Executive MBA, Is It Worth It?

With passing time, the Executive MBA has gained a lot of popularity, both from corporate employees and employers. A majority view the degree as a critical business investment. Meanwhile, many companies are beginning to track the benefits of the programs as part of a larger strategy to manage talent.

According to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal, a full 64% of respondents said sponsoring or allowing employees to attend E.M.B.A. programs was a way to retain talent. And many employers get a quick return on investment. One-quarter of the companies surveyed said they see tangible results immediately from employers who are stronger managers and leaders after completing an E.M.B.A.; another quarter of companies said they see results within a year.

Why do employers prefer Executive MBA?

It is true that all types of companies today are hoarding in fresh MBA graduates from numerous institutions. At the same time, they are all warming up for the executive degree. Companies encourage their high-potential employees, who are typically young and can easily meet criteria for full-time M.B.A. programs, to keep working for their company and to earn a business degree later in an executive program.

“We don’t want them to go away for two years,” says Leif Meneke, a vice president of human-resources development at Deutsche Bank. A major reason why companies are ready to sponsor the Executive MBA program is that they want to retain their talent and they fear they might lose their employees if they move on to attend a two-year full-time program.

Many Executive MBA programs now want employees to continue working and at the same time, take a few days off each month to attend lectures. This proves beneficial to both employees and employers.

Also, there are companies who believe that by allowing employees to mingle with top-flight professors and classmates from a wide range of industries and functions, the MBA degree on the whole provides a varied perspective which is needed in this era of change.

According to The Wall Street Journal’s corporate survey, the following are the most wanted skills an Executive MBA should address:

1. Strategic thinking and planning

2. Ability to work across different domains

3. Ability to drive results

4. General leadership

5. Core financial understanding

Since the students in these Executive MBA programs come with a lot of experience in their hands, they are able to relate to many real-world business issues in a much better way. Even schools have won additional praise from companies for bringing real and current business issues into the classroom.

The reason why this program is growing in popularity each year is because successful Executive MBA graduates strongly support these programs and as they climb the ladder, they encourage other to pursue the same.

According to the WSJ survey, the following are some schools that performed the best job of imparting immediately applicable skills according to students (arranged alphabetically):

1. Columbia University

2. Columbia-London Business School (Global Program)

3. Cornell University (Johnson)

4. Northwestern University (Kellogg)

5. University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

6. university of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

7. University of Southern California (Marshall)

Conclusion

If you are among those who have a considerable amount of work experience and want to improve their business expertise, an Executive MBA is definitely more worth than quitting your job and pursuing a full-time program. A foreign MBA does not come cheap. Hence, it can’t get any better if your company is ready to sponsor.

Are MBAs nothing more than Barbies and Kens in business look?

Thomas Sattelberger, former Chief Human Resources Officer and a Member of the Management Board of German telecommunications provider Deutsche Telecom, has always been very outspoken about his opinion on MBA graduates. He calls them “Barbies and Kens in business look” and “self-proclaimed high potentials” whose goal it is to solely increase their power and bank account. In a recent interview for the German online portal “Spiegel Online” he said that whoever thought a U.S. American or British MBA degree would give him a career in every German company, had gambled away. He instead would search for talents from different backgrounds and with knowledge of sociology, psychology or history. He said: “Education, reliability and sustainable economic management are more important than shareholder value.” Sattelberger has recently taken on the role of human resources ambassador for the initiative New Quality of Work (INQA) where he will design solutions, recommendations and bills in relation to the work field - a position that will give him more opportunities to realize his ideas about education and management.

Sattelberger is clearly playing the role of the devil’s advocate – something that is precious to have as it instils dialogue and eventually new ways and ideas. MBA Channel has spoken to four German business schools about his views, the Barbie and Ken image, differences in MBA education between the U.S., the UK and Germany and the German competencies they need to teach to make a difference for Europe’s economic powerhouse.

Reading Mr Sattelberger’s opinion - what do you think? Do you agree with his view?

Felix Müller, Director Henley Business School Deutschland, Frankfurt
Mr Sattelberger has always been very provocative in his statements which helped him getting heard and stimulating the debate around MBA education. I appreciate this since the MBA and its benefits are still quite far away from being understood. You will find all types of personalities among MBA graduates and some may show the behaviours described by Mr Sattelberger. For us at Henley Business School, these behaviours are clearly against our beliefs and what we have been teaching our students in the past 66 years: We are strong proponents of responsible management and leadership and we pride ourselves by the fact that Mr Sattelberger’s former company Deutsche Telekom is working with Henley on three professional programmes developing leaders and managers supporting the transformation skills Deutsche Telekom requires. 
US companies – and the US culture in general - are much more capital market driven than European ones and this also shows in the MBA programmes. If we like it or not, publicly listed and globally active companies like Deutsche Telekom have to understand this way of thinking and making business and an American MBA helps you in doing so, following the idea of “know your enemy well!”.

Are MBA graduates Barbies and Kens in business look that are only after power and money?

Heidrun Hoffmann, Senior Program Manager, MBA Program, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany
The WHU answers this question with a clear No. The application process for the MBA programme encompasses an extensive application form, a minimum of one reference and the TOEFL- and GMAT-tests (TOEFL: min. 100; GMAT: mind. 600). Apart from these formal criteria we lead two personal interviews with applicants where we pay attention to personality, social competency and the ability to work in a team. Our method of teaching and learning is based on interaction and group dynamic, Barbies and Kens would be outcasts. That’s something we try to rule out during the application and enrolment process.

Mr Sattelberger is especially critical towards MBA graduates from U.S. American or British MBA programmes. Is there a big difference between MBA graduates from these countries and Germany for example?

Professor Dr Udo Steffens, President of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management 
Each school has, of course, its own spirit or ethos which is reflected in the curricula or its way of teaching. Through site visits, MBA students will experience the distinct local or national management culture of their school’s home country. The US corporate culture is highly shareholder-value driven. In Germany, on the contrary, workers’ participation has led to a consensus-oriented corporate culture. All this is echoed in the MBA programmes and has an impact on MBA graduates. Ger-man companies across all industries recruit from us. Our graduates work in management consulting, IT and the manufacturing industry, banking and finance, for NGOs and development banks. We are extremely proud that we also see more and more entrepreneurs among our students and graduates. Thus, we initiated our own venture capital fund. Here, Frankfurt School Family members can seek advice as well as financial resources to start their own business.

As the American and European markets differ in quite a few aspects - which competencies do you teach especially for the German market for example?

Volker Stößel, Head of Communication, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management
We are teaching a General Management approach added by soft skill and entrepreneurship classes. Our MBA education aims at preparing the students to later on work in different functions for national as well as international companies or to set up their own business. Besides the official curriculum we offer German language courses to our students. Additionally, international students have the opportunity to experience the German corporate culture by taking so called field projects. In such a consultancy project up to four students solve real-life questions posed by companies. During the field projects the MBA students are involved into the culture and processes of the companies.

Link to Thomas Sattelberger’s interview on Spiegel Online

When does it make sense to earn your MBA?

From a young age, we’re taught that education is the vehicle that can take you wherever you need to go in your career. While increasing your level of education is never a bad thing, it requires more critical thinking and tough decision-making with each additional level you pursue.

Many professionals are faced with a tough question once they enter the workforce: Is a graduate degree necessary to pursue my career goals? For many, the question is whether to pursue a master’s of business administration degree. MBA programs are one of the most common graduate degree programs for professionals, because this type of graduate degree can be applied to so many professions.

So how do you determine if earning an MBA is what’s best for you and your career? Here are four reasons getting an MBA could make sense for you.

* If your employer will cover part or all of the costs. Many employers want their employees to grow with the company and be able to transition easily into a management role when the time is right. Obtaining your MBA is one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a management role, so your employer may be happy to assist you in that venture. Online MBA programs are becoming more and more popular, and usually offer the flexibility to learn while you remain in your current job – a bonus for you and your employer.

* You find yourself needing another marketable skill. You may find that your resume falls a little flat for the types of careers you want to pursue. Obtaining an MBA is an effective way to bolster your qualifications, and you’ll be able to market what you’ve learned in your master’s program when the time comes for an interview – and then apply that extra knowledge once you’re on the job.

* You know you want to be in management. It’s possible to advance to the ranks of management without earning a graduate degree, but an MBA can improve your chances. Not only can it help you get a job in management, it can give you the managerial skills to excel in your role once you get the job.

* You have time to do it. Even if earning an MBA makes sense on other levels, you should have the time you need to commit to a graduate program. Finding flexible online MBA programs with course options that fit perfectly into your schedule might be exactly what you need to successfully obtain your degree.