Master of Business Administration


The Master of Business Administration degree originated in the United States in the early 20th century when the country industrialized and companies sought scientific management. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounting, applied statistics, human resources, business communication, business ethics, business law, business strategy, finance, managerial economics, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, supply-chain management, and operations management in a manner most relevant to management analysis and strategy.
Most programs also include elective courses and concentrations for further study in a particular area, for example accounting, finance, and marketing. MBA programs in the United States typically require completing about forty to sixty credits, much higher than the thirty credits typically required for degrees that cover some of the same material such as the Master of Economics, Master of Finance, Master of Accountancy, Master of Science in Marketing and Master of Science in Management.
The MBA is a terminal degree and a professional degree. Accreditation bodies specifically for MBA programs ensure consistency and quality of education. Business schools in many countries offer programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive and distance learning students, many with specialized concentrations.

History

The first school of business in the United States was The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph WhartonWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania|. In 1900, the Tuck School of Business was founded at Dartmouth College conferring the first advanced degree in business, specifically, a Master of Science in Commerce, the predecessor to the MBA.
The Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration established the first MBA program in 1908, with 15 faculty members, 33 regular students and 47 special students. Its first-year curriculum was based on Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific management. The number of MBA students at Harvard increased quickly, from 80 in 1908, over 300 in 1920, and 1,070 in 1930. At this time, only American universities offered MBAs. Other countries preferred that people learn business on the job.
Other milestones include:
The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide in both developed and developing countries.

Accreditation

United States

or MBA program accreditation by external agencies provides students and employers with an independent view of the school or program's quality, as well as whether the curriculum meets specific quality standards. The three major accrediting bodies in the United States are:
All of these groups also accredit schools outside the US. The ACBSP and the IACBE are themselves recognized in the United States by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. MBA programs with specializations for students pursuing careers in healthcare management also eligible for accreditation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education.
US MBA programs may also be accredited at the institutional level. Bodies that accredit institutions as a whole include:
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs, a UK-based organization that accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programs worldwide, government accreditation bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education, which accredits MBA and Postgraduate Diploma in Management programs across India. Some of the leading bodies in India that certify MBA institutions and their programs are the All India Council for Technical Education and the University Grants Commission. A distance MBA program needs to be accredited by the Distance Education Council in India. The Council on Higher Education in South Africa, the European Foundation for Management Development operates the European Quality Improvement System for mostly European, Australian, New Zealand and Asian schools, the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation, and Central and East European Management Development Association in Europe.

Programs

Full-time MBA programs normally take place over two academic years. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere they often begin in late August or early September of year one and continue until May or June of year two, with a three to four month summer break in between years one and two. Students enter with a reasonable amount of prior real-world work experience and take classes during weekdays like other university students. A typical full-time, accelerated, part-time, or modular MBA requires 60 credits of graduate work.
Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two-year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules and are usually condensed into one year. They usually have less down time during the program and between semesters. For example, there is no three to four-month summer break, and between semesters there might be seven to ten days off rather than three to five weeks vacation. Accelerated programs typically have a lower cost than full-time two-year programs.
Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings after normal working hours, or on weekends. Part-time programs normally last three years or more. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
Evening MBA programs are full-time programs that normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, or on weekends for a duration of two years. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who can not leave their work to pursue a full-time regular shift MBA. Most second shift programs are offered at universities in India.
Modular MBA programs are similar to part-time programs, although typically employing a lock-step curriculum with classes packaged together in blocks lasting from one to three weeks.
Executive MBA programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA in two years or less while working full-time. Participants come from every type and size of organization – profit, nonprofit, government – representing a variety of industries. EMBA students typically have a higher level of work experience, often 10 years or more, compared to other MBA students. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
Full-time executive MBA programs are a new category of full-time 1 year MBA programs aimed at professionals with approx. 5 years or more. They are primarily offered in countries like India where the 2-year MBA program is targeted at fresh graduates with no experience or minimal experience. These full-time executive MBA programs are similar to 1 year MBA programs offered by schools like Insead and IMD.
Distance learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Many schools offer these programs.
Blended learning programs combine distance learning with face-to-face instruction. These programs typically target working professionals who are unable to attend traditional part-time programs.
MBA dual degree programs combine an MBA with others to let students cut costs, save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs. This is generally achieved by allowing core courses of one program count as electives in the other. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor's degree in business administration and an MBA in five years.
Mini-MBA is a term used by many non-profit and for-profit institutions to describe a training regimen focused on the fundamentals of business. In the past, Mini-MBA programs have typically been offered as non-credit bearing courses that require less than 100 hours of total learning. However, due to the criticisms of these certificates, many schools have now shifted their programs to offer courses for full credit so that they may be applied towards a complete traditional MBA degree. This is to allow students to verify business related coursework for employment purposes and still allow the option to complete a full-time MBA degree program at a later period, if they elect to do so.

Admissions criteria

Many programs base their admission decisions on a combination of undergraduate grade point average, academic transcripts, entrance exam scores, a résumé containing significant work experience, essays, letters of recommendation, and personal interviews. Some schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities or volunteer work and how the student can improve the school's diversity and contribute to the student body as a whole.
The Graduate Management Admission Test is the most prominently used entrance exam for admissions into MBA programs. The Graduate Record Examination is also accepted by almost all MBA programs in order to fulfill any entrance exam requirement they may have. Some schools do not weigh entrance exam scores as heavily as other criteria, and some programs do not require entrance exam scores for admission. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios. In rare cases, some MBA degrees do not require students to have an undergraduate degree and will accept significant management experience in lieu of an undergraduate degree. In the UK, for example an HND or even HNC is acceptable in some programs.
Depending on the program, type and duration of work experience can be a critical admissions component for many MBA programs. Many top-tier programs require five or more years of work experience for admission.
MBA admissions consulting services exist to counsel MBA applicants to improve their chances of getting admission to their desired Business Schools. These services range from evaluating a candidate's profile, GMAT preparation, suggesting the schools to which they can apply, writing and editing essay, conducting mock interviews as preparation for MBA admission interviews, as well as post-MBA career counseling.

Content

In general, MBA programs are structured around core courses and elective courses that allow for a subject specialty or concentration. Thus,
in the program's first year, students acquire both a working knowledge of management functions and the analytical skills required for these, while in the second year, students pursue elective courses, which may count towards a specialization. After the first year, many full-time students seek internships. The degree culminates with coursework in business strategy, the program capstone. A dissertation or major project is usually a degree requirement after the completion of coursework. Many MBA programs end with a comprehensive exit examination; see below.
For Executive MBA programs, the core curriculum is generally similar, but may seek to leverage the strengths associated with the more seasoned and professional profile of the student body, emphasizing leadership, and drawing more from the specific experience of the individual students.
Programs are designed such that students gain exposure to theory and practice alike. Courses include lectures, case studies, and team projects; the mix though, will differ by school and [|by format]. Theory is covered in the classroom setting by academic faculty, and is reinforced through the case method, placing the student in the role of the decision maker. Similar to real world business situations, cases include both constraints and incomplete information. Practical learning often comprises consulting projects with real clients, and is generally undertaken in teams. The practical elements often involve external practitioners—sometimes business executives—supporting the teaching from academic faculty.
As above, courses begin with underlying topics and then progress to more advanced functional topics where these are applied; see aside.
The analytic skills required for management are usually covered initially.
The accounting course may treat financial and management accounting separately or in one hybrid course. Financial accounting deals mainly in the preparation of financial statements while management accounting deals mainly in analysis of internal results.
The economics course covers managerial economics, a technical course that mainly focuses on product pricing as influenced by micro-economic theory, and aggregate-or macroeconomics, which deals with topics like the banking system, the money supply, and inflation.
Operations Research and statistics are sometimes combined as "Managerial Decision-Making" or "Quantitative Decision-Making";
organizational behavior and human resource management may similarly be combined.
In many programs, applicants with appropriate background may be exempt from various of the analytical courses.
As regards the functional courses, some programs treat the curricula here in two parts: the first course provides an overview, while the second revisits the subject in depth ; alternatively, the first addresses short-term, tactical problems, while the second addresses long-term, strategic problems. An Information systems / technology course is increasingly included as a core functional course rather than an elective. Ethics training is often delivered with coursework in corporate social responsibility and corporate governance. Note that courses here, although technical in content are, ultimately, oriented toward corporate management. Technically-oriented courses, if offered, will be via a specialization.
Programs may also include training in the skills needed at senior levels of management: soft skills, such as leadership and negotiation; hard skills, such as spreadsheets and project management; thinking skills such as innovation and creativity. Training in areas such as multiculturalism and corporate social responsibility is similarly included. Company visits, and guest lectures or seminars with CEOs and management personalities may also be included. These, with the core subjects, provide the graduate with breadth, while the specialty courses provide depth.
For the business strategy component, the degree capstone, the focus is on finding competitive advantage and the long-term positioning and management of the entity as a whole. Here, the key functional areas are thus synthesized or integrated into an overall view and the strategy course depicts how the various sub-disciplines integrate to tell one continuous story with each discipline complementing the others. Corresponding training in business leadership may also be scheduled and participation in a business simulation or game is also a common degree requirement. "Strategy" may be offered as a sequence of courses, beginning in the first part and culminating in the second, or as a single intensive course, offered during the second part. Some programs offer a specialization in "strategy", others in management consulting which substantially addresses the same issues.
The MBA dissertation will, in general, comprise the following in some combination: a discussion of the literature, providing a critical review and structuring of what is known on a given topic, with a view to addressing a specific problem; a case study that goes beyond simple description, containing the analysis of hitherto unpublished material; a test of the application or limitations of some known principle or technique in a particular situation, and / or suggested modifications. As an alternative to the dissertation, some programs instead allow for a major project. Here students will address a problem current in their organization; particularly in programs with an action learning orientation, these may be practically oriented. Most MBA programs require additional course work in research methodology, preceding the dissertation or project. Some programs allow that the research component as a whole may be substituted with additional elective coursework.

Exit examination

Many MBA programs culminate in a comprehensive exit examination. The national standardized exam known as the Major Field Test for MBAs has been administered in the MBA programs of over 300 U.S. universities. The MFT-MBA aims to assess skills, knowledge, and reasoning ability within the domain of standard MBA curriculum. It is administered by Educational Testing Service. Another prominent option for comprehensive exit exams is the Common Professional Component Comprehensive Exam for MBAs owned by Peregrine Academic Services. Many programs choose to administer their own in-house exam rather than a standardized test.

Honor societies

Honor societies recognize individuals for high achievement in MBA programs. These honor societies include:
An MBA prepares individuals for many types of careers. According to a survey by the Graduate Management Admissions Council, 64% of year 2012 MBA graduates used their MBA to change careers. Some of the more common jobs an MBA prepares one for include:

History

In 1957, INSEAD became the first European university offering the MBA degree, followed by EDHEC Business School in 1959 and ICADE in 1960, ESADE and IESE Business School in 1964, UCD Smurfit Business School and Cranfield School of Management in 1964, Manchester Business School and London Business School in 1965, The University of Dublin, the Rotterdam School of Management in 1966, the Vlerick Business School in 1968 and in 1969 by the HEC School of Management and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. In 1972, Swiss business school IMEDE began offering a full-time MBA program, followed by IE Business School in 1973, and AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow, Poland in 1974. In 1991, IEDC-Bled School of Management became the first school in the ex-socialist bloc of the Central and Eastern to offer an MBA degree.

Bologna Accord

In Europe, the recent Bologna Accord established uniformity in three levels of higher education: Bachelor, Masters, and Doctorate. Students can acquire professional experience after their initial bachelor's degree at any European institution and later complete their masters in any other European institution via the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.

Accreditation standards

Accreditation standards are not uniform in Europe. Some countries have legal requirements for accreditation, in some there is a legal requirement only for universities of a certain type, and others have no accreditation law at all. Even where there is no legal requirement, many business schools are accredited by independent bodies voluntarily to ensure quality standards.

Austria

In Austria, MBA programs of private universities have to be accredited by the Austrian Accreditation Council. State-run universities have no accreditation requirements, however, some of them voluntarily undergo accreditation procedures by independent bodies. There are also MBA programs of non-academic business schools, who are entitled by the Austrian government to offer these programs until the end of 2012. Some non-academic institutions cooperate with state-run universities to ensure legality of their degrees.

Czech Republic

January 1999 saw the first meeting of the Association of the Czech MBA Schools. The association is housed within the Centre for Doctoral and Managerial Studies of UEP, Prague. All of the founding members of the association to have their MBA programs accredited by partner institutions in the United Kingdom or United States of America.

France and French speaking countries

In France and in the Francophone countries such as Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, and Canada, the MBA degree programs at the public accredited schools are similar to those offered in the Anglo-Saxon countries. Most French Business Schools are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles, which is an association of higher educational establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public education system.

Germany

Germany was one of the last Western countries to adopt the MBA degree. In 1998, the Hochschulrahmengesetz, a German federal law regulating higher education including the types of degrees offered, was modified to permit German universities to offer master's degrees. The traditional German degree in business administration was the Diplom in Betriebswirtschaft but since 1999, bachelor's and master's degrees have gradually replaced the traditional degrees due to the Bologna process. Today most German business schools offer the MBA. Most German states require that MBA degrees have to be accredited by one of the six agencies officially recognized by the German Akkreditierungsrat, the German counterpart to the American CHEA. The busiest of these six agencies is the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation. All universities themselves have to be institutionally accredited by the state.

Italy

Italian MBAs programs at public accredited schools are similar to those offered elsewhere in Europe. Italian Business Schools are accredited by EQUIS and by ASFOR.

Poland

There are several MBA programs offered in Poland. Some of these are run as partnerships with European, American or Canadian Universities. Others rely on their own faculty and enrich their courses by inviting visiting lecturers. Several MBA programs in Poland are also offered in English.

Portugal

Several business schools offer highly ranked MBA programs in Portugal. Portuguese MBA programs are increasingly internationally oriented, being taught in English.

Spain

Spain has a long history in offering MBA programs with three MBA programs frequently being ranked in the Top 25 worldwide by several international rankings. Spanish MBAs are culturally diverse and taught in English.

Switzerland

There are several schools in Switzerland that offer an MBA as full-time, part-time and executive education programs. Some business schools that offer MBA programs with specializations such as Finance and Healthcare, technology management, and others. As a country with four different national languages, Switzerland offers most of its programs in English to attract international students to the country.

Ukraine

Recently MBA programs appeared in Ukraine where there are now about twenty schools of business offering a variety of MBA programs. Three of these are subsidiaries of European schools of business, while the remaining institutions are independent. Ukrainian MBA programs are concentrated mainly on particulars of business and management in Ukraine.
For example, 2/3 of all case studies are based on real conditions of Ukrainian companies.

United Kingdom

The UK-based Association of MBAs was established in 1967 and is an active advocate for MBA degrees. The association's accreditation service is internationally recognised for all MBA, DBA and Masters in Business and Management programs. AMBA also offer the only professional membership association for MBA students and graduates. UK MBA programs typically consist of a set number of taught courses plus a dissertation or project.

Africa

The Financial Times in its Executive Education Rankings for 2012 included 5 African business schools.

Nigeria

Business schools administered as colleges within the traditional universities offer a variety of MBA programs. In addition, a few standalone business schools allied with foreign business schools exist in Nigeria.

South Africa

In 2004 South Africa's Council on Higher Education completed an extensive re-accreditation of MBA degrees offered in the country.

Ghana

Business schools of the traditional universities run a variety of MBA programs. In addition, foreign accredited institutions offer MBA degrees by distance learning in Ghana.

Kenya

MBA programs are offered in many public and private universities.
Students choose to specialize in one of the following areas: Accounting, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Insurance and Human Resources. The course takes 4 semesters of about 4 months each.

Asia-Pacific

International MBA programs are acquiring brand value in Asia. For example, while a foreign MBA is still preferred in the Philippines, many students are now studying at one of many "Global MBA" English language programs being offered. English-only MBA programs are also offered in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. For international students who want a different experience, many Asian programs offer scholarships and discounted tuition to encourage an international environment in the classroom.
Rankings have been published for Asia Pacific schools by the magazine Asia Inc. which is a regional business magazine with distribution worldwide. The importance of MBA education in China has risen, too.

Bangladesh

There are now more than 50 business schools in Bangladesh offering the MBA, predominantly targeting graduates without any work experience. Most MBAs are two years full-time. Sensibly there is little use of GMAT. The Business Schools conduct their own admission tests instead although the rationale for this instead of providing introductory courses and certifications is unclear. Classes are taught in English.

India

There are many business schools and colleges in India offering two-year MBA or PGDM programs accredited by AICTE or UGC.
The Indian Institutes of Management are among the world's most selective schools according to Bloomberg magazine. They offer a post-graduate degree in management. There are 20 IIMs in total.
List of MBA schools in India

Malaysia

Both public and private universities offers MBA degrees. Most MBAs are in full-time mode and part-time mode. All MBA degrees are conducted in English.

Singapore

Singapore is South East Asia's leading financial hub. Its competitive educational system starts from primary schools to universities and eventually post-graduate studies such as EMBA programs.

Japan

In Japan 2 business schools offer the accredited MBA degree. The concept of an MBA is still not considered mainstream as traditional companies still perceive that knowledge and learning with respect to business and management can only be effectively gained through experience and not within a classroom. In fact, some companies have been known to place recent MBA recipients in unrelated fields, or try to re-acclimate their Japanese employees who have spent years overseas earning the degree. As a consequence, academic institutions in Japan are attempting to reinvent the perception of the MBA degree, by taking into account the local corporate culture.

Pakistan

Pakistan first offered an MBA program outside the United States in 1955 in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania. Now in Pakistan, there are 187 Universities/Institutes which are recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, offering MBA programs to students and professionals.

Australia

In Australia, 42 Australian business schools offer the MBA degree. Universities differentiate themselves by gaining international accreditation and focusing on national and international rankings. Most MBAs are one to two years full-time. There is little use of GMAT, and instead each educational institution specifies its own requirements, which normally entails several years of management-level work experience as well as proven academic skills.
Graduate Management Association of Australia carries out ratings for Australian MBAs and annually publishes Australian MBA Star Ratings.
The Financial Review Boss carries out biennial rankings of Australian MBAs.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, most universities offer MBA classes, typically through part-time arrangement or evening classes. Only two universities offer full-time programs to international students - University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology. The Otago MBA is the longer established of the two, offering a 240 points program while AUT MBA is a 180-point program.

South Korea

Korean universities offer full-time and part-time MBA programs that usually consist of a two-year curriculum. The first MBA program was offered in 1963 by Korea University Business School. In 2007, the Korean Government established "BK21," a project that supports Korean universities in order to develop their competitiveness in the global MBA market. Korea University Business School topped the evaluation of BK21 professional business graduate schools for six consecutive years. In the meantime, only two universities in Korea ranked in the "2015 Global Top 100 Executive MBA Rankings" conducted by UK Financial Times.

Program rankings

Since 1967, publications have ranked MBA programs using various methods. The Gourman Report did not disclose criteria or ranking methods, and these reports were criticized for reporting statistically impossible data, such as no ties among schools, narrow gaps in scores with no variation in gap widths, and ranks of nonexistent departments. In 1977 The Carter Report ranked MBA programs based on the number of academic articles published by faculty, the Ladd & Lipset Survey ranked business schools based on faculty surveys, and MBA Magazine ranked schools based on votes cast by business school deans.
Today, publications by the Aspen Institute, Business Week, The Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, Quacquarelli Symonds, US News & World Report, and the Wall Street Journal make their own rankings of MBA programs. Schools' ranks can vary across publications, as the methodologies for rankings differ among publications:
The ranking of MBA programs has been discussed in articles and on academic websites. Critics of ranking methodologies maintain that any published rankings should be viewed with caution for the following reasons:
One study found that ranking MBA programs by a combination of graduates' starting salaries and average student GMAT score can approximately duplicate the top 20 list of the national publications, and concluded that a truly objective ranking would use objective measures of program quality and be individualized to the needs of each prospective student. National publications have recognized the value of rankings against different criteria, and now offer lists ranked different ways: by salary, GMAT score of students, selectivity, and so forth. While useful, these rankings have yet to meet the critique that rankings are not tailored to individual needs, that they use an incomplete population of schools, may fail to distinguish between the different MBA program types offered by each school, or rely on subjective interviews.

Criticism

The media raised questions about the value and content of business school programs after the financial crisis of 2007–2010. In general, graduates had reportedly tended to go into finance after receiving their degrees. As financial professionals are widely seen as responsible for the global economic meltdown, anecdotal evidence suggests new graduates are choosing different career paths.
Deans at top business schools have acknowledged that media and public perception of the MBA degree shifted as a result of the financial crisis. Articles have been written about public perceptions of the crisis, ranging from schools' acknowledgment of issues with the training students receive to criticisms of the MBA's role in society.
The MBA title has acquired a mixed reputation in that the MBA curriculum tends to educate students in the "greed is good" direction based on various simplistic assumptions about human behaviour.

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