The B in B-School

Oh, that ever impressive MBA. Some call it Business School, while others resort to the obnoxious shorthand B-School. So far, it's more social and less academic than I thought it would be (though I am still early on in the process. Hopefully, it changes, but my gut feeling is that it gets easier). Therefore, I don't think "business" really applies anymore, so maybe the B-School name is more appropriate (the business is dropped). Should anyone care whether someone graduated from B-School? And, more importantly, what does this mythic B stand for?

The B could stand for business, but in a different way. The main business I've seen here is corporate presentations and events. Although after one late night during pre-term, a couple was apparently takin' care of business in one of the classrooms.

The B could also stand for business casual attire, which in itself is one of the worst fashion trends ever.*** Though not usually required, at least half the class on any given day is dressed business casual (recruiting events and corporate presentations notwithstanding). My early opinion is that women have business casual figured out; men do not--although men have less to work with (and I mean clothes, not anything else). But that something else leads me to the next B: babes.

Though still a minority of the class (around 40% but increasing), the women in business school are generally very attractive, much more so than the surrounding population. If these women end up sleeping their way to the top, they may actually know what to do when they get there. For a subset of this population, B stands for Bitch, as there are some strong-willed females in this class who are used to getting their way, and they scream gender bias if something goes against them. Not that there's anything wrong with that, though.

Still, based on my observations, I think the real meaning of B-School is twofold: Beer and B's. As I've mentioned before, drinking is a big part of B-School, and learning to control yourself while intoxicated around recruiters, professors and other professionals is one of the key skills learned in B-School. As for the B's, it's self explanatory, really. My school has a grade non-disclosure policy and a partial grade distribution curve. We don't have to tell anyone about our grades (or we don't necessarily have to tell the truth), and only 35% of any class gets an A. From what I've heard, everyone--and I mean everyone--gets a B in B-School.

So much for a normal distribution.

*** Side note on business casual: This is absolutely the worst style of dress for men. For women, it's not so bad, since they usually interpret it to mean business formal, and they look good in the process. Plus they have more options. Biz-casual for men means slacks and a dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top. Two problems here. First, some guys insist on wearing pleated pants. I don't know why. But I do know that no one should wear pleats. Second, we are wearing dress shirts--that by their design are meant to be worn buttoned up--with the top button (or more) undone, and then rolling up the sleeves, both of which change the line of the shirt. And as a sub-problem to the second issue, 90% (note: statistics are made up) of men wear some sort of blue dress shirt, so we look like an army of accountants in ill-fitting uniforms. Therefore, women have more options, wear it better, and show off their other assets. I'm surprised more women don't attend B-School.