With so many program offerings
from so many different sources,
people seeking an MBA might become disenchanted with the idea that it
will make them stand out from the pack.
Fear not, says Dr. Harry Lasher, director
of the Career Growth MBA, Master of
Accounting and WebMBA programs of the
Michael J. Coles College of Business at
Kennesaw State University. The key is finding a program with the proper quality, innovatively focusing on the challenges and
opportunities in our international world of
business and accreditation that fits your
own individual needs.
Smart Business spoke with Lasher about
how to distinguish good MBA programs
from bad and the numerous reasons that
MBA programs are worthwhile.
Why does it seem more important than ever
for business people to continue their education?
In the past, firms were willing to pay a
premium for an employee to earn an MBA
because that person could theoretically
perform at a higher level and make greater
contributions. An MBA, however, is merely
a piece of paper if the individual cannot
perform.
Today, people are beginning to realize
that they can enhance their marketability
and increase the number of options they
have. The temporary nature of the work
setting, the complexity of decision-making,
the problem-solving and the speed of
everything has ratcheted up. People are
looking for ways to be more effective in the
work setting.
Business organizations value innovation,
change and speed in our global competitive environment. We may be getting to a
point where the MBA in the work setting is
going to become as much of an expectation as the undergraduate degree was in
business. But firms aren’t necessarily willing to pay as great a premium for an MBA
these days, so it really falls back to the individual being able to perform at a higher
level. This is especially true for the individual pursuing a part-time MBA while continuing to develop a career.
How do you differentiate one MBA program
from another?
Almost every program is regionally
accredited, meaning that it has to meet
some basic quality standards. One differentiating factor is the Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB),
the premier international accreditation
agency of business programs. There are
probably 3,500 colleges of business or business programs in the U.S., some online,
some that offer full-time and part-time
MBA programs — the growth is in the part-time market — but probably not more than
450 are accredited with AACSB. If I were
looking, that’s the one quality assurance I
would really lean on.
Another factor is the rankings we see in
print. However, some excellent schools
refuse to participate in the rankings and
some ranked schools are suspect. There
are multiple criteria used and it’s like comparing apples and oranges.
Another way to differentiate MBA programs is to talk with alumni, members of the
business community, and people currently
involved in a program to get their opinions
related to quality of courses, relevancy of faculty and quality of other students.
What sort of MBA programs are becoming
the most popular?
Part-time programs are growing in popularity, to the point where some full-time
programs are reducing class sizes. Part-time programs are becoming popular
because people can keep their jobs and
continue performing in their organization,
which is a wonderful place to apply what
you’re learning.
We’re witnessing a ‘de-jobbing’ of America where jobs are being replaced with the
concept of work. A person needs to deal
with different flows of information and the
complexity and speed of decisions, demonstrate leadership, proactively engage in
innovation and change, and demonstrate
additional skills and success behaviors. All
those are additional reasons why I believe
part-time MBA programs are growing.
Businesses for the most part are not
enamored with online MBA programs.
Only 4 percent indicate that they see it as
equivalent in terms of quality to corporate
and university-based programs. But you
can enroll in some corporate and univeristy programs that have a mixed delivery of face-to-face and online formats.
There are also hybrid courses where a faculty member meets with a class for two to
three sessions, students work on projects,
usually in teams, where they apply what
they learned, then come back three to four
weeks later, discuss results with everyone
in the learning community and then engage
in additional projects.
This is all facilitated with technology
such as Vista or Blackboard electronic
classrooms, and intranets within business
organizations. This is very appealing to
people who are involved with a lot of business travel, because they can connect to
the Internet and work with others while at
different locations.
DR. HARRY LASHER is director of the Career Growth MBA,
Master of Accounting and WebMBA progams in the Michael J.
Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. Reach
him at (770) 423-6041 or [email protected].