Many of us have heard about the prestigious training in business schools with an MBA degree. Right now, this is an application for a high-paying job. Do employers share this view?
Yes. 52% of them believe that studying at business institutes has an impact on career development. 40% of employers still pay attention to the candidate’s qualities and professional experience when choosing a future employee. Let’s find out what an MBA is and do you need such an education?
General information
MBA (Master of Business Administration) is a program for training middle and senior managers for effective work in various areas of management. A characteristic feature is a focus on practical experience. So, the central place in the curriculum is occupied by real situations (case studies).
To be admitted to an MBA, you must have a diploma of higher education and have worked in the field for at least 2 years. We can say that this is additional postgraduate training, which, depending on the chosen program, can take from 2 to 5 years. The study ends with the writing of a thesis, which is focused on solving practical problems in the field of management on the example of a particular company. There are schools that also offer online MBA programs especially when distance learning is needed. Initially, students may need some help with academic writing, which they can get at https://en.writingapaper.net/edit-my-paper/.
The training programs cover marketing, financial and management technologies, strategic management, business development, human resources management system, professional management skills, languages, and much more. Graduates of the business school are issued state-issued professional retraining diplomas and their MBA diplomas.
The business School education system
Business institutions focus on the interactive exchange of knowledge and experience between students and teachers. The training programs are based on the case-study method. After studying them, students of the course should make an informed decision, while relying on their own practical experience and knowledge acquired in their companies. The training process also includes business simulations, seminars, and masterclasses.
MBA program formats
The most complete and high-quality training is provided by the Full-time MBA format, which assumes a full-time (full-time) form. It is most often used in the United States and Western Europe because in Russia such a format is difficult to combine with work. The training course consists of 10-12 compulsory subjects and the same number of electives. The total duration of training is from 10 to 24 months.
Part-time MBA and also “evening classes” provides a training mode twice a week from 19.00 to 21.30, as well as on Saturday from 10.00 to 17.00. The most acceptable format for combining work and study involves a flexible training schedule. Duration: from 18 to 36 months.
“Part-time MBA” or modular consists of separate thematic modules. The curriculum also includes full-time classes, which can be held once a month (3-4 days) or quarterly (7 days). This format provides for remote execution of tasks that students receive between full-time classes.
The weekend is the most common format of training for MBA programs. Classes are held in the first half of the weekend, usually 2 times a month.
All the theory needed to study MBA programs is available online. However, distance learning has a significant drawback — the lack of opportunities for live communication with discussion, without which business training will not be as successful as expected. That is why it is necessary to combine it with face-to-face modules, where you can consider issues that require group discussion and get the necessary advice. This is how full-time and distance MBA programs look like blended learning or mixed learning.
Features of writing an MBA diploma
Studying in business schools often goes in parallel with work, there is a busy schedule, forcing students to turn to specialists who perform such work to order.
The choice of the topic for the diploma and the general structure of the finished work
When choosing the topic of the thesis, it is necessary to take into account a very important aspect — the focus on solving a specific urgent task within a real company. No formal or hypothetical tasks, just existing ones.
The structure of the diploma, in general, is as follows:
- Introduction.
- Overview of the theory of the main problem.
- Justification of research methods.
- Description of the work performed and analysis of the results.
- Conclusions and recommendations.
- Conclusion.
- Problem statement
It is necessary to correctly set the problem to be solved from the very beginning. This can be done either in the manual or in the section preceding the introduction – the “Research Plan”, specifying the following information:
- organization description: name, financial indicators, goals, objectives, industry positions;
- brief description of management work;
- the formulation of the purpose of the work carried out and then, the solution of the problem by the organization itself without the involvement of external resources;
- formulation of the key questions of the thesis research (about five), necessary for the convenience of its management, for structuring the goal;
- formulation of the results expected after the completion of the study.
Important: the MBA thesis should reflect the author’s skills in the field of management and contain the most effective methods for solving the tasks set. This means that students should understand the essence of the problem, understand it, and offer a practical and effective solution to it.
The case method has found wide application all over the world and is gaining more and more supporters. And this is not surprising. Thanks to him, graduates learn to develop strategic thinking, harmonize the situation and effectively manage people, they feel like a kind of business architects.
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