I think you sum it up in your first sentence: an MBA involves the study of the discipline of business. It's distinct from the practice of actually running a bus

I think you sum it up in your first sentence: an MBA involves the study of the discipline of business. It's distinct from the practice of actually running a business, and the courses/classes are almost always highly theoretical and research based. I have a masters in business and I can assure you that no company will let me manage shit, because the course didn't confer 'experience' unto me. I'm sure that all competent managers of programmers respect the craft. I've met several managers who didn't respect programmers though, but my perception of them was that they weren't competent ;)