Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines.

History

The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management. The first American business school, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was established in 1881 (initially as an exclusively undergraduate institution). Tuck School of Business, part of Dartmouth College, was the first graduate school of management in the USA. Founded in 1900, it was the first institution to confer advanced degrees (masters) in commercial sciences, the forebearer of the modern MBA.

In France, Sciences-Po (established in 1872) has been training the best minds of France and Europe for leadership service. In 1881 the Chamber of commerce and Industry of Paris founded École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) as one of the first business schools in Europe. In 1898 the University of St. Gallen and in 1909 the Stockholm School of Economics were also founded as some of the first business schools in Europe. HEC Montréal was founded as Canada's first school of management in 1907. As the US MBA model emerged at the turn of the 20th century, Europeans developed centres of excellence in business, such as at the universities of London and Manchester. Elsewhere in Europe colleges such as Cass Business School, London, IMD, Instituto de Empresa, INSEAD, Henley Management College, Cranfield School of Management and Ashridge were set up to provide management training. In 1968, the Asian Institute of Management was founded. In 1964, University College Dublin became the first European university to offer a MBA, followed in 1969 by the HEC MBA Program and by the intensive Sciences-Po MBA Programme.

Executive MBA

Executive MBA Programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers, executives, and other business leaders. They allow professionals to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree in two years or less while continuing to work full time. Students enter the program, complete classes, and graduate with the same group of students.

Participants come from all types of organizations – profit, non-profit, or government-related – and all sizes – from large to small and in-between. They represent nearly every industry, including banking, health care, manufacturing, and technology, to name only a few. Most students enter programs with 10 or more years of professional or managerial experience.

Programs have grown quickly in numbers and expanded throughout the world. As the number of Executive MBA Programs grew, so did the need for an organization where programs could come together and focus on their unique challenges and opportunities. In 1981, The Executive MBA Council was formed. Through its programs and services, the Executive MBA Council advances executive education worldwide.

Executive MBA Council

The Executive MBA Council is a non-profit association of universities and colleges that offer Executive MBA programs and related graduate business programs. Organized in 1981, the council fosters excellence and innovation worldwide in such programs through activities and services to educate, network and inform administrators and faculty.

The Executive MBA Council currently includes more than 200 colleges and universities that administer 300 plus programs in more than 25 countries worldwide. The council attracts members from schools and programs diverse in size, scope and location.

Admissions criteria

Programs usually base admissions on the GMAT test, significant work experience, academic transcripts, essays, references, and personal interviews. Schools are also interested in extracurricular activities and community service activities. The latter is more important for what are considered top-tier full-time MBA programs.

Top-tier schools are first concerned with whether the applicant can 'clear the academic hurdle', specifically, whether he or she can handle the quantitative courseload. The GMAT (especially the quantitative score) and academic transcripts (especially in math, statistics, and finance courses) are used to determine this. Once the school is confident that the student can succeed academically, they look to the remainder of the application (essays, references, interviews, extracurricular activities, and community service activities) to determine the quality of the individual's work experience and his or her leadership potential. These components are also used in evaluating what type of diversity the applicant will bring to the classroom.

Someone who might bring more to the classroom, based on the diversity of his or her background, is likely to be admitted despite minor deficiencies in other parts of the application. This means that people with the more 'common' background (for instance, consultants or engineers) need to have a stronger overall application in order to stand out among their specific demographic, while applicants with less common backgrounds (for instance, non-profit) often are able to gain admission with weaker test scores or previous academic experience. The admissions committe is trying to build a well-rounded classroom experience for each student and although they could quite easily fill the classrooms with engineers with 750 GMAT scores and perfect undergraduate records, it would not be as valuable of an experience as if people were pulled from many different areas.

Program content

Most of the top MBA programs cover the similar subjects within the core required courses. For more information as to the typical content of a core MBA program, please check out the MBA course overview at the Masters_of_Business_Administration page.

Breadth

MBA programs expose students to a variety of subjects, including economics, organizational behaviour, marketing, accounting, finance, strategy, operations management, international business, information technology management, and government policy.

A traditional full time MBA in the United States includes two years of study. Students study a wide breadth of courses in the program's first year, then pursue specialisation in the second year. An internship is typically sought in the interim summer.

In other parts of the world programmes can last for longer or shorter periods. Typically in Europe the duration is between 1-2 years, one less than in the United States (2-3). Some institutions in the United States offer 1 year MBA degrees, such as the Terry College of Business or the University of Mississippi.

Specialization

Many programs allow students to specialise in a particular area, such as organizational behaviour, marketing, marketing research, accounting, finance, operations management, technology management, health systems administration, insurance management, strategy or international business. Unspecialised MBA programs often focus second-year studies on strategy.

MBAs in Academic advancement

Although regarded as a professional degree, completion of an MBA does not preclude admission to a Ph.D program. Most MBA programs include research, analysis and statistics course work and also provide opportunities for masters-level writing.

MBAs from universities evaluated by United States National Research Council (USNRC) may equip future scholars and professors. Such MBA category is a milestone for both professional and academic career advancement. Refer to faculty directories of such schools and USNRC ratings.

MBAs in Management consulting

Business schools and leading media announced on regular basis recruitment of MBAs by leading management consulting firms.

Non-American based MBA Programs

Today, MBA/DBA designations can be found anywhere and even accessed through on-line, distance learning or e-learning. Because of the varying standards of MBAs worldwide, many business schools are accredited by independent bodies, such as the Association of MBAs and the European Foundation for Management Development.

United Kingdom

MBA programs in the United Kingdom differ from those in the United States, in that students typically have significantly more work and managerial experience than their American counterparts. This allows mature students to add the benefit of their work and life experiences to be shared with other students. Because of this, many full-time MBA programmes in the UK typically last one academic year (as compared with two academic years in the United States, and at older UK MBA programs.

The UK Government announced in its April 2004 budget that persons holding an MBA degree from the world's top fifty business schools will be entitled to work in the UK for one year. After this year has elapsed, they are likely to qualify for the UK's Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. This, in effect, means that an MBA from one of the top schools is a ticket to UK residency status.

South Africa

In 2004, South Africa’s Council on Higher Education (CHE) completed an extensive re-accreditation of MBA degrees offered in the country, undoubtedly raising the standard of local programmes. The process was the first of its kind in the world to be undertaken by a statutory body and attracted widespread international media attention for its innovation and thoroughness.

Asia

International MBA programs are acquiring brand value in Asia. While a foreign MBA is still preferred in Korea, many students are now studying at one of many "Global MBA" English language programs being offered. Hong Kong and Singapore are also becoming MBA destinations. For North American students who want a different experience, many of these programs offer scholarships and discounted tuition, to encourage an international environment in the classroom.

External accreditation

Business schools and MBA courses may be accredited by external bodies which provide students and employers with an independent view of their quality.

Accreditation may be provided by

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) - mostly American schools. AACSB accreditation is generally regarded as being the most prestigious of MBA accreditations and being the top 15% of US business schools in USA.
Council on Higher Education (CHE) - South African MBA programmes
The Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) - mostly American schools
European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) - mostly European schools
Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) - mostly German, Austrian, Swiss and Dutch schools
Association of MBAs (AMBA) - mostly non-American schools
The International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) - some American schools

References

External links

Master's degrees | Business

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