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The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management. The core courses in the MBA program are designed to introduce students to the various areas of business such as accounting, marketing, human resources, operations management, etc. Students in some MBA programs have the option to select an area of concentration and focus approximately one-third of their studies in this subject.
Accreditation bodies exist specifically for MBA programs to ensure consistency and quality of graduate business education, and business schools in many countries offer MBA programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive, and distance learning students, with specialized concentrations.
The first graduate school of business in the United States was the Tuck School of Business, part of Dartmouth College. Founded in 1900, it was the first institution conferring advanced degrees (masters) in the commercial sciences, specifically, a Master of Science in Commerce degree, the forebear of the modern MBA degree.
In 1908, the Graduate School of Business Administration (GSBA) at Harvard University was established; it offered the world's first MBA program, with a faculty of 15 plus 33 regular students and 47 special students.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business first offered working professionals the Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 1940, and this type of program is offered by most business schools today.
In 1950, the first MBA degrees were awarded outside the United States by The University of Western Ontario in Canada,[1] followed in 1951 with the degree awarded by the University of Pretoria in South Africa.[2] The Institute of Business Administration, Karachi in Pakistan was established in 1955 as the first Asian business school by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1957, INSEAD became the first European business school to offer an MBA program.
In 1986, the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College (Florida) was the first MBA program to require every student to have a laptop computer in the classroom. Initially, professors wheeled a cart of laptops into the classroom, passed them out to students together with floppy disks and collected them at the end of class. A year later, the school issued a laptop computer to each student as the student's personal property during registration. This ensured that each student had the same computer capability. Eventually, the Crummer School became the #1 rated MBA program in Florida.
The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide, and has been adopted and adapted by both developed and developing countries.[3]
Business schools or MBA programs may be accredited by external bodies which provide students and employers with an independent view of their quality, and indicate that the school's educational curriculum meets specific quality standards. The three major accrediting bodies in the United States are Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which accredits research universities, the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), which accredits universities and colleges, and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE),[4] all of which also accredit schools outside the US. The AACSB and the ACBSP are themselves accredited in the United States by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).[5] 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 (CAHME).
In the United States, a college or university must be accredited as a whole before it is eligible to have its MBA program accredited. Bodies that accredit institutions as a whole include the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASCSC), Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).[6]
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a UK based organization that accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programs worldwide, government accreditation bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) that accredits MBA and PGDM programs across India, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa, the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) for mostly European and Asian schools, and the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) in Europe.
Two-year (Full Time) MBA programs normally take place over two academic years (i.e. approximately 18 months of term time). For example in the Northern Hemisphere beginning in late August/September of year one and continuing until May 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.
Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules. 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.
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.
Executive MBA (EMBA) programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree 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.
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.
Dual MBA programs combine MBA degree with others (such as an MS or a J.D., etc.) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing 2 degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor's degree in business administration and an MBA in four or five years.
Most programs base admission on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), significant work experience, academic transcripts, essays, references or letters of recommendation and personal interviews. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is also accepted by some schools in lieu of the GMAT.[7] Schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities and how the student can improve the diversity and contribute to the student body as a whole. All of these qualifications are important for admission; however, some schools do not weigh GMAT scores as heavily as other criteria. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios.
Depending on the program, type and length of work experience is also a critical admissions component for many MBA programs. Many American programs require five or more years of experience for admission.[8][9]
Most top MBA programs cover similar subjects within their core required courses. For information about the typical content of an MBA program's core curriculum, see the overview at the Wikiversity MBA topic page. MBA programs expose students to a variety of subjects, which students may choose to specialize in a particular area. Students traditionally study a wide breadth of courses in the program's first year, then pursue a specialized curriculum in the second year. Full-time students typically seek an internship during the interim. Typical specializations include: accounting, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, marketing, operations management, organizational behavior, project management, real estate, and strategy, among others.
In 1957, INSEAD became the first European university offering the MBA degree, followed in 1964 by IESE (first two-year program in Europe), UCD Smurfit Business School in 1964, Manchester Business School and London Business School in 1965, The University of Dublin (Trinity College), the Rotterdam School of Management in 1966, the Cranfield School of Management in 1967 and in 1969 by the HEC School of Management (in French, the École des Hautes Études Commerciales) and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. In 1991, IEDC-Bled School of Management became the first school in the ex-socialist block of the Central and Eastern to offer an MBA degree. Because of technology advances, distance or online MBA programs have recently emerged in Europe. Several business schools in the United Kingdom now offer distance MBA programs. In 2007, ESCEM became the first French Business school to offer their own distance or online MBA. See List of business schools in Europe
In Europe, the recent Bologna Accord established uniformity in three levels of higher education: Bachelor (three years), Masters (one or two years in addition to three or four years for a Bachelor), and Doctorate (an additional three or four years after a Masters). Students can acquire professional experience after their initial bachelor degree at any European institution and later complete their masters in any other European institution via the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. A European MBA is, therefore, equivalent to the American MBA. Nonetheless, European MBAs have additional scientific content; for example, European MBAs generally requires writing and defending a master's thesis.
Accreditation standards are not uniform in Europe. Some countries have legal requirements for accreditation (e.g. most German states), in some there is a legal requirement only for universities of a certain type (e.g. Austria), 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.
In Austria, MBA programs of private universities have to be accredited by the Austrian Accreditation Council (Österreichischer Akkreditierungsrat). 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 2010 (Lehrgang universitären Charakters). Some non-academic institutions cooperate with state-run universities to ensure legality of their degrees.
January 1998 saw the first meeting of the "Association of the Czech MBA Schools" (CAMBAS). The Association is housed within the Centre for Doctoral and Managerial Studies of UEP, Prague. All of the founding members of the Association have their MBA programs accredited by partner institutions in the United Kingdom or United States of America.
In France and in the Francophone countries such as Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, and Canada (Quebec), 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 was one of the last western countries to adopt the MBA degree. In 1998, the Hochschulrahmengesetz (Higher Education Framework Act), 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 (Master's degree equivalent) but since 1999, bachelor's and master's degrees have gradually replaced the traditional degrees (see 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 (accreditation council), the German counterpart to the US-American CHEA. The busiest of these six agencies (in respect to MBA degrees) is the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA). All universities themselves have to be institutionally accredited by the state (staatlich anerkannt).
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.
There are several MBA programs offered in Poland. Some of these are run as partnerships with American or Canadian Universities. For example, the CEMBA program is run by the Warsaw School of Economics and the University of Quebec at Montreal.
Recently MBA programs appeared in Ukraine where there are now about ten schools of business offering a variety of MBA programs. Two of these are subsidiaries of European schools of business, while the remaining institutions are independent.
The UK based Association of MBAs (AMBA) 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 (MBM) 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.
Today, MBA and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) designations can be found in many countries and even accessed through on-line, distance learning or e-learning. Because of the varying standards of MBAs worldwide, many business schools are accredited by independent bodies.
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.
Ratings for Australian MBAs are carried out by the Graduate Management Association of Australia, which publishes an annual Australian MBA Star Ratings. See List of business schools in Australia.
In 2004 South Africa’s Council on Higher Education (CHE) completed an extensive re-accreditation of MBA degrees offered in the country. The process was the first of its kind in the world to be undertaken by a statutory body and attracted widespread international media attention for its innovation and thoroughness. See List of business schools in South Africa.
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.
There are 1600 business schools in India offering two year MBA programs. The students are a mix of fresh graduates without any work experience and people with good work experience. Among those schools, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) are the oldest institutions for management education in India. Admission to any of the IIM schools requires passing Common Admission Test (CAT), however other business schools requires passing either CAT, XAT, GMAT, JMET or MAT each of which qualifies candidates for entrance into any management institutions in India, apart from these entrance tests there are few business schools which conducts aptitude test individually which qualifies candidates for that particular business school. The IIM and other autonomous business schools offer a post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) or Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) which is recognized in India as similar to an MBA degree. Government accreditation bodies such as AICTE established that autonomous business schools can offer only the PGDM or PGPM, whereas a post-graduate degree can be awarded by a university-affiliated colleges, in two-year full-time program. The curriculum of the PGDM or PGPM and MBA degrees are equivalent, although the MBA degree is examination oriented and concentrates on theoretical aspects of management whereas the PGDM or PGPM is industry-oriented and mainly focuses on building soft skills. However, a PGDM or PGPM holder cannot pursue Ph.D. since it is not recognized. Non-government accredited, one-year fast-track programs have proliferated in India, especially for candidates with work experience. Such programs are commonly known as Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Business Management. See List of business schools in India.
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, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan (Universities in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Multan, Bahawalnagar, and Abbasia, run the only world recognised MBA programs, in Pakistan), 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 done 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.[10] See List of business schools in Asia.
Each year, well-known business publications such as US News & World Report, Business Week, Financial Times, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal publish rankings of selected MBA programs that, while controversial in their methodology, nevertheless can directly influence the prestige of schools that achieve high scores.
The MBA degree has become one of the most popular masters' degrees. As more universities started offering the degree, differences in the quality of schools, faculty, and course offerings became evident. Naturally, establishing some criteria of quality is needed to differentiate among MBA programs, especially for prospective students trying to decide on where to apply. As MBA programs proliferated, a variety of publications began providing information on them. Some of these consisted of compilations of information gathered from the universities offering the degree, usually published in book form. Eventually periodicals began publishing articles describing various MBA schools and ranking them according to some perceived quality criteria. One of the most prominent of these is Business Week, which devotes a biennial issue to ranking MBA programs.
Different methods of varying validity were used to arrive at rankings of MBA programs. The Gourman Report, for example, did not disclose criteria or ranking methods,[11] 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.[12] In 1977 The Carter Report published rankings of MBA programs based on the number of academic articles published by faculty. Periodicals based their rankings on interviews with company recruiters who hired MBA graduates, surveys of MBA schools' deans, polls of students or faculty, and a variety of other means. The defunct MBA Magazine asked deans to vote on the best programs. The methods of obtaining ranks often changed from year to year. Initially, rankings included only a small number of universities consisting of the largest and best known Ivy League and state schools. There are also many privately compiled rankings, including the Global Top 100 Business Schools compiled by the QS network.
The ranking of MBA programs has been discussed in articles and on academic Web sites.[13] Critics of ranking methodologies maintain that any published rankings should be viewed with caution for the following reasons:[14]
One study found that objectively ranking MBA programs by a combination of graduates' starting salaries and average student GMAT score can reasonably duplicate the top 20 list of the national publications.[14] The study concluded that a truly objective ranking would be individualized to the needs of each prospective student.[16] 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 still are not tailored to individual needs, and their value is diminished if they use an incomplete population of schools, fail to distinguish between the different MBA program types offered by each school, or rely on subjective interviews.
The Financial crisis of 2007–2010 has raised new challenges and questions regarding the MBA degree. Graduates of MBA programs have a reported tendency to go into Finance shortly after receiving the degree.[17] As the field of Finance is tightly linked to the global economic downturn, anecdotal evidence suggests new graduates are stepping onto alternate paths.[18]
Deans at top business schools have acknowledged media and public perception of the MBA has shown some shifts as a result of the financial crisis.[19] Articles about public perception related to the crisis range from schools' acknowledgment of issues related to the training students receive[17][19] to general overviews of the MBA's role in society.[20]
Certifications
Undergraduate
Graduate
Executive
Doctoral
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