The Morning Rant: Because “Master” Is Now A Racist Word, So Is “MBA”

Because our elites are unifying around the idea that the word ”master” is ugly and racist, no matter what context it’s used in, I guess we’ll just have to ditch the term “MBA” too.

‘Master,’ ‘Slave’ and the Fight Over Offensive Terms in Computing (NY Times – 4/13/2021)

The Biggest Bedroom is No Longer a ‘Master’ (NY Times – 8/05/2020)

The term’s racist and sexist undertones lead New York’s real estate community and others to rethink outdated industry jargon.

If you haven’t bought or sold a house recently, the term “master bedroom” is no longer being used. It is now the “primary bedroom” or “primary suite.” But the workplace is still full of people talking about their MBA, which stands for Master of Business Administration. How is it that all the woke executives inflicting woke training on their staffs continue to allow this racist term to be used in the workplace?

I am quite hopeful that the university cartel will soon find themselves having to re-brand their MBA programs as a “GDB” (Graduate Degree in Business) or some such, while trying to pretend that the new term has the same luster as “MBA.”

It seems to me there are really three types of MBAs:

1) The elite MBA from Ivy-level colleges. This is a golden ticket, based not on the education it provides, but the status and doors it opens.

2) The mass market MBAs being churned out by every state university. These MBAs are as common now as undergraduate business degrees were thirty years ago. Regional and “double-directional” colleges (e.g. North West State University) are still promoting these as a golden ticket, but they’re so ubiquitous now that they no longer carry any prestige or value in the work place.

3) Executive MBAs. These provide just about the same education as you’d get from a mail-order diploma factory, except that the students also get a name-brand diploma and a rolodex full of contacts.

I am very familiar with a person who purchased earned an Executive MBA from a very prestigious university, yet s/he came out of the program still not knowing the difference between Revenue, Gross Profit, and Net Profit. The curriculum of the program is roughly as follows:

- Assemble one weekend per month.
- Attend classes in which you discuss what certain terms mean to you - terms such as “Core Values,” “Branding,” and the importance of “Mission Statements.”
- Break out in groups to discuss what was learned that day. The meeting place is usually a pub.
- Field trip to Europe. Don’t worry, the cost is included in your $125,000 tuition.
- The “Case Study”.

This is pretty much every case study: Goliath Rapacious Energy, Inc. seeks to become more responsible, yet still provide a return for its shareholders. Our intrepid Executive MBA students are hired for the job! They pivot the company to green energy production. Then they re-brand the company as GRĒnCorp. Not only does it prosper, but the climate is saved!

I have many friends with MBAs from non-elite universities. I have no malice toward them or their degrees. To their credit, none of them has created an identity based on being an MBA.

But for those with Ivy-level MBAs, or those who bought an Executive MBA from a prestigious university, I relish the prospect of them having to deal with the taint of the racist word “Master” and having to erase it from their identity.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

posted by Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

| Access Comments