Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration

Tags: MBA

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 MBA degree has since achieved worldwide recognition. 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. Each year, well-known business publications such as Business Week, US News & World Report, Fortune, Financial Times, 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.
Background
The first American business school, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was established in 1881. The Tuck School of Business, part of Dartmouth College, was the first graduate school of management in the United States. Founded in 1900, it was the first institution conferring advanced degrees (masters) in the commercial sciences, the forebearer of the modern MBA.
As the U.S. MBA model emerged at the turn of the 20th century, Europeans developed such business schools as Webster Graduate School at Regent’s College, London; elsewhere colleges such as Cranfield School of Management, Cass Business School, London, INSEAD, IMD, SIBM, and MBA-HSG were established for management training. The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business first offered working professionals the Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 1940, and this type of program is now 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 across the Atlantic by the University of Pretoria in South Africa.[2] Moreover, 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.
The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide, and all six habitable continents have universities offering MBA programs.
AccreditationBusiness 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 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation is generally regarded as the standard for MBA programs. The AACSB covers business schools worldwide.
The United States also has six regional accreditation agencies as members of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASCSC), North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).[3]
Other U.S. accreditation agencies include the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) which typically accredits smaller, private American schools, and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). In addition, 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).
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a UK based organization that accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programmes worldwide; 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 programsTwo year MBA programs normally take place over two academic years (i.e. approximately 18 months of term time), 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 and less “down time” during the program and between semesters, for example, with one rather than three to four weeks vacation between semesters.
Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours. 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 respectable schools offer these programs; however, so do many diploma mills. Potential students should check the school’s accreditation before undertaking distance learning coursework.
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.
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. 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.
Most schools are first concerned with whether or not the applicant can handle the quantity of course work. The GMAT (the quantitative score) and academic transcripts help determine this. Once the school determines that the student can succeed academically, they examine the remainder of the application to evaluate the applicant’s experience and leadership abilities.
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, see the overview at the Wikiversity MBA topic page.
BreadthMBA programs expose students to a variety of subjects, including economics, organizational behavior, marketing, accounting, finance, strategy, operations management, international business, information technology management, supply chain management, project management, government policy, and ethics. 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.
SpecializationMany programs allow students to specialize or concentrate in a particular area. Standard concentrations include accounting, corporate strategy, decision sciences, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, human resources, international business, marketing, organizational behavior, project management, and operations management. Unspecialized MBA programs often focus second-year studies on strategic management or finance.
In addition, a program may offer more specialized concentrations such as Asian business, consulting, sports management, or degrees emphasizing real estate or insurance. Many schools offer unique concentrations available nowhere else.

Tags: MBA