The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-By-step Guide To Mastering The Skills Taught In America's Top Business Schools [Paperback]

Steven A. Silbiger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 1999

This accessible, step-by-step guide to mastering the skills taught in America's top business schools has been a backlist perennial since publication. It dispenses MBA skills at one percent of the cost, in all the major topics taught at America's "top ten" business schools. MBA applicants and students use it to prepare for entrance interviews and tests; businesspeople, lawyers, and doctors use it to gain the MBA advantage without the time or the expense.

This revised edition includes updated sales, salary, and company information throughout. It also discusses areas such as the Internet, game theory, activity-based accounting, and advances in information technology. For the 300,000 budding MBAs annually and for anyone else who wants to "walk the walk and talk the talk" of the MBA, this is the ultimate MBA book of knowledge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Can MBA programs be compressed, allowing a reader to "get at least $20,000 of MBA education at 99 percent of the list price," as the author promises? Silbiger, a Philadelphia marketing manager, claims that "one can grasp the fundamentals of an MBA without losing two years of wages." Unfortunately, the constraints of his questionable methodology of "if this is Wednesday, it must be organizational behavior" result in some topics being scanted. While Silbiger's coverage of marketing, economics and strategy is cogent, his treatments of accounting, quantitative analysis and finance are pallid. Business law and labor relations are ignored altogether; Silbiger's thoughts on ethics, negotiating and international business are superficial.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Silbiger, who is both an MBA and a CPA, aims to give the reader 40 percent of a two-year MBA program in ten days--a chapter per day. Whether or not one agrees with his premise, this book will prove to be a handy desk reference for potential and current MBAs, along with business people in general. Written in a clear and lively style, the ten chapters provide a basic framework for the essential business courses: marketing, ethics, accounting, organizational behavior, quantitative analysis, finance, operations, economics, and strategy. Each chapter outlines the topics to be covered and ends with "key takeaways"--the buzzwords and theories the text has described--defined in a line or two. A useful lexicon of abbreviations leads the reader back to the explanation of each concept. Recommended for public and academic libraries with business collections.
- Mary Chatfield, Angelo State Univ. Lib., San Angelo, Tex.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; Revised edition (October 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688137881
• ISBN-13: 978-0688137885
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

335 of 347 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten Days, Ten Weeks, Ten Months...Whatever, January 21, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-By-step Guide To Mastering The Skills Taught In America's Top Business Schools (Paperback)

There is a major development now underway in the publishing world (eg "Chicken Soup for Dummies Who Want to Make Billions in E-Commerce") which explains my apprehension as I began to read Steven Silbiger's book. In fact, it is an excellent piece of work. He organizes most of the material within ten "daily" segments. For those unwilling and/or unable to earn an MBA degree but who wish to strengthen their business knowledge and skills, I highly recommend this book. From my perspective, it provides at least three major benefits:

First, the quality of writing is quite high: Silbiger does NOT "talk down" to his reader. Dim-wits and knuckle-draggers will derive little (if any) benefit from this book.

Second, as thoroughly as time and space allow, the material is presented (exactly as promised) as a "step-by-step guide to mastering the skills taught in America's top business schools."

Third, however long it takes to absorb and digest the information provided (ten days, ten weeks, or ten months), the reader will gain a sound working knowledge of subjects which include marketing, ethics, accounting, organizational behavior, quantitative analysis, finance, operations, economics, and strategy. Silbiger also includes several "MBA Mini-Courses" and then brief discussions of research, public speaking, negotiating, international business, and business law. In his Introduction, Silbiger observes: "My goal is make you familiar with the significant MBA tools and theories currently being taught at the leading business schools and to help you understand and develop the MBA mind-set." He achieves his goal. Can this book take the place of an MBA degree? Of course not. Can this book increase substantially a reader's business knowledge and skills? You bet. It has already done so for more than 200,000 readers and it will continue to do so for many others in years to come.

If you decide to purchase this book, take very seriously the learning opportunities it offers. (Why else buy it?) Proceed with rigor and focus. Highlight key points and take notes along the way, then review them at the conclusion of each "Day." Stick to the study schedule you deem most appropriate for you. Maintain a journal in which you record your reactions and reflections as you learn. Perhaps one day Silbiger will write a "Fieldbook" to accompany this one. Meanwhile, let a journal become your own "Fieldbook." Record in it your experiences when applying what you have learned. In doing so, you may well create for yourself a decisive advantage when competing with those who so proudly possess an MBA degree from one of "America's top business schools."

110 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to MBA concepts, jargon, and skills, September 1, 2002

By 

newchapter "newchapter" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-By-step Guide To Mastering The Skills Taught In America's Top Business Schools (Paperback)

Highly recommended. Gives the reader a good working knowledge of management concepts, tools, and formulas. This should be mandatory reading for any new employee, regardless of industry or expertise. Some highlights:

1) Break even unit volume (how much to produce to break even) = fixed costs / selling price of product - variable costs

2) A balance sheet is a snapshot of the company's holdings at any time. Assets = Liabilities+ Owner's equity. If the records do not balance, then there is a mistake.

3) Overview of quantitative analysis: how to calculate EMV (expected monetary value), cash flow modeling, net present value, IRR (internal rate of return), and probability distributions.

4) A major drawback of the corporation is double taxation: taxation as an entity, and also taxation on dividends.

5) CAPM (capital asset pricing model) determines the rate of return necessary to compensate for that inherent risk of a particular investment. (e.g. is that stock worth buying)

6) Even if you do not work in operations, it will help you to understand the meaning of key acronyms: MRP (master resource plan), BOM (bill of materials), SPC (statistical process control), CPM (critical path methodology), EOQ (economic order quantity)

7) Good history of economic thought: Keynes (positive effect of government fiscal spending), Friedman (government should only focus on money supply), Smith (invisible hand), Schumpeter (creative destruction), Laffer (supply side)

8) "Strategy is the most exciing course in the MBA curriculum because it gives you the chance to put all your new skills to work. Strategy classes place students in the chairman of the board's chair, and MBAs love that feeling." (pg 297)

9) The author recommend these two books as compulsory business reading: Michael Porter's [Competitive Strategy] and [Competitive Advantage].

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're even thinking about getting an MBA, read this!, June 26, 2003

By 

Michael (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ten-Day MBA: A Step-By-step Guide To Mastering The Skills Taught In America's Top Business Schools (Paperback)

I'm a software developer who's always had a mind for business. I've worked for a few start-ups and even started a few myself. My wife has an MBA and I had been thinking of going to school for an MBA when I found this book. My wife read parts of it and confirmed that it is the same material in an MBA program. Now I won't claim this book will teach you everything you'll learn in an MBA school (obviously), but I will claim this is a great book for anyone considering an MBA as well as for anyone who has one and wants to brush up on the material. The author presents the most important information tought in business schools, at a high level although full of real examples. What I liked most was how he gave specific real life examples, sometimes true and sometimes ficticious. For example, one that I remember off the top of my head, he explains how Quaker bought Snapple when it was popular but couldn't win the battle against Coke and Pepsi and ended up selling it at a huge loss. There's tons of real life examples like that. I like the style of the book, because he presents the material at a high level and if you want to go into detail you can pursue the subjects that interest you on your own. I also like his touch of humor, which keeps the book interesting. Overall I cannot recommend this book enough!