The Specialized MBA

The trend toward specialization has crept into most fields over the past few decades, but few have embraced the shift more enthusiastically than graduate schools of business. Since 1990, the year that the AACBE, the main accreditation board for business schools, changed its guidelines to encourage innovative curriculums, schools have focused on areas like aerospace, wine management, luxury goods, real estate and energy management. 

The percentage of business school students enrolled in specialized programs has risen about 4 percent each year since 2001, according to Erwin J. Berube, the organization’s director for knowledge services. More than a fifth of business school students are now seeking such degrees. 

Instead of exposing students to theory or the big picture of their discipline, specialized programs tend to zero in on practical and commercial applications. It’s an approach more likely to be seen outside the top tier of M.B.A. programs. Institutions like the University of Chicago and Columbia, whose graduates are much sought-after, have mostly kept the general M.B.A., with broad areas of concentration like finance and marketing. But for many others, specialization is a way to stand out among the more than 500 accredited programs here and abroad.

The university is widely considered the pioneer in niche M.B.A. programs, having established some of the first specialized institutes within its business school in the 1990s. The university did away entirely with the general M.B.A. in 2004, opting instead for 13 specializations, including market research and real estate. Niche M.B.A. programs tend to attract students who know exactly to which industry they are heading, as well as older students with business experience who may want to change fields. 

Some niche programs, such as the energy concentration at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business, capitalize on geography. Located smack in the middle of oil country, the program has a pool of local employers likely to seek custom-trained executives. With major pharmaceutical firms like Merck and Johnson & Johnson headquartered in the state, Rutgers University in New Jersey offers an M.B.A. in pharmaceutical management. 

European business schools were early adopters of the specialization model, especially in France. The international luxury brand management program at Essec Business School near Paris is conducted entirely in English and attracts about 40 students a year, most of them not French. Students in the wine and spirits M.B.A. program at the Bordeaux Management School in western France enrich their studies with stints at cooperating universities in Australia and northern California.

Investing as much as $30,000 in such a narrowly focused degree may be risky — especially if the market for a particular job dries up suddenly (the tightening of the real estate industry is a good example) — but going deep instead of wide seems to fit right in with an increasingly segmented world. 

Students of AACBE accredited schools should know what they want and they want to be. They should not be wasting time relearning things they already know. They should invest every minute to be something valuable and new.

Reforming Business Education to Meet Business Needs

Today’s rapidly changing work environment requires speed, focus and the ability to adapt swiftly to the needs of the market. This skill set is particularly essential in the business industry, in which pioneering products and services are developed seemingly daily, and new competitors can spring up overnight. For this reason, business graduates and the skills they bring to increase revenues are highly sought after by all types of organizations from government to health care and beyond. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects overall business and management occupations to grow by 22 per cent from 2010-2020.

 

To keep a competitive edge in this environment (indeed, in all environments), everyone must adapt. Employers must hire a work force that is poised to keep pace with digital trends. Workers and job-seekers must adopt an attitude of lifelong learning and seek out new skills and competencies to keep themselves sharp and critical to employers. And higher education institutions must build relevant academic programs that address industry demands as well as student interests.

 

AACBE recently completed a major redesign of the academic programs within its member accredited schools network, recognizing the changing demands of employers and workers. We added specialized concentrations such as digital technology, as well as a management skills curriculum that prepares graduates for technology-focused leadership roles.

 

By approaching education as an on going process, universities deliver on our responsibility to prepare graduates for the realities of today’s working world while empowering them to create their own change as leaders of tomorrow. The steps that AACBE took are simplified but provide helpful insights for non- accredited AACBE member institutions or businesses undertaking innovation programs of their own.

 

More than ever, today’s technology professionals are sought after not only for their technical prowess but for their understanding of how to use technology strategically to solve practical business problems. A review of CIOs describing their ideal job candidates shows that they are hiring for communication, leadership and project management skills as much as the ability to work with business models, profits and loss and brand and marketing. Students and employers, too, emphasized the importance of developing a work force with sophisticated, hands-on experience, as well as the critical thinking skills to manage a technology-driven environment. Coupled with the results from an end-to-end assessment of our accredited member institutes, in-depth student and faculty feedback, instructional materials, and various expert advisory committees, AACBE resolved to refresh the academic programs accordingly and further set up students for success.

 

AACBE's Bridge Program

In today’s world, seasoned business professionals possess the valuable insights and real-world experience students need to understand the rapidly changing environment. Yet the challenge for academia is how to effectively bridge this expertise to the classroom. For this reason AACBE has introduced an innovative solution—the AACBE Bridge Program.

 

Developed as a way to prepare students for becoming industry experts or for a career in the classroom, this Program gives AACBE accredited member schools an inside look into academia—helping them understand how to transfer their real-world knowledge to the next generation of business leaders.

According to the AACBE Bridge Program, students of the network schools from all disciplines and industries can utilize their some of their initial credits toward the completion of another program at the partner institution offering offer related programs of interest. The completion of one program will directly lead to a specific degree program. Bridge Program students will have an excellent opportunity to strengthen their academic skills, develop a peer support network and to familiarize themselves with the campus and its resources. Also, Bridge Program students will be assigned an academic advisor who will serve as their permanent advisor providing guidance on course selection, career planning, and progress towards fulfilling degree requirements. Student participants have the opportunity to work alongside committed staff and student staff who will help them become socially integrated into the diverse culture of the campus. Students will be encouraged to become a part of a community of learners eager to develop and expand on their skill sets in order to become prosperous contributors to a diverse campus environment. The Bridge Program aims to prepare students for the academic rigors of the University by providing them with the tools and resources necessary to achieve academic excellence not only in their first year, but beyond.

The Bridge Program deals with one of the most fundamental challenges facing business schools today. The program is consistent with AACBE’s efforts to ensure that there is a rich pipeline of qualified professionals, beyond business PhDs, who can bring their expertise to the businesses and classrooms and educate effectively. 

To be eligible for the program, applicants must be studying at the AACBE accredited school and professional experience of significant duration and responsibility related to the area of assignment. Individuals are carefully selected to ensure they will have a powerful impact in the classroom. Prior to enrollment, each applicant’s experience is reviewed to ensure they meet the general requirements for a professionally qualified faculty member at an AACBE–accredited institution. As each business school has its own unique needs, graduates must apply to individual schools and each institution will assess how the specific experience and education meets those requirements.

Reforming Management Education for Institutional Success

Due to the current wave of globalization, business schools have experienced a far-reaching and powerful change. The business schools need to understand these changes and respond accordingly. This is also suggested in the report - The Globalization of Management Education: Changing International Structures, Adaptive Strategies, and the Impact on Institutions.

In this comprehensive report, it is asserted that rising expectations from business and society for graduates with global competencies, coupled with the increasing complexity and global connectedness of higher education, command the attention of business schools around the world. The report’s findings draw upon results from a survey of business schools’ collaborative agreements, a survey of academic thought leaders regarding global content in curricula, and a series of case studies.

According to a recent report published after a survey of academic thought leaders and a series of case studies asserts that rising expectations from business and society for graduates with global competencies, coupled with the increasing complexity and global connectedness of higher education, command the attention of business schools around the world.

Connecting insights from this research with information gleaned through a comprehensive review of existing literature and current events, the report presents a data-driven analysis of the global nature of management education. According to the document, business schools have just begun to experience the wide range of implications of globalization, and to realize the full potential of the opportunities presented.

The imperative for change is clear. We are at a critical inflection point, and now is the time for all business schools to respond. Schools must develop approaches that will positively impact globalization within the business community and broader society.

The report goes beyond simply calling schools to attention. It presents insights that will help guide individual school strategy development and implementation. Focusing on approaches that include curriculum design, faculty development, and the cultivation of strategic partnerships, the document challenges all business schools to embrace globalization in ways that are mission-appropriate, manageable given available resources, and meaningful to the stakeholders being served.

The report also considers the role of industry-wide initiatives that will move business schools from keeping pace with the sweeping changes of globalization to leading the way. This definitive report reveals important implications for cross-border alliances, information sharing and benchmarking, and global quality assurance. It also shows that through collaborations with one another and organizations like AACBE, business schools can accelerate and improve globalization.