affiliations but also because of specific title. Once the ceiling is broken, many larger corporations lean towards anyone who has a like-title over someone below that barrier. As a business owner I refuse to accept mediocrity in my work, and as such, always put in metrics to measure results not only of my employees but of myself. I should also clarify that I am not stating that you would learn the same in any environment. I have noticed a recent flood of MBAs in our corporation from a less than reputable institution, and it does reflect in their quality of work. From this trend, I could foresee companies putting in place measurement tools to assess knowledge in the hiring process for executive positions.