Making the right choice: the executive MBA

What is an Executive MBA? And what is a regular MBA programme anyway? Sooner or later, these questions may come to your mind, and this article attempts to help you focus on the essentials. Should you intend to enrol in an Executive MBA programme, you may realise that there is a huge variety of business schools and programmes to choose from. Of course, all programmes will offer general management courses that promise to enable students to climb the corporate ladder. It is possible, however, that individual programmes provide different tracks or even have specialisations in, say, Finance, Health Care Management or Tourism.

This gives you the chance to focus on a specific market or industry while still getting the overall and generalistic view of managerial functions. Thus, you will gain insight into the relevant political, economic, technological and cultural factors that shape your business environment. Please be also aware that the student profile of an Executive MBA programme is a slightly different one. Executive MBAs, quite obviously, attract primarily Executive Managers from various backgrounds including government, stateowned, private and foreign-invested enterprises. The average age of students enrolling is 35 or older and they usually have work experience of a minimum of 5 years. From this, you can rightly make the following assumptions about Executive MBA programmes:

• During the programme there will be many chances for professional exchange due to the amount of experience all students have. Networking becomes an integral part of the programme, and students will almost automatically exchange their views on specific managerial tasks and individual problems.
• In order to facilitate this exchange, mainly senior teaching staff with industry-related knowledge will be teaching in these programmes.
• All business schools will convey theories on general management, but these will ultimately be balanced by practice and the work experience all students bring into the classrooms.

Executive MBA programmes are primarily taught part-time, i.e. on Fridays and Saturdays (or whole weekends) only. This allows students to stay on the job. You will, however, have to allow for a certain amount of block weeks – you may need to spend substantial parts of your holidays on these.

• As this type of MBA is a part-time study programme, it usually takes two years to complete, but is equivalent to one year of fulltime studies.

• As most students already have a job and relevant experience, internships will not be part of the programme.
• Typically, the location, where the programme takes place, is fixed. Permanent relocations, as is the case for many regular MBA programmes, are seldom to be found in Executive programmes.
• More often than not, Executive programmes embed a high amount of e-learning in its curriculum. Distance learning is supported by interactive platforms, e-forums, e-learning tutors and mentors for specific modules.

Generally speaking, the usual admissions criteria are applied. You will be asked for the transcripts of your first academic degree and a proof of your significant work experience. Depending on the country and/or business school you  are required to have a certain score in GMAT and TOEFL (or similar tests by other providers) and you may have to hand in essays and references and sit through personal interviews. Assessments will differ considerably from school to school. Please check this first and prepare well and in advance.

It might also be useful to talk to your employer before enrolling into an Executive MBA programme. It is quite possible that you will be supported either financially or with day or week releases for the classes you have to attend. Employers usually value your high commitment but may also indicate that they want to see some pay-off for their investment. There are many Executive MBA programmes on the market, so obviously, there is a high demand for such a product. The attractiveness of Executive MBAs lies in the fact that you can work fulltime along with the programme. This is also the downside of it – during the course of the studies you have to perform well in your job and in your studies. You will be able to cope, but you have to adjust to the impact and most certainly limit your other activities.

Last but not least, do watch out for quality. Renowned business schools are frequently ranked in the respective media. Of course, the good reputation of the business school is becoming increasingly important. This does not, however, imply that all famous schools offer your favoured specialisation or the quality of teaching and e-learning that you have in mind. Look out for the amount of case studies, the

profile of the lecturers and alumni, and – finally – the accreditation on the national as well as international level.

No two business schools offer the same curriculum, but most expose students to a common body of knowledge in basic accounting, economics, finance, human resources and organization design, marketing, operations, policy, and quantitative methods and statistics. To help narrow the field of schools you are

considering, think about the career, lifestyle, financials, and curriculum that are important to you. Use the following list of questions to help you work through the issues involved in choosing a programme type. One of the leading questions is, however: Am I ready to assume the responsibilities of an MBA-level position? And if so, where and in which position and which industry?

Choosing the right MBA is always related to job issues. You might use the following list.

What type of programme best suits my goals?

• Do I plan to stay with my current employer after I earn my degree?
• If I intend a career change, does my school have an excellent career centre and alumni network?
• Do I know what biases exist in my targeted industry or company that could affect my choice of programme type?
• Do I already have a functional or industry specialty?
• Do I need an MBA to develop a functional/ industry specialty?
• Is it important that the school offers peer groups of people with my interests and experience level?

• Can I handle a full-time workload and fulltime course load simultaneously?
• Do I want total immersion (learning activities outside of class and my network of people)?
• Do I know from my job what kind of learning environments works?
• Can I define the right balance between work and life?
• Do I want a full-time or part-time MBAprogramme?

Going for an MBA will necessarily affect many aspects of your life. You should ask yourself the following questions about your lifestyle.

• Do I want to study in my home country or abroad?
• Do I want to stay local, within my region, or try a new location?
• Do I know what I need from a location—that is, do I want a college town, a city, convenience and access to services, safety, a low cost of living, or other things, for example?
• Might the school's business community be an advantage? A disadvantage? (Consider the school’s access to local speakers, the availability of local internships, access to local companies for class projects, etc.)

• How might the decision affect my family?
• What special needs might my family have?
• How often (and how long!) do I need to travel to the business school?
• Is there a school-run organization to help spouses and families?

• Does the prevailing culture of a school fit with my personality?
• Do I like the dominant personalities of the student body, staff, faculty, and alumni? (Keep in mind that MBA students, like all high achievers, are inherently competitive.)

Your financial circumstances may help determine what kind of programme you choose. Be sure to ask yourself the following questions about your finances:

• Do I need to maintain full-time employment?
• Will the company I work for sponsor my education?
• Do I need financial aid or a scholarship or loan?
• Do I prefer to have financial aid?
• Do I need to spread the cost of an MBA out over as many years as possible to minimize the funds I must borrow?

For further details
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Frankfurt, Germany