[vannrox]

Good Article.

[Fierce Allegiance]

I wish all the civil engineers I have to work with had gotten their boots muddy before college. I can't beleivve some of the garbage plans I see.

[martin_fierro]

Where does that bring us with respect to the tens of thousands of youngsters receiving MBA degrees? Draw you own conclusions. Where have these graduates been, and what have they done? If the answer is that they haven't been anywhere and haven't done much, there is no reason they should be on a fast track to management.

I have the same opinion concerning law degrees.

[Cathy]

I used to handle the repossesion of cars for a finance company - it was actually a very interesting job. Dealing with enraged customers teaches one a lot of self control!

I'm all for getting your hands dirty - nothing wrong with it.

[Emmett McCarthy]

I work mainly in remodelling kitchens and replacing countertops. There's nothing worse than having some dweeb with his handy-dandy little computer trying to tell me what will work and what won't or shorting the materials order. What's even worse is when they get involved in sales and tell the customer all kinds of crap that can't be done.

I happen to think that only a person who actually knows how to do the work is qualified to sell it, but the sad reality is that the person who does know how to do the work often lacks the "people skills" to handle the sales. And the smug folks with their laptops, who call themselves "professionals" because they wear good clothes to work, won't listen to the people who do know because their computer program tells them otherwise.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

In all, it brings up the question of whether or not people should serve time in the ranks before being appointed to a management position, and my opinion is that they very definitely should. People brought in at the top without getting their hands dirty are usually dangerous when it comes to managing a corporation. If you are going to run a company making cuckoo clocks, you ought to know how to build a cuckoo clock.

i once worked at a corporation where there existed an high-level manager who i'd talk to from time to time. (One of the man's few strengths as a manager was that he was easily accessable). He told me that businesses were encouraged to find CEO's who knew NOTHING about what their company did or made. This was considered "cutting edge" thinking at the business schools.

i sat back and thought for a second and said "(Name withheld), i could teach you squad level infantry tactics in a few weeks. If you paid attention, you MIGHT survive a firefight without curling up in the fetal position, and pissing yourself...But i DON'T want you driving the 24^th Mechanised Infantry. No, i want Barry McCaffery driving the 24^th.

The guy never got the message, and he also no longer works at that Corporation

One must remember that business schools...< stereotype> often have FAILED BUSINESSMEN for professors.< /stereotype> We should be very afraid when we consider what American Business is coming to, and why everybody else in the world appears to be kicking our @$$.

[ASOC]

Nice piece, points up something that has been lost in some industries....You cannot manage (effectively) what you do not understand.

And MBA types must be the bane of all first level supervisors, everywhere.

[vetvetdoug]

Same goes for my profession. The best veterinarians are those that have cleaned manure from stalls, cleaned kennels, worked in some of the dirtiest jobs ever (slaughterhouses, dairies, milk processing and recovery, humane shelters). Those that go directly from high school into a pre-vet and into the profession many times are spoiled rotten arrogant unethical little pieces of crap that have never had their hands dirty. Many also have an unrealistic attitude about economics and the whole reason for veterinarians' existence. Many of them need help wiping their butts.