I have come across this question many times and what I feel is that to be in HR you need the right kind of attitude. By ‘attitude’ I mean that you should understand the concerns/issues shared by your people and address them well even if they are not under your control or beyond your limitations for solutions. A good connectivity with people and networking will definitely help you as an HR person.

Now coming to your question, given a choice between a person with a “degree” in MBA or a person who is really looking after the employees, I would be keen to become a mentor of the non MBA person however would also suggest him to do MBA so that his attitude gets a proper direction.

Your question reflects biased ness for a person with a non MBA degree and that he will prove a better resource than a MBA degree holder. How can you say that a person who has spent 2 years to get a degree will not be keen to serve his employees?

I understand that most of us would have answered that we will choose the non MBA person however coming to the ground realities a “degree” always adds value and give a direction to your thought process. So the non MBA person who has contributed well for the organization and is a good resource will definitely be in an excellent shape after completing MBA and there will be nobody to place hindrance to his future career aspirations. The current scenario/organizations want qualification first beyond “experience” or “background” in HR. The organizations of today have really changed and that they like to hire qualified and competent staff for an exponential growth. The times have really changed and what personnel department used to be in grandma days is now totally different. I would definitely benefit my company by getting a good & cheap resource however; I will be actually playing with the future of the non MBA person.

So as a mentor I will push the non MBA person to complete his degree and as he already has an “experience” and “background” in HR he will be much more competent & there will be queue of people who would like to hire him before me.

Good points of view. Esp. the symbiotic one which seems to be all too lacking now a days…

Anyway, I have a question: Who would you choose, a guy with a “degree” in MBA (HR), or a guy who is really interested in looking after his Human employees and clearly knows what he’s doing even though he’s with a technical background and does not have an MBA degree? Would you become his mentor and give the opportunity of a lifetime or would you be a reactionary and say that he doesnt have a “background” or “experience” in HR?

Thanks,
Sriharsha

P.S. words in quotes are very interesting words.. need a second look at how to define them and what exactly are they and are they what we mean them to be?