Master degree in business administration

Panelists

Jim Sheahan

Executive director of the Mayor's Office of special events, Chicago B.A. in history from St. Joseph's College

Patricia Shafer

Director of corporate affairs, Kraft Foods B.A. in political science and mass communications M.A. in journalism from Ohio State MBA from the Kellogg School of management at Northwestern

Bill Kokontis

Vice president of marketing programs for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange B.A. in philosophy and anthropology M.A. in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois

Moderator

Marilyn Moats Kennedy

Founder and managing partner of Career Strategies Author of six books, including "Office Politics and Career Knockouts" B.A. in journalism M.S.J. in science & journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern

Get an MBA or M.A. in communication? A question many communicators wrestle with, particularly those with 10 plus years of experience and a career humming on idle. How vital is the master's to your success as communicator? Can you rise without it? Educator J. David Pincus, Ph.D., APR, delineated the merits of each degree in February's special issue of Communication World. One fundamental difference, according to Pincus, is that the MBA is a generalized, professional degree while the master's is specialized and research-driven. No matter which path, Pincus urged the communicator to get more business sense. "Tackle your fright of finance and numbers head on," said Pincus. Embrace Forbes and BusinessWeek.

Okay. Now for another perspective. You're competing for a job with 600 other faceless souls responding to the same advertisement. Will a master's or MBA make your resume glow in the dark? What does the real world say?

At an IABC/Chicago chapter luncheon in March, four experts answered the real-world questions. Jim Sheahan elevated work commitment to passion. Sheahan, a former teacher for Chicago public schools, spoke glowingly of his staff, some 70 magic-gatherers who organize the city's parades and premiere events like the Taste of Chicago.

Sitting next to Sheahan was Patricia Shafer. Shafer completed both degrees - a master's and MBA - and applied them to advantage at Kraft. Her specialty in crisis communication was evident. Shafer would stay calm despite a reporter swarm pressing microphones at her.

Third panelist Bill Kokontis is a creative force thriving in a pin-stripe industry. He is vice president of marketing programs for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. With his roots in philosophy, Kokontis described a yin-yang balance in business, of its cyclical and even fickle nature. His reach at the Exchange is wide: from extensive training programs, to running the Exchange's library and overseeing the web site.

As moderator, Marilyn Moats Kennedy got big laughs. Kennedy has the insouciance of an accomplished performer - and a bulls-eye aim. She's at the top of her game. She's been interviewed on U.S. television shows "Good Morning America" and "20/20" and is the author of six career strategy books. If you seek advice and expect hand-holding, forget it. Kennedy's no-nonsense.

So, the cast was assembled and the script impromptu. For the communicator, is the master's meaningful? Unless you are the Michael Jordan of wordsmithing, yes. The advanced degree helps. But the master's or MBA is no guarantee of a higher salary.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy

Are you anywhere between 50 and death and thinking about getting a master's degree? What kind do you need? We want to hear from real people.

Jim Sheahan

I probably see as many resumes as any human being on the face of the earth. When I look at a resume - I do not look to just see if a person has a master's. What is most important are basic skills. Many people coming out of universities don't have them. People need to have skills as far as writing and math go - and skill sets. Plus, it's how the person presents him or herself. That's an intangible. If a person has it, they have it. You can tell. Talk to them. They're interested in producing and putting themselves into the job. Commitment is more important than any educational background. There is no substitute for passion.

Patricia Shafer

I believe in metaphors. And the metaphor that's been rolling around in my head about the value of an advanced degree is golf. Is there anybody in the room who's a golfer? What about a skier? or a tennis player? Everybody's got a hobby. Whatever it is, there are phases of hobby "advancement." One, you decide on what hobby to take on. Then, you buy the tools. For the golfer, it's a bag, clubs, balls, tees and shoes. Third, you need experience. So you go to the driving range. Hit a few balls. You gradually improve. One day, you realize your game's about good as it's going to get. You need a breakthrough...and that requires some advanced coaching. I'm a believer in advanced coaching - advanced education. The next question is: Should you get an M.A. in journalism or communication or an MBA? My answer is: "It depends." It depends on your life plan, your goals and on the effect it'll have on your family.

Before this discussion, I spoke with executive recruiters, senior managers at Kraft and friends with MBAs. They said a master's in communication probably makes sense early in a career, particularly if you choose a specific type of program. For example, the executive recruiter spoke very highly of the program at Northwestern, which is multi-disciplinary. Resoundingly, everyone said that an MBA has value. The executive recruiters said their clients don't expect communicators with MBAs. When they encounter one, they're surprised. It definitely raises their interest.

Bill Kokontis

It's not so much "either or both," but the skill sets those degrees presumably confirm. My business is arcane and not understood. Communication is a problem for us. Product experts can be terrible communicators - but the people who run the show are more comfortable with that expertise. Product know-how or hard-edge business knowledge has more value than communication skills. But that's a cyclical thing. Product life cycles are so much shorter. What was successful yesterday and was a self-selling product is so-so tomorrow. Suddenly it's a scramble for communication skills to put the product back on the map. So, we prize those who have business expertise as well as first-rate communication skills. That's not answering the question of which degree to get. But I would tell everyone to stay in the education stream, whether it's formal schooling or not.

Audience Member:

Are people getting higher salaries for master's degrees?

Jim Sheahan

Absolutely.

Patricia Shafer

Typically it's the marketing or finance person who has an MBA. It's almost a rite of entry. But I spoke to other MBAs who worked for agencies or consulting firms, and they said it didn't increase their salaries at all. What it did was allow them to add more value - and ultimately more opportunity.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy

If you look on the web at salary surveys, you will find that the difference between a bachelor's and the master's is minimal. Here's why. As resumes get scanned into computers, the computer is told, search for: 'B, B.A., M,' whatever. The employer puts the Bs in one pile and the Ms in the other pile and says, "I can have someone with a master's degree for exactly the same price." If I buy Tide and have a dollar-off coupon, wouldn't I be a fool not to redeem the coupon? So. It's changing the way you're screened. Remember. That's a big-company recruiting thing. How many garage-shop operations use scanners?

Audience Member:

I had a question about the professional accreditation IABC offers, the ABC title. Does that have any effect?

Marilyn Moats Kennedy

Anyone out there who's accredited?

Sarah Bornstein, Audience Member Roosevelt University

I'm an accredited business communicator (ABC). My own sense is the only people who care about it are other accredited business communicators.

The reason to do it is to demonstrate your professionalism. One of the best things about the accreditation process is that it forces you to state objectives, what you accomplished - on something as modest as a newsletter. It's a track record. I'm in human resources. What I'm most proud of is somebody I saved from termination. But I can't parade that person around during a job interview.

I'd like to add something. I switched from communication to human resources. So I read resumes for a living. And I do separate those piles. I go right to the master's, if I can. Now, I work for an educational institution that's obviously going to value higher education.

Other comments?

Audience Member:

How important is it to go for the number one and number two school, rather than finding a more cost-conscious program?

Patricia Shafer

I can't comment on whether it makes a compensation difference. I went through the executive management program at Northwestern and found there is a Northwestern recognition. The same is true of the University of Chicago.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy