Inclusive MBA Programs by Emad Rahim and Amine Ayd
-
Upload
emad-rahim-dm-pmp -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
4
description
Transcript of Inclusive MBA Programs by Emad Rahim and Amine Ayd
![Page 1: Inclusive MBA Programs by Emad Rahim and Amine Ayd](https://reader037.fdocuments.us/reader037/viewer/2022110215/568c372c1a28ab02359ab433/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Many people find the subject of business management to be fascinating, but they often find the context that is used to teach
and promote business education intimidating and unapproachable. Based on the authors' experiences, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and non-traditional adult students who can contribute a great deal to the field are interested in pursuing business education, but they veer away from such an endeavor because they often believe they lack the necessary background to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA). Moreover, the cost of tuition, entrance exams, professional references and letters of recommendation often serve to further entrench a student's impression of an unachievable goal. To attract more diverse MBA students, the image and language that are used to promote business programs need to be more inclusive. The universities that promote and teach traditional MBA degree programs need to consider the diverse population that is not currently being serviced. The purpose of this article is to review MBA traditions and challenges facing inclusive MBA education.
The Traditional MBAThe history of advance business education started with
Dartmouth College. Dartmouth College introduced
the first advanced degree in the study of business
in 1900 (Hahn, 2006). In 1908 Harvard University
followed along Dartmouth’s footsteps by offering
the first MBA degree, which was further developed in
1925 by Stanford University. According to Hahn, the
MBA program then struggled as a career enhancement
alternative for students until the Carnegie Corporation
and Ford Foundation concluded that the MBA program
required more analytical education after conducting a
thorough research investigation. The study supported
the application of analytical practices to deal with
business problems and they recommended that more
academic research projects be introduced into the
MBA curriculum. In 1991 AACSB, the business school
accreditation organization, revised its standards on
required business curriculums, removing management
science from its accepted position as part of the canon
of the MBA. Many business programs replaced the
management science courses with leadership and
organizational behavior courses. These changes were
correlated to MBA programs trying to adapt to the
current business trends and the needs of practitioners.
During this time there was also a huge enrollment decline
in MBA students throughout universities in the nation.
A report issued by the Graduate Management Admission
Council (GMAC, 2004) reported that 78 per cent of
institutions offering traditional two-year MBA programs
experienced a decline in enrollment in 2004/05.
Dr Emad Rahim and Dr Amine Ayad
How Non-traditional MBA Programs Foster an
INCLU IVEpace
The universities that promote and teach traditional MBA degree programs need to
consider the diverse population that is not currently being serviced.
NON-TRADITIONAL MBA PROGRAMS
55CEO MAGAZINE
NON-TRADITIONAL MBA PROGRAMS
![Page 2: Inclusive MBA Programs by Emad Rahim and Amine Ayd](https://reader037.fdocuments.us/reader037/viewer/2022110215/568c372c1a28ab02359ab433/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
There is a strong movement growing in the business
world that supports a more individualized business
program. Many successful corporate leaders are speaking
out against traditional MBA curriculums, pointing out
that MBA graduates often lack communication and social
skills. They are also emphasizing that many graduates are
having difficulty applying theory into practice. Corporate
leaders feel that many MBA programs focus too much on
functional technicality and not enough on the organizational
environment of businesses. They urge for a broader
MBA curriculum that allows a diversity of study options.
According to an article printed in News Week titled “MBA
programs are getting extreme makeovers” (MacDonald,
2005), many respected traditional business schools are
developing more well-rounded curriculums that combine
soft-skills, such as communication and listening skills, with
technical analysis skills. It was only in the last two decades
that nontraditional business degree programs started
appearing as executive or online options for students.
Tom Peters (2006), CEO and founder of the Tom
Peter’s Company, a business solution consulting firm
that is recognized and used by large companies such
as Trump Corporation and Boeing, believes that the
traditional MBA degree is no longer relevant in today’s
business market because it is lacking creativity, design
and innovation in its teaching delivery and curriculum.
Adapting to the current needs and behaviors of businesses
and practitioners, many MBA degree programs are now
taking on an action (Action MBA, Hardin-Simmons
University), practicing (Colorado Technical University)
and personal/professional (Personal MBA – Changethis.
com, Professional MBA – Cal Poly Pomona College of
Business Administration) driven approach in their
teaching. Due to the unethical behaviors of corporations
like Enron, Tyco and Worldcom, and the downsizing
of manufacturing companies, the majority of this
generation distrusts corporations and no longer feels
secure working until retirement for the same corporation
or within the same industry. More students are entering
MBA programs with aspirations of starting or running
their own business. These students that are often working
full-time and have family and community obligations
require flexible MBA programs that respond to their
needs and non-traditional educational background. Many
of the online and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs are
focusing their attention on entrepreneurship practices
verses traditional business theories. Students entering
these programs will participate in workshop-style
courses, which require participation in written and verbal
presentations, group project management and career
planning processes as well as structured experiences
that foster time management practices, polish listening,
interviewing and interpersonal skills, and address conflict
management and the effectiveness of meetings. The
lecturing approach to learning is replaced with more of
a practice-learning style that is delivered online or in a
hybrid format.
Contemporary managers require a business program
that is compatible with their particular needs; especially
their busy time-schedule. Thus, the action-driven MBA
program’s approach to management education claims
to be more incisively pertinent to the contemporary
management of enterprises, irrespective of their
geographical location. With the age of the Global
Economy, International MBA programs have been
developed, allowing diversity and language courses into
their curriculum (Thunderbird University, Toronto
University, etc.). MBA candidates are expected to diagnose
problems, analyze data and situations, apply theory and
concepts to gain insight and understanding and make
decisions and recommendations without having to
relocate to the university’s campus. These new programs
use case studies and simulation exercises in an attempt to
provide students with “real-world” practical application.
The students learn to apply theory to management
practices in ways that are analytically rigorous and
managerially decisive.
The Executive MBAThe goal of every school of management must be to attract
and keep the best future managers in order to build the
reputation of the school through their alumni base (Garson,
2004). Many of the alumni of these EMBAs already
hold major positions in academia, business, consulting,
government, healthcare, public health, community settings,
research institutes and major universities around the
globe. They provide the financial support and networking
opportunities that are so important to current students’
success. Universities rely on alumni networks to provide
classroom speakers, career mentors and recruiting and
networking opportunities that add tremendous value to
the classroom experience. Industry professionals lead panel
discussions on a range of business issues and teach classes
through bringing the “real-world” into the classroom. A
business advisory council made up of alumni in various
business roles meets with faculty, deans and students
quarterly to guide the school to best serve the economic
needs of the region.
A survey conducted by the University of Minnesota’s
Carlson School confirms that alumni are powerful
economic partners. Carlson School alumni have founded
more than 1,800 Minnesota based businesses that employ
more than 110,000 people and generate annual revenues
of $21.2 billion. These annual revenues are equivalent
to the state’s entire manufacturing industry, and the
employee base is about the same as that of the combined
legal, accounting, architectural and technology industries
in Minnesota (University of Minnesota, 2005). Similarly,
a Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni survey
showed approximately 2,600 alumni-founded active
companies in Massachusetts, employing more than
175,000 people and generating approximately $46 billion
in annual revenue (MIT, 2006).
In schools of business with part-time programs, the
part-time and EMBA students make up the bulk of
paying students (Winer, 1999). This is because their
companies often subsidize their graduate education
and these students are not eligible for the scholarships
that full-time students are. Therefore, in order to
remain financially sound and academically successful,
professional business schools must help part-time
MBA students improve the abilities they identify as
most valuable and in which they require the most
improvement. This necessitates, of course, discerning
which abilities part-time MBA students perceive as
most valuable and as needing improvement. A study
conducted at Pace University (Winer, 1999) revealed
that less than half of part-time MBA students would
recommend the program to friends because they felt core
courses were not valuable in helping them to develop
interpersonal skills or market themselves. The belief
among top graduate schools of business is that in order
to maximize prestige and funding, schools must do
everything possible to engage MBA students during their
matriculation in order to create an active and committed
alumni (DePaul, 2004).
Many EMBA programs follow the cohort model, where
students are grouped into small teams. These cohorts will
stay together throughout the lifecycle of their EMBA
program. Cohorts provide each other with motivation,
support and guidance. During the attendance of classes
and residencies they may also be assigned to complete
group assignments, presentations and capstone projects.
According to Edgar Schein (1999), characteristics of
organizational culture are important for group identity.
We looked at several of these characteristics that we felt
were missing from the part-time program:
1. "Intensity of the group’s experiences of learning together." EMBA and evening classes are scheduled at
separate times and are conducted in a separate facility.
Not until the final semester do participants mingle with
other business students in elective courses. Although the
intensity of the learning is high, the feeling of learning
together seems to be missing from these groups due to
physical separation.
2. "Strength and clarity of assumptions held by founders or leaders." Directors of the evening and
EMBA programs have held onto high standards of
academic excellence and years of work experience
for admission to the program, resulting in high
expectations for participants.
Financial burden of MBA educationByrne (2011) illustrated that MBA students at top business
schools are borrowing more money than ever to pay for
their degrees.
Further, Byrne (2011) made two critical points:
1. “Conspicuously absent from the list are the debt numbers
for Columbia Business School, MIT’s Sloan School of
Management, the University of Southern California’s
Marshall School, and Washington University’s Olin
School. These institutions apparently did not disclose this
data to U.S. News. But it’s a sure bet that all of them would
be among the top 25 if they had provided the information,
given their high tuition rates and similar student pools.”
2. “Once you add an effective interest rate of 7.65 per cent
from government loan programs, these debt burdens grow
quickly over the years. If a Wharton MBA paid down his
$110,000 debt over the next 10 years, the total cumulative
payments would come to more than $180,000. With a
repayment schedule over 25 years, the debt would balloon
to more than $280,000 -- not accounting for any deferrals
or penalties for missing a payment.”
In personal correspondence with John Byrne, we asked:
“Are you aware of any statistics/information that correlate
‘education’ and ‘income’, especially for MBA programs?”
Byrne answered: “All of the schools publish starting salary
and bonus numbers for their graduates, but whether this
is ‘correlated’ to the actual education they received is hard
to tell. It may be more of a reflection of the quality of
the incoming students along with the brand value of the
university that granted the MBA degree. Hard to tell!”
Many hiring managers tell us that the reputation of
the university that grants the degree is considered in the
interviewing process, but it is certainly not the deciding factor
in the interviewing process, let alone the hiring process.
Corporate leaders feel that many MBA programs focus too much on
functional technicality and not enough on the organizational environment
of businesses.
School 2010 Average Debt 2009 Average Debt
1 UPenn (Wharton) $109,836 $105,489
2 Dartmouth (Tuck) $98,292 $85,917
3 Duke (Fuqua) $92,827 $88,050
4 Michigan (Ross) $92,734 $84,798
5 Northwestern (Kellogg) $87,256 N/A
6 Cornell (Johnson) $86,900 $83,700
7 Yale School of Management $86,895 $99,418
8 New York University (Stern) $85,198 $78,887
9 Georgetown (McDonough) $82,577 $76,746
10 Vanderbilt (Owen) $80,857 $76,957
11 Chicago (Booth) $79,539 $86,758
12 Texas-Austin (McCombs) $77,644 $69,552
13 North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) $77,124 $75,251
14 Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) $75,570 $87,592
15 California-Berkeley (Haas) $73,186 $63,748
16 Harvard Business School $73,110 $76,958
17 Virginia (Darden) $72,027 $66,272
18 Stanford $71,403 $80,677
19 George Washington $68,959 $66,989
20 Pepperdine (Graziado) $66,242 $71,680
21 Thunderbird $64,381 N/A
22 Notre Dame (Mendoza) $62,858 $65,295
23 UCLA (Anderson) $62,711 $64,030
24 Wake Forest (Babcock) $61,846 N/A
25 Emory (Goizueta) $60,435 $58,440
Source: Business schools reported to the U.S. News and World Report’
CEO MAGAZINE56
NON-TRADITIONAL MBA PROGRAMS
57CEO MAGAZINE
NON-TRADITIONAL MBA PROGRAMS
![Page 3: Inclusive MBA Programs by Emad Rahim and Amine Ayd](https://reader037.fdocuments.us/reader037/viewer/2022110215/568c372c1a28ab02359ab433/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Benefits of online educationToday there is a great deal of interest in online education
and the level of quality that non-traditional education
provides to students. Online education is still in its infancy
stage. However, it offers students the opportunity to expand
their awareness of the world and culture and embrace
the internet as an instructional tool. For-profit higher
education corporations have spent millions on marketing
their programs through mass media and some of the most
extensive marketing and sales programs. From marketing
concept store fronts to television and online advertising, the
competition is growing and getting stronger.
Whereas traditional education is regarded as professor
or research centered, online education is viewed as student
centered. This becomes even more important in for-profit
education where numbers are critical to success and
continuity. In an online environment, the instructor is
viewed as a facilitator more than a traditional instructor in a
“bricks and mortar” campus. Universities such as Colorado
Technical University and the University of Phoenix have an
applied approach to their curriculum, requiring students to
work on group projects applying theory into practice using
scenario type questions and case study assignments. Research
has shown that inclusion and participation during the
education process tends to produce more active and involved
students and alumni, which enhances the prominence of the
university (DePaul, 2004).
Recommendations to universitiesTo advance MBA education, our top three
recommendations to universities are:
1. Adopt a flexible hybrid platform that is accessible to
diverse and non-traditional students
2. Adopt a program that is action-based and/or responsive
to industry needs
3. Include a diverse advisory board made up of industry
leaders and hire more professionally qualified faculty
who are practitioner-scholars vs. those who only focus
on research
Recommendations to studentsTo earn and benefit from your MBA we recommend that you:
1. Get some work experience before enrolling in an
MBA program
2. Get the most out of the degree by finding a program that
is tailored to your needs
3. Develop your soft skills (communication, critical thinking,
emotional intelligence, leadership, etc.) in addition to your
hard/technical skills while pursuing your MBA
Biographies
Ø Emad Rahim, DM, PMP is Dean of Business and Management at Colorado Technical University. Follow him on Twitter @CTUBusiness.
Ø Ayad Amine, DM is an established leadership author and currently works as a Divisional Merchandising Director at Wal-Mart.
Contemporary managers require a business program that is compatible with
their particular needs; especially their busy time-schedule.
References
` Anvari, M., Speech to Faculty and Staff of Weatherhead
School of Management, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, OH (August 2004).
` Byrne, J (2011). 25 B-schools that lead to the most
student debt. Retrieved Sep 30, 2012 from: http://
management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/26/25-b-
schools-that-lead-to-the-most-student-debt/
` DePaul University, Retrieved June 2009 from: http://
www.alumni.depaul.edu/aboutarn.asp
` Hahn, B (2006). The MBA is Far From Dead. Rutland
Herald. Retrieved July 5, 2008 from: http://www.
rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040906/
NES 409060303/1011/BUSINESS
` MacDonald, J (2005). MBA Programs are Getting
Extreme Makeovers. USA TODAY. Retrieved July 5, 2008
from: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-
04-19-mba-usat_x.htm
` MIT, Retrieved September 2008 from: http://www.
mitadmissions.org/topics/pulse/notable_alumni/
` Winer, L., “Why Business Schools Need to Know what
MBA Students Want to Learn and How to Find Out” (NY:
Pace University, 1999).
CEO MAGAZINE58
NON-TRADITIONAL MBA PROGRAMS