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.
Background
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, followed in 1951 with the degree awarded by the University of Pretoria in South Africa. 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.
Accreditation
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), 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). 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).
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.
Basic types of MBA programs
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.
Admissions criteria
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. 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 for admission.
Program content
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. 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
· operations management
· organizational behavior
· marketing
· real estate &
· strategy, among others.
MBA program rankings
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, 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 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. Critics of ranking methodologies maintain that any published rankings should be viewed with caution for the following reasons:
- Rankings limit the population size to a small number of MBA programs and ignore the majority of schools, many with excellent offerings.
- The ranking methods may be subject to biases and statistically flawed methodologies (especially for methods relying on subjective interviews of hiring managers).
- The same list of well-known schools appears in each ranking with some variation in ranks, so a school ranked as number 1 in one list may be number 17 in another list.
- Rankings tend to concentrate on the school itself, but some schools offer MBA programs of different qualities (e.g. a school may use highly reputable faculty to teach a daytime program, and use adjunct faculty in its evening program).
- A high rank in a national publication tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Some leading business schools including Harvard, INSEAD and Wharton provide limited cooperation with certain ranking publications due to their perception that rankings are misused.
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. The study concluded that a truly objective ranking would 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 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.
Other business degrees and certifications
Certifications
- Certified Business Manager (CBM), a professional credential based on the MBA curriculum
- Certified MBA (CMBA) a professional certification designed as an "objective measure of a student's grasp of the MBA skill set".
Undergraduate
- Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc or BAcy), a specialised accountancy degree
- Bachelor of Business
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), a bachelor's degree in business administration
- Bachelor of Business Science
- Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (BCA) / Bachelor of Commerce (BComm), an undergraduate degree in commerce
- Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA), an undergraduate degree in public administration
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)
Graduate
- Master of Information Technology Management (MITM) / a postgraduate degree in IT belongin to Management Science
- Master of Accountancy (MAcc or MAcy) / Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA), a postgraduate degree in accounting
- Masters in Business and Management (MBM), a postgraduate business degree
- Master of Commerce (M.Comm.), a postgraduate business degree usually focused on an particular area
- Master of Enterprise (MEnt), a postgraduate, technology & enterprise-based qualification
- Master of Bioscience Enterprise (MBioEnt), a postgraduate degree focussed on the commercialisation of biotechnology
- Master of Finance (MFin), a postgraduate degree in finance
- Master of International Business (MIB), a postgraduate degree focused on International Business
- Master of Management (MM), a postgraduate business degree
- Master of Science in Financial Services (MSFS), a postgraduate degree in financial planning and investments
- Master of Science in Management, a postgraduate business degree
- Master of Marketing Research (MMR) a postgraduate degree focusing on research in the field of marketing
- Master of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO or MNPO), the postgraduate degree for philanthropy and voluntary sector professionals
- Master of Public Administration (MPA), a postgraduate public administration degree
- Masters of Management: Co-operatives and Credit Unions, a post-graduate degree for co-operative and credit union managers
- Master in Sustainable Business (MSB)
- Master of Real Estate (MScRE), a postgraduate degree focusing on real estate.
Executive
- Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), a postgraduate degree for managers and executives.
- Executive Master of Science in Business Administration (Executive MScBA), a postgraduate degree focusing advanced-level conceptual foundation in a student’s chosen field such as operational excellence in the biotech/pharma industry.
- Executive Master of Science in Marketing (EMSM), a postgraduate degree focusing senior-level marketing, international market consulting, brand and product management.
Doctoral
- Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), a doctorate in business administration
- Doctor of Management (D.M.)
- PhD in Management (PhD), a business doctoral degree.
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