Are MBA salaries worth it?

Amit Varma opines that the hue and cry about MBA salaries is misplaced. Can't agree with him more. Neither the writers nor most of the readers understand economics. Hence, they approach the issue with envy.

Every year, the same article is regurgitated by the newspapers. Most of the articles are false (with overhyped salaries, especially average salaries) anyway. I remember having read that my salary was 1.5 times what it was, when I got placed. Some of the envy is misplaced*.

Having said that, people have the right to question whether MBAs really are worth that much. They shouldn't whine, but they can definitely question.

One of my MBA friends was telling me the other day that his company (one of the largest MNCs in the world) doesn't even let him know how he has 'added value'. He's getting paid quite a lot. However, he is not satisfied. Apparently, for one year, he hasn't had an appraisal (but has got a raise). Obviously, that leads to the question of how much are MBAs worth. By an MBA himself.

By the way, for a really interesting debate (with some researched facts and piquant opinions), check this out. I was looking for an example of a 'value-adder**' MBA to put on my blog.... then I saw the name of the 1975 HBS alumni, Dubya. I think this one is a better example of a MBA adding value:

"1. Fred Smith, chairman and founder, Federal Express. Smith is a legend among MBAs because he developed the hub-and-spoke delivery concept in a business case at Harvard Business School. He got a C on the paper. He raised the most venture capital ever assembled to-date in the early 1970s -- to start an overnight competitor to the U.S. Postal Service and United Parcel Service. The company now has more" than 200,000 employees and revenues of $21 billion:
http://www.chiefexecutive.net/depts/innovators/181.htm"

And yes, he got a C.

*Though I do agree that I (and most of other MBAs) get paid well.
** I think a parody of Black Adder is on the works.