These were just a few of the multiple questions I had to ask myself when deciding upon a graduate degree.  Being that I work in law enforcement, the first degree that I had considered was a Masters of Science or Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, but after some research and soul searching, I decided that this degree did not have a really good return on investment should I ever leave law enforcement.  In other words, the degree was in an area in which I am keenly interested but it lacked the cross profession flexibility I need should I ever leave law enforcement whether of my own accord or through injury. 

So I looked seriously at an MPA (Masters of Public Administration) degree and though this degree provided a lot more utility, it's primary purpose was that of working in some type of government or non-profit agency and really not given the respect that it deserves in the private sector.  I then considered the MSM (Masters of Science in Management) and was pretty well sold on this degree before researching it's first cousin, the MBA (Masters of Business Administration).  It seemed through my research that the MBA teaches the necessary hard skills that the MSM traditionally overlooks, whereas the MSM teaches the soft skills that many MBA programs overlook.  However between the two, the MBA as a credential is the heavy weight between the two degree paths with proven credibility and it is given a good amount of respect in the private sector and the public sector alike.  So the more obvious choice was to pursue an MBA, but seek one that will allow me to enhance my leadership abilities, this limited me to a handful of schools.

But why would the police need an MBA grad?

The easiest way for me to answer this is to go down the curriculum of my particular school. 

First let's look at some of the more obvious aspects of law enforcement.  Law enforcement, like most any service industry is a human endeavor, it works off of people power, people with families, lives, thoughts, biases, likes and dislikes.  As such the leadership of any organization needs to have certain management skills by which to lead those who work for them and with them.

Organizational Behavior and Operations Management are two areas where one learns to run a human endeavor, or an organization as a whole. 

Additionally nothing in life happens without an ability to communicate, which is where Business Communications comes in to play. 

Any organization whether large or small operates on the bottom line.  No, police departments do not turn a profit, but they do have an annual budget with annual expenses to be met every single year just like businesses.  Whenever money is involved, Accounting and Managerial Finance are a must.  If you are not directly responsible for crunching the numbers as a manager or "chief", then you should at least know what you are looking at when reading a spreadsheet since the boss is where the buck stops. 

Marketing is one of the less obvious aspects of management in law enforcement, but think about it, the police spend millions every year on marketing campaigns.  For example, the DARE program (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education) done nationwide.  Or the Buckle Up Texas campaign done by Texas law enforcement on which focuses upon wearing seatbelts.  The "dial 911" campaign is a marketing strategy to remind people to call 911 during an emergency.  Even the very paint and logos on the cars are a type of image the police want portrayed to the public.  Marketing is very heavily involved in law enforcement.

Economics is generally not associated with law enforcement and in some cases it may not be directly related.  But economics does affect a department's operational budget through tax revenue, etc.  Additionally there are certain actions that may be taken by law enforcement which may have community economic impacts which could be beneficial or detrimental to the community.  For example in a popular cultural district in Dallas, lack of police presence can lead to chaos and violence.  Take the police away and the money will stop coming in for those local businesses.  On the flip side, the police started a campaign of arresting or ticketing persons who were intoxicated at local hotel bars even though they were patrons of those hotels.  This type of law enforcement lead to a public outcry because of the impact it was having on hotels bars and hotel revenue.  Predictably people began to take their drinks and their money elsewhere. 

Employment Law should be obvious.  Anytime you have people involved in a cooperative effort you will run into various laws governing compensation, overtime, termination, employee rights, employer rights, etc.  The legal aspects of management, especially liability should never be overlooked. 

Lastly my emphasis is in Organizational Leadership which focuses on developing the skills necessary to be an effective leader.  Leaders are made, not born and thus any class one can take on the subject is likely to be a boon to the student and any organization with whom that student is or will be affiliated with. 

So there you have it, the MBA as it applies to police.  Can you think of many organizations, including the one you work for now where these skills are not necessary for management within that organization?  You could argue that these skills are almost universally necessary from your local dentist office to the CEOs of international oil companies.  Anything that involves people, organizations and money will likely have some demand for the skills that an MBA will bring to the table.

So is the MBA the Swiss Army Knife of graduate degrees?  In my opinion, yes it is.

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