MBA : Differing Schools of Thought

Marketing involves those activities necessary for the planning and delivery of products or services from the producer (or performer) to the customer, to satisfy the customer and to meet the organization’s objectives. These activities ultimately support the sales function (and profitability) and include:
• Product development
• Market research (including forecasting)
• Advertising
• Public relations (product publicity)
• Sales promotion
• Customer service

Differing Schools of Thought
Certainly, there may be ideological differences between departments within an organization and often between members of the same department as well. In fact, some individuals may claim to subscribe to a particular school of thought without truly understanding the implications of their positions. As this pertains to the marketing discipline, there are basically four ideological “camps”: the product concept, the selling concept, the marketing concept, and the societal marketing concept.


The Product Concept
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” This concept—the product concept suggests that the integrity of the product supersedes all other considerations and that quality alone determines the fate of the product. Therefore, no substantive marketing effort is required. A critical flaw in this approach is that potential customers may not even be aware of the product’s existence, much less be able to evaluate it for purchase.

Another shortcoming is that “quality” may be subjective, differing from one individual to the next. (Surely, you’ve heard the saying, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”) Those who subscribe to the product concept are often of the “techie” persuasion, with a background (or responsibility) in engineering, production, and operations management or a similar area.

The Selling Concept
The selling concept is predicated upon the notion that consumers will not make purchases in the absence of strong selling and promotional efforts. The negative stereotype of the automobile salesperson comes to mind in this regard. This individual has little concern for the consumer’s well-being once the sale has been made. As a result, purchasers tend not to return. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), this doesn’t bother the salesperson, since there are “a lot of fish in the sea.” A major limitation of this position is that it greatly underestimates the cost of losing a customer and wrongly assumes that there is an infinite universe of potential customers from which to draw. “Shirtsleeves” salespeople with little exposure to other influences within the marketing function may be prone to this mindset.

The financial people within their organizations, those who set or at least influence the setting of sales quotas, may also embrace the selling concept, in that they may, intentionally or otherwise, directly or indirectly, be pressuring the sales force to generate short-term profits at the expense of longer-term customer satisfaction.


The Marketing Concept
The marketing concept reflects the so-called “classical training” that MBAs receive. It is based upon the premise that the company must conduct research to learn what the customer wants. Having done so, the marketing mix or four Ps—product, price, place (channels of distribution), and promotion—are adjusted so that the customer will buy the product and use it with a high level of satisfaction. This approach complements the product concept, communicating the attributes of “the better mousetrap,” and rather than assume that “the world will automatically beat a path to your door,” makes that path to the company’s door as attractive and easy to reach as possible. The marketing concept also tends to emphasize relationship-building, since (as
we will learn later on) a company’s future and long-term profitability ultimately depend upon satisfying the customer, not only initially, but repeatedly over time.

Marketing-oriented organizations such as Procter & Gamble (P&G) liberally employ “800” toll-free telephone numbers to address any concerns that customers might have. This is not as altruistic as it might seem. After all, the information that the company receives from the resulting telephone calls is, essentially, valuable and free market research.

If, for example, a sizable number of customers were to call and complain that they had found the corners of the Ivory soap bars they had purchased to be chipped, the company’s product management team would almost certainly remedy the problem, perhaps by repackaging the product for greater protection. Moreover, P&G also unconditionally guarantees its products and offers refunds or exchanges, generally at the customer’s option.

The Societal Marketing Concept
The societal marketing concept is actually a version of the marketing concept that includes the long-term welfare of the consumer and that of the general public as well. A notable success story in this category includes biodegradable laundry detergents in an age of ecological consciousness. However, the motorcycle manufacturing company that created a vehicle which reduced the loud, high-rpm sound typically associated with motorcycles to a quiet purr did very poorly with the product and was forced to abandon it. Apparently, the company’s research and planning effort did not reveal what most of us probably suspect to be the cause: motorcycle enthusiasts actually want that noise.

In an organizational environment, policy decisions are often made by committee. The parties bring their various orientations to the table with them so that even an organization which, on the whole, embraces the marketing concept may have “pockets” of countervailing forces. Therefore, the various influences we have just discussed rarely exist in pure form within the organization. (One might seriously question the desirability of an organization in which everybody shared the same influences and agreed on everything.)
Read More : MBA : Differing Schools of Thought

MBA Origins | MBA History

There are now well over a thousand management Master’s programmes on offer, with huge variation between these. Choosing a programme which meets your particular needs is crucial. The right one might transform your career, and indeed have a major impact on your life as a whole. The wrong one may leave you with a sense of failure, or no more than some letters after your name and a hole in your bank account.

Before choosing a course it is important to understand the range of potential benefits that different programmes may offer: you can then decide which of these are most important to you. You also need to understand the other dimensions of variation between programmes, such as length of course, academic level, degree of specialisation and the pattern of time commitment needed. These are likely to be equally important factors in selecting a programme.

This article looks at how provision has developed from the original US MBA model to the wide range of programmes now available, and at the way in which both student and employer perspectives on MBAs have changed, in the UK, and Europe more generally. This historical digression is not strictly necessary, but if you have the time you may find that it helps you to understand the current situation.

Change in provision has been – and continues to be – dramatic. Forty years ago Master’s-level management study was rare in Europe. Although MBAs were popular in the USA, few European employers had more than a hazy idea of what ‘MBA’ even stood for, and were probably unaware of any other qualifications at this level. Only a handful of young, ambitious managers pursued an MBA, and on gaining it risked being thought of as expensive, arrogant and generally useless.

This is no longer the case. A formal management qualification is now almost a prerequisite for management success. Key stakeholders in the management education process include managers seeking such qualifications and their employers, the universities and colleges providing such education, and the government who partly
funds it, and has an interest in the impact on the quality of management within the economy. Some 500 European business schools produce more than 20 000 graduates a year, most of whom already have substantial management experience behind them. (This is still a small number in relation to the 80 000 or more MBA graduates annually in the USA, together with increasing numbers of managers gaining specialist management qualifications.)

The reasons for this expansion, and its consequences, may help you to consider what you want to do. Costs and benefits of study have changed markedly, and you need to evaluate both when deciding, first, whether or not to seek a qualification of this kind, and, subsequently, which qualification to pursue.

MBA ORIGINS
The prototypical MBA originated at Harvard around a century ago. Programmes following this model are highly selective, highly pressured, and normally involve two years of full-time study. The first year concentrates on the basic management disciplines: control, managerial economics, finance, marketing, organisational
behaviour, human resource management, production and operations management. It also covers factors influencing the business environment, such as government and the international economy. During the second year there will be scope for organisational placements, perhaps in the form of consultancy projects, and for study of a range of electives.

Teaching on such programmes is heavily case study based – a method pioneered in the Harvard Law programme. Harvard MBA students report being expected to analyse two or three substantial case studies per night – each requiring two to four hours’ study –in preparation for class presentations and discussions the next day. The academic level is extremely high, and the atmosphere highly competitive, placing considerable
pressure on students.

This distinctive approach to teaching management has many benefits. The first and obvious one for students is the prestige attached to the qualification itself. The top business schools are highly selective: merely being accepted suggests something special. The competitive nature of the programme ensures that successful graduates are likely to thrive in competitive business environments.

Until fairly recently employers would compete vigorously for the graduates of these business schools, offering ‘golden handshakes’ on starting, and salaries two or more times the size of those offered to non-MBA graduates. The MBA graduates were valued because they had gained a highly analytical approach to managerial problem solving, and the ability to approach new problems in a structured and rational fashion.

From the 800 or so case studies they had analysed, they had a ‘vocabulary’ of types of problem, and a degree of familiarity with a wide range of business contexts. They had a clear grasp of finance, and the ability to use financial models. The competitive approach to teaching developed a high level of confidence in students who survived it.

These qualities made graduates particularly attractive to management consultancies and investment banks, the subsequent employers of the majority of graduates. The first European business schools modelled themselves upon Harvard, but several important changes took place from about 1980 onwards. These significantly influenced what managers and employers wanted from a qualification, and how they wanted to achieve it. As a consequence, the ‘Harvard’ model is no longer the dominant one in Europe.
Read More : MBA Origins

MBA On Government And University Prespective

The factors which brought about this change are somewhat interrelated. They include government interest in management education, growing employer interest, concern for more relevant and practically oriented programmes, a massive increase in the number of ‘MBA’ courses being offered, particularly via distance learning or other parttime modes, and a change in the type of manager choosing to study. The organisational context has also changed significantly. This section is written from a UK perspective, but broadly similar factors have operated, albeit on slightly different timescales, elsewhere in Europe and indeed around the globe.

Government influence
To the extent that they fund education, governments are significant stakeholders in the process. During the 1980s the UK government, concerned with industry’s apparent competitive weakness, started to wonder if the solution lay in better management training, and commissioned several reports on this. It emerged that management training was seen by employers as an overhead, rather than an investment. Of the 90 000 or so who entered managerial roles each year, most had no prior formal management education, and subsequently received on average only one day of training per year. The USA had only four times the population of the UK, but produced forty times as many management degrees and diplomas.

Some of the suggested reasons for this disparity were employer confusion over available qualifications, and worries that courses were over-academic and nonvocational. One response to this was the development of a framework of management competences, and qualifications based upon these. While these are successful at lower levels they have not supplanted the more academic and knowledge-based programmes available at Master’s level – though application of knowledge is strongly emphasised in many such programmes. The development of critical and analytical skills is generally agreed to be crucial for senior managers.

Indeed, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) completed a benchmarking exercise for Master’s awards in business and management which lays down the expected standards for an award, and the attributes and capabilities expected of possessors of this award. The full set of standards can be accessed at:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/masters/mba (accessed 13/01/2007). In summary, they outline the purpose of all such Master’s programmes as:

• the advanced study of organisations, their management and the changing external context in which they operate;
• preparation for and/or development of a career in business and management by developing skills at a professional or equivalent level, or as preparation for research or further study in the area;
• development of the ability to apply knowledge and understanding of business and management to complex issues, systematically and creatively, to improve business and management practice;
• enhancement of lifelong learning skills and personal development so as to be able to work with self-direction and originality and to contribute to business and society at large.

The university perspective

By the 1980s, concerns were surfacing in the USA about the MBA syllabus. There were complaints from employers that the focus on ‘hard’ quantitative and analytical skills neglected other areas crucial to success – interpersonal skills, for example, or creativity.

The Harvard Business Review itself addressed this issue (see Lataif, 1992). One view expressed therein, by a leading management writer, Professor Mintzberg, went so far as to suggest that business schools such as Harvard were seriously damaging US business. He claimed that the process of case study analysis fostered a willingness to pronounce on complex issues from a basis of dangerous ignorance! Thus, the method favours the ambitious, glib and quick-witted, rather than those committed to the good of their organisation. (More recent discussion of topics, such as ‘emotional intelligence’, leadership, ‘social capital’, the importance of teamworking in organisational structures, and recognition of the complex and ‘wicked’ nature of organisational problems, has continued to reinforce such doubts about a glibly rational approach.)

By 1990, many UK universities were coming under considerable financial pressure, and saw management courses, for which premium prices could be charged, as an important new source of income. There was therefore a big expansion in provision: many institutions with little track record in management started to offer a range of management courses, up to Master’s level, often ‘retraining’ redundant staff in other disciplines to teach on these. During the 1990s this extended to quasi-franchise arrangements, with colleges of further education offering courses under the auspices of (usually new) universities in the region. Undergraduate management programmes also expanded massively during this period.

Because of the prestige attached to the MBA qualification, and the high prices that could be charged, almost every college wanted to provide such a qualification, thereby threatening that very prestige. To fill all these new courses, entry qualifications were lowered, sometimes to the point of non-existence. Staff with limited academic background were pulled in as lecturers. It could be argued (indeed, I would argue quite strongly) that the best management teachers are those with current experience of senior management allied to a strong academic background in the subject and experience in, and a love of, developing managers. But many of those sucked into this expansion of provision as part-time lecturers did not fit this pattern.

Another major influence was the move away from full-time courses for managers. In the 1980s, the Open University, the major undergraduate distance learning provider in the UK, realised that many managers could not afford the luxury of full-time study and experimented with adapting their well-tried undergraduate methods to postgraduate management study. Because distance learning students are working while studying, they can instantly apply what they are learning to real life. This approach proved so effective for managers that distance management learning, and the emphasis on ‘improved management practice’ and transferable skills that it allows, have become the most widespread form of formal management education.

Such courses normally equate to little more than a year of full-time study. They take students with no formal management education, and cover the full range of subjects ‘management’ embraces. Considerable variation in quality of provision still exists: you can still find fairly undemanding (and correspondingly fairly unrewarding)

programmes, and need to choose very carefully in order to be sure that the course is well taught, sufficiently challenging, and well regarded by employers.

Because the marketplace for MBAs is now highly competitive, many universities have expanded into the provision of specialist degrees in management-related subjects. Thus, you can find, for example, an MSc in Human Resource Management or International Finance or Marketing or Development Management. Usually much of the teaching is shared with the generic MBA programme, but the coverage of the area of specialism will be greater, and the breadth less. This allows universities to expand their range of ‘products’, and staff to gain the satisfaction of teaching their favourite subjects in greater depth than an MBA allows.
The current situation can be summarised as:

• A highly competitive marketplace, which has forced universities to become more customer focused.
• Heavy emphasis on part-time provision, which allows managers, typically in their early 30s, to bring considerable experience to their studies: study can be designed to build on this experience, rather than relying exclusively on case studies, and can focus on application. This is consistent with government (and employer) emphasis on the importance of transferable skills.
• Provision of a range of programmes from generalist MBAs to a variety of more specialist Master’s programmes, which usually give the same basic understanding of the management context, but will then have a narrower focus on a specialist area.

Read More : MBA On Govenrment And University Prespective

MBA on Manager And Employer Perspective

The employer’s view
There is, of course, considerable variation in employers’ attitudes towards Master’s programmes, and in what they seek in their managers. The following general trends suggest themselves, but treat them with caution!

There is still a residual caution in some quarters about MBAs in particular, with some employers still associating the qualification with arrogance, unrealistic salary demands and lack of both practical experience and common sense. This is now, however, a minority view. The rapid pace of change has made the possession of the analytical skills associated with Master’s-level study far more important, and most employers now welcome such a qualification.

Organisational environments have become far more turbulent in recent years, with fierce new competition, and major impacts from developing information and communication technologies. One response has been to ‘delayer’, stripping out whole layers of management. Another has been to outsource non-core areas of work.
Managers who have survived such restructuring are likely to have greater and more varied responsibility than previously, and may need to be very flexible in the way they operate. A formal management course which can increase the ability to operate in such an environment is therefore desirable. With delayering, all levels of management may need to be able to operate autonomously, flexibly and with an understanding of strategic issues, not just the ‘high-fliers’.

I quote but one employer, Nokia’s head of human resources, writing in one of the many publications (in this case Hobsons MBA Casebooks) designed to help you choose/sell you an MBA. As a rapidly growing international organisation, in one of the most turbulent markets of all, Nokia is well aware of the importance of good managers. They value MBAs because they give graduates a strategic perspective and wider vision
so that they are not seduced by short-term advantage into avenues that will threaten longer-term success. They value the interpersonal skills which allow total relationship management with customers, seen as crucial. They appreciate a high level of cultural awareness, which will enable managers to operate across the globe (I spoke recently to a Nokia manager whose team was spread across three continents, and many more countries). Lateral thinking, willingness to take early responsibility and ability to work under pressure were other advantages cited.

Employers tend to prefer their existing employees to study part-time, rather than sending them on a full-time programme. Apart from the obvious benefit of not needing to replace the manager, they fear (not without reason) that if they sponsor someone on a full-time course there is a real risk that that person will leave soon after completing the qualification.

When considering job applicants with a Master’s degree on their CV, the selection panel’s questions are likely to concern the reputation of the awarding institution, the nature of the programme and the level of marks gained. More importantly, potential employers will want to know how the learning has been used subsequently.

Many employers feel that their management development needs are unique, and can be met only by a specially designed organisation-specific programme. While such ‘corporate MBAs’ can be of a very high standard, they may fail to develop the breadth of view that is one of the advantages of an open programme, where you will probably learn as much from the varied organisational experience of fellow students as you will
from the teaching staff. A middle ground is the consortium MBA, specifically designed for a small number of different but collaborating organisations.

The manager’s view
Suffice it to say here that part of the growth in Master’s courses in business and management was driven by the job insecurity that has followed the radical organisational restructuring of the last 20 years or so. This forced many managers to realise that ‘a job for life’ no longer exists. Instead, they were likely to need to seek a new position several times during their career, against fierce competition. A qualification that would both help them compete for good jobs, and enable them to operate for periods of self-employment, therefore became very important.

The increased availability of part-time and distance learning courses made pursuit of a qualification a realistic possibility for many whose commitments meant that full-time study was simply not an option. This goes a long way to explaining the increasing age profile of management Master’s students, already described.
Read More : MBA on Manager And Employer Perspective

Key Dimensions Of Variation MBA Programme

The first questions managers wondering whether to join a Master’s programme tend to ask are:
■ How long will it take?
■ How much will it cost?
■ Will I get a place?
■ Will I be able to cope?
■ How do employers rate this particular qualification?

While these are extremely important questions, there are others equally important, if slightly less obvious, which should influence your choice. These concern the suitability of the delivery mode to your particular circumstances , the approach to teaching and the focus of the content – how strategic is it, how international, how practically oriented?

Length of programme
Few students can afford the traditional two-year programme, so most full-time courses now take between 12 and 18 months. While some of the reduction in time can be at the expense of vacations and industrial placements (less important for those who already have management experience), some will inevitably be at the expense of learning. For those who can afford it, or have willing sponsors, a two-year programme at a top school is likely to offer significantly more learning than a shorter programme.

Part-time programmes are designed to spread study over a longer period. The duration will depend upon the expected commitment per week. You need to check how many hours you are expected to devote to your studies each week. In choosing a programme you need to think about what time you can commit, and assure yourself that the coverage offered is of sufficient breadth and depth to be useful.

Delivery pattern
Full-time programmes are now in the minority, and there are many variations in ‘parttime’. Traditionally, part-time study involved regular weekly attendance either in the evening or a mix of daytime and evening attendance. This is still widely available. However, because many managers have jobs which do not allow of such regularity, either because of frequent travel or because of irregular working hours, two other variants of part-time study have become common.

The first is the ‘executive’ model, which requires blocks of attendance at perhaps monthly or two-monthly intervals. This is only feasible for managers working in organisations which support this form of development. It has many of the advantages of full-time study – intensity of study, ability to concentrate wholeheartedly on the course, interaction with fellow students, the ability to study overseas for some of the programme, or with managers from other cultures. These are combined with some of the advantages of part-time study – the ability to apply what is learned almost immediately to work, and continuity of employment and salary.

The second variant is distance learning, which removes, or at least greatly reduces, the need to study in a particular place or at any particular time. The flexibility of this mode, the opportunities now offered for electronic interaction, and the lack of any logistical reasons to limit numbers, together with the high quality of the teaching on some distance learning programmes, have made this the dominant method at present. (The
Open University had over 6000 MBA students in its programme during 2003, with nearly half its intake coming from continental Europe or beyond.) You do need to beware, however. The quality of provision varies enormously.


Cost of programme
Costs can vary quite significantly, and are not always fully transparent. The obvious costs to consider are course fees, the cost of travel, accommodation costs, living costs if full-time, the cost of books, PC and any other materials and equipment. You may also need to budget for the cost of getting into the school of your choice. You may need to take the GMAT test (at your own expense), an English language test if you are not a
native speaker, and to travel for interviews. There may be costs for processing your application. There may be examination fees, and perhaps additional costs for studying overseas. You will be able to find information about fees fairly easily from the Internet or one of the MBA guides listed at the end of the chapter, but may need to ask specific questions to elicit the full picture.

As a rough guide to the variation in cost of study in 2007, you could pay in excess of US $120 000 if you include two years’ tuition, living expenses and loss of salary, £30 000 or more for an executive MBA programme, or about £12 000 for a good distance learning programme. The latter two allow you to continue earning so tuition fees are the main cost. Part-time face-to-face courses may cost even less, with a few specialist Master’s courses available from as little as £4500.

You may be lucky enough to persuade your employer to pay your fees and/or allow you time to study. After all, the organisation should benefit considerably from your improved efficiency. If not, it may be possible to obtain a loan to cover your study. A very few scholarships are also available. Business schools, banks and the World Wide Web are the best starting point for up-to-date information on current sources of finance.

Entry requirements
Requirements for entry vary enormously, with the top business schools requiring a high GMAT score (see Further information at the end of the chapter for books and other sources that cover this), together with a strong academic record and evidence of other achievements (as well as the ability to pay high fees). Indeed, there are organisations devoted to helping you (for a fee) make a successful application to one of these
schools. At the other end of the spectrum you may find programmes which will accept you with any class of degree, a professional qualification, or failing that, evidence of management experience. Sometimes this is out of a desire to attract sufficient students to make a programme economically viable, but low entry requirements do not always imply a low standard of teaching.


Three factors allow programmes to be flexible over entry qualifications. The first is that an academic background in management is usually not required. Unlike a Master’s degree in, say, mathematics, where you would be expected to start with a high level of knowledge of the subject, MBA courses assume the general intellectual level of a graduate, but no subject-specific academic knowledge, though the better programmes
will expect substantial management experience. Successful managers are likely to be able to operate at this level, even if for some reason they do not hold a BA or BSc.

Some specialist Master’s programmes will build on a professional qualification in the area, but some require neither prior specialist knowledge nor management experience. The assumption is that this is a good qualification for recent graduates seeking to start their management career in a specific functional area.
Second, there is a different cost to failure on a part-time programme. It would be highly irresponsible to accept someone who was unlikely to succeed on to a full-time programme, particularly if they were giving up their job in order to study. Failure would, for them, be a disaster. For the manager who continues to work while studying, failure may be painful to the ego, but is less catastrophic. Part-time programmes can therefore afford to take risks with students lacking the normal qualifications (though they should make it clear to applicants in this category that they are perceived to be at risk, so that they can decide whether it is a risk they wish to take).

Third, whereas on face-to-face programmes large classes are undesirable, and limits therefore need to be set, the reverse is true of distance learning. The larger the student body, the more likely students are to find others on the programme living near them, and for local tutorial provision to be feasible. Distance learning materials are costly to produce, too, and if the cost can be spread over a larger number of students, fees can be kept lower. Thus, there are good reasons for distance learning programmes in particular to be more relaxed about academic entry requirements.

Many, however, do set entry requirements relating to management experience, particularly for an MBA. This is linked to the shift in emphasis that has taken place in most European programmes. Once an MBA is seen as an active learning process, rather than mere passive absorption of information, then a student needs to have experience of management to gain full benefit. There are still MBAs which do not presume management experience, and more specialist Master’s programmes tend not to require any. If you do not yet meet your preferred institution’s experience requirement, you can either wait until you do, or select a programme elsewhere which is designed not to need it. (I must admit to a preference for the former option. While purely academic study in a management subject can be intellectually challenging, and good preparation for an academic career, there is little to match the excitement of studying a subject you have already lived, in the active learning mode – described later – that this allows.)
Read More : Key Dimensions Of Variation MBA Programme

MBA Degree

Degree of specialism
The prototypical MBA, although allowing limited specialisation via second-year electives, was essentially a generalist management qualification. Many (including some of the major accrediting bodies) still feel that all MBAs should remain generalist qualifications. It is a contradiction in (their) terms to talk of an MBA in Marketing, in Technology, in International Tourism or in the Music Industry. But these, and many other specialist ‘MBAs’, are currently available: you can find many MBAs specific to a particular industry or sector. There are now also a great many specialist Master’s programmes that are not described as MBAs, but which do contain a varying degree of general management content in addition to the specialist material.

Obviously within any given ‘size’ of programme, only so much material can be covered. There will be trade-offs between breadth and depth, specialism and generalism. This is clearly a factor you will need to take into consideration, selecting a programme that covers what you think you are likely to need most for the next few
years. Content specialisation is one dimension, contextual specialisation is another. Such programmes are, by definition, of more restricted applicability. Their relevance to your needs will depend upon your future career plans as well as your current job.

Degree of strategic focus
Traditionally, a distinguishing feature of an MBA programme was its strong strategic focus, this being perceived as essential for senior or would-be senior managers. Managers at lower levels could study for certificates, diplomas or specialist professional qualifications. These concentrated upon developing the functional skills such managers were deemed to need. (Specialist Master’s programmes vary in their strategic
emphasis.)

Organisational restructuring has blurred the distinction between junior and senior management in many organisations. A substantial proportion of intending MBA students do not expect rapid promotion to Board level. Most MBA programmes today offer a mix of functional skill development and strategic understanding. There is, however, considerable variation in balance between these. Indeed, a clear divide seems to be emerging between institutions offering a highly strategic traditional MBA, frequently to younger full-time students, and those offering a more practical, less strategic programme, often to slightly older, more experienced part-time students.

In the flatter, more flexible organisations in which many managers currently work, all managers need an appreciation of strategy. This is something that employers value But they also need practical skills. Given size constraints, this is a difficult balance to achieve. Consideration of where a programme lies on this dimension, and how this relates to your current and likely future job situation, will clearly be important.

Internationalisation
Given the global nature of much business today, most MBA programmes will claim to prepare graduates to operate internationally, through international faculty, an international student body and/or a curriculum which is deliberately international. Language teaching may be included, as well as visits to, or work experience in, another country.

If this is an important variable, you need to look carefully at the likely effectiveness of a programme in meeting your needs. Benefits may be surprisingly limited, particularly if you are studying part-time. Language skills are indeed important, but difficult to develop. An extended placement where you operate in another language will be invaluable, if you already have the basic skill level to take advantage of it. But at the other extreme, it is unlikely that the minimal language teaching some programmes offer will take you beyond the point of being able to order a beer or ask the way to the station. Similarly, a one-week ‘field trip’ abroad with a group of fellow students, while enjoyable, is likely to do little to improve your understanding of how managers operate
in another culture.

Students generally claim to learn as much from fellow students as from the curriculum. If the student body is international, and there is a lot of time for interaction, this can be invaluable. But again there may be limitations. If the overseas students are recent graduates, they may contribute little in terms of cross-cultural management experience. On part-time programmes outside the major cities there may be few non-local
students.

Many distance learning programmes now operate over a wide geographical base. But this will only provide benefits if students who live far apart have opportunities to interact, perhaps electronically or at residential schools. Although such contact is far less than a full-time programme would offer, many remote students find it to be extremely helpful.
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MBA Programme credibility

All of the above factors, and others, will influence the credibility of a particular qualification. Given the diversity of MBA and related Master’s programmes, their different content and the variation in standards expected, concern over ‘whether this Master’s is a good one, which employers will respect’ is justified. In the USA ‘rankings’ of business schools are published by both Business Week and US News and World Report.

Although there are arguments about the validity of the methods used, such rankings are influential. Some European schools feature in such lists, but European listings are more recent, and at present exclude distance learning provision, which is a major shortcoming, since this is the largest sector.

In the USA, business schools also need to gain accreditation. The main body performing this is the AACSB. In the UK, all universities are deemed to be of an acceptable standard, so accreditation has been seen as less important, although nonuniversities will need to have programmes validated. Because of the variability of programmes, accreditation is valued by potential students, and therefore increasingly sought by universities, particularly if they operate outside the UK as well. The bestknown UK body is AMBA. This also accredits some programmes elsewhere in Europe.

AMBA has stringent criteria, and provides networking opportunities and other services to those with an AMBA-approved MBA through an active alumni association.

Accreditation is a developing field within Europe. The US-based AACSB is substantially expanding its operations in Europe. Perhaps in response, the European Foundation for Management Development (Efmd) has launched EQUAL, an international association of quality assessment and accreditation agencies in the field of European management development. EQUAL has developed a European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), which has developed a system of quality benchmarking which can be used for audit, or as a ‘stamp of approval’ through an accreditation process.

In the UK, intending students can gain information about the general credibility of a business school by finding how it scored in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, and how it was rated in the Higher Education Funding Council’s assessment of teaching. Schools that have received high scores will tend to include this information in publicity material. You need to treat such information with a degree of caution. The
research will not necessarily inform the teaching you receive, although academics may argue strongly to the contrary. And while schools receiving bad teaching assessments are best avoided, given that the assessment teams vary from school to school, and it is difficult therefore to calibrate assessments, the difference between very good and satisfactory ratings may be elusive.

Indeed, you need to use all ‘official’ information about credibility with a degree of caution. A business school with a high US ranking, or a top research ranking, while undoubtedly credible, may still not be the best programme for you. A school with a lower, though still good ranking might offer a programme more suited to your situation, or provide more of the sort of support that you need in order to do well.

Employers, too, may have their own preferences with respect to MBAs. Those which influence sponsoring decisions may be different from those which influence hiring ones. It is impossible to predict what these will be – there is no alternative to doing a little research. In-company values, preferences and prejudices should be fairly easy to elicit. If you are aiming at an eventual job in another organisation or sector you may need to do some investigating for yourself.
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MBA Teaching approach

The approach to teaching will depend greatly upon the type of programme. If it is highly academic there may be a strong emphasis on the relative merits of different theories and different methods, with a strong reliance on input from lecturers or textbooks. If there is a more practical orientation, the programme may focus more on the application of such theories to the real world, and on the development of transferable skills. Discussion of students’ own experience will be important, and assessment is more likely to be based on real situations encountered by the students.

There is an increasing emphasis on transferable skills in higher education generally. A possible list of such skills which any MBA programme might develop, albeit in different proportions, is:

• numeracy and analytical skills – through case studies and projects;
• written presentation skills – through assignments and project reports;
• oral presentation skills – through presentations on group work;
• team skills – through group work on cases and projects;
• leadership skills – through group work and through consultancy or similar projects;
• IT skills – through use of word processing and graphics, spreadsheets, databases, the World Wide Web, and electronic conferencing;
• negotiation and other consultancy skills – through an in-company project;
• personal skills (self-organisation and time management) – through meeting programme demands;
• learning skills and self-awareness – through a continuous process of challenging personal assumptions and reflection on practice;
• critical thinking skills – through research and writing on this.

Your own needs with respect to these skills will form an individual profile: an ideal programme will match this fairly closely. Another element of teaching approach which will be important is the degree of ‘spoonfeeding’. There are two aspects to this, one good, one bad. If you are told what to think, and what to reproduce in exams, this is not good. Study at Master’s level should be developing your ability to think for yourself. But some institutions are very much better than others at providing you with the information and materials you need in order to study efficiently, and this sort of ‘spoonfeeding’ is all to the good for the majority of pressured students.
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MBA Teaching media

Although in one sense a subset of teaching approach, the use of media in teaching is so important it warrants a separate section. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), in particular, have become a transforming force in management and management education, the full effects of which have yet to be envisaged. These developments have had an effect on the curriculum, with e-commerce and knowledge management courses highly popular at present. More importantly, they have impacted upon almost all the basic components of conventional teaching.

Consider the traditional ‘building blocks’ of education. Information was transmitted by a lecturer or textbook. Understanding was increased through questions to the lecturer and seminar discussion, and tested in examinations. The physical presence of students in lecture room or library was essential.

Distance learning has allowed this physical presence to be dispensed with. ‘Lectures’ are transformed into printed workbooks and/or video and audio tapes, or delivered via a CD-Rom. Necessary readings may be compiled into books and mailed to students, or web links provided to them. Telephone or e-mail allows students to receive answers to specific questions or to discuss things in ‘virtual’ tutorial groups. Web pages can hold tests which you sit at your leisure, and from which you receive automatic feedback. You can submit substantial assignments electronically and receive tutor comments almost immediately. Via the Internet you can attend ‘lectures’, and access not only the equivalent of a first-class library, but also an almost infinite variety of more transient and current (albeit often less reliable) materials.

Opinions are at present divided on how best to exploit the technical options for teaching. The latest ICT developments can be sources of frustration as well as excitement. Equipment or software incompatibilities may waste hours or even days of valuable time. Searching the World Wide Web without some guidance can positively devour time, and produce results ranging from amazingly good to worthless. Trying to study quantities of material directly from a screen is for many far more difficult than working from good quality print. Conferencing with fellow students round the globe can produce fascinating insights, but on the whole is less exciting than a good face to face debate followed by a visit to the pub.

Because your own situation and preferences are important here, and things are changing so quickly, this is another dimension which you will need to research carefully when making your choice. Bear in mind the quality of materials and interaction in the media used, the likely learning efficiency, and whether you will feel comfortable with, and enjoy using, the different media on offer.
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