We take a brief look at some factors provoking the appearance of a new kind of MBA programme with changes in content, duration and target audience when compared to the more traditional MBA programmes.With an awakening economy, at least in Europe, after the doldrums of the past four years the MBA is once again a highly sought-after qualification. Globalization and an increasingly more flexible job market where a job for life is unlikely make a well-rounded manager with the right skills and holistic business culture at the right time a highly sought-after asset. Companies look for specialists who understand the workings of other parts of the company.
With businesses spanning different continents employers want managers able to negotiate with counterparts having very different personal values and backgrounds. To achieve this you need to do more than speak their language, you need strong empathy and a high degree of self-awareness that enables the manager to connect with counterparts on a more meaningful and effective level.
With companies increasingly having to answer to society as well as their shareholders the MBA programmes are preparing their students to make business decisions taking into account the consequences in a society that is less tolerant of greed and wild, ruthless capitalism as seen in Deutsche Bank's massive layoffs and the Enron scandals. The new MBAs are aware that their students want to make a positive contribution to society by enabling them to start businesses that act with integrity and create quality employment. Corporate social responsibility and ethics is a main concern amongst prospective students who wish to give back to society with interest what they have received. This is also a priority in the new MBA programmes who wish to clear their bad name after alumni who have attended prestigious schools such as Harvard's Jeffrey Skilling (former CEO of Enron) have been at the centre of corporate scandals.
MBA students are studying for various reasons, the main being a desire for career progression, whether in a company or as an entrepreneur with a start-up or growing an existing business. Prospective MBA students look to a programme with social mobility and career progression in mind. Changing professional roles is a main aspiration especially for individuals with technical backgrounds. The new MBA offers aspiring individuals a career change by gaining the necessary business skills to do so. New MBAs cater for students wishing to combine a pleasant location with the tools that enable making sound business decisions as well as a life-changing experience. Making a career change or boosting a successful but unfulfilling one is a popular objective for many after years in employment in need of dedicating quality time to one self.
A sensitive pocket is another factor affecting the new MBA programmes with price being another issue being addressed by the new MBAs. New MBA programmes are aware that the majority of prospective students feel that the excessive school fees of traditional programmes are a barrier to enrollment as is the excessive time and dedication required, making reconciling a full-time job with study difficult. With low prices and reduced attendance periods more potential students are unable to resist enrolling.
The new MBA programmes are adapted to their students' needs and not the other way round.
Although MBA programmes adapt to changing issues according to what is making the news, for example, the Enron scandal has started schools teaching corporate social responsibility or during the 90s dot com bonanza schools teaching e-commerce and start-up entrepreneurship, the basic subjects of a programme such as accounting, finance and marketing, remain a staple.
The moment in life to do an MBA should be subject to getting the highest return on investment from an equation including programme content, effort, personal maturity and expected professional outcome.
