Business Schools have always believed in maintaining close ties with major firms to ensure good placements for MBA graduates and the arrangement had been working well for decades. However, of late, some of the Masters in Management (MiM) programs, with their accent on specialisations have been catching the recruiters’ eye.
The competition from MiM and similar programs that mould business executives at almost half the cost of an MBA appeals to both the students as well as the employers. While the students are happy to get a degree at less expense, the recruiter gets talent at a lower salary. Such a situation spells nothing less than a disaster situation for regular MBA programs.
According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) to say that the trend is particularly pronounced in Europe where three-quarters of firms stated they expected to hire workers from MiM programs.
Business Schools across the world are tweaking their full-time MBA programs to increase the value of the graduates by offering a wider range of specialisations and more opportunities for students to work on industry projects in the course of the program.
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At Durham University Business School, Julie Hodges, associate dean of MBA programs was quoted by The Economist as saying that integration with business was “the whole philosophy of the MBA”. She points out that in a value addition to its 12-month MBA program, the school was offering a range of three-month business development courses.
Apart from participating in a strategic business project with a real-world business, the students could opt for a 3-month internship with companies to put into practice their classroom learnings. Almost 40% of the students are willing to sign on for the extra three months. The internship helps prospective employer to assess their work and many of the students subsequently get employment in those firms.
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Similarly, the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), Berlin is laying special accent on improving the students’ soft skills. The program already includes a consulting project that connects the students with potential employers. ESMT dean Rick Doyle said the students also had opportunities of company visits or international projects, to provide them practical experience.
Oral communication, listening skills and adaptability are the top three desirable skills for the present day MBAs with technical skills such as quantitative and qualitative analysis coming in the second place rather than the ability to read a balance sheet.