COMPARING THE EXECUTIVE MBA WITH THE TRADITIONAL MBA
By Dominic Basulto
The elite B-schools have responded to increased demand
for their traditional MBA programs by increasing the resources and programs
available through executive education. There are two major components
of executive education: (1) short-term, non-degree programs lasting
anywhere from two days to two weeks and (2) a condensed Executive MBA
program (EMBA), which usually meets in evenings or weekends,
adapted to a working executives lifestyle. But what exactly is
executive education and its most well-known offspring - the Executive
MBA? And how does it differ from the traditional MBA program?
First of all, candidates should carefully define their
terms. For instance, both INSEAD and Harvard Business School offer executive
education (of the non-degree variety), but not an Executive MBA, while
Columbia, Kellogg, and Chicago offer both executive education and a
full Executive MBA. Thus, Business Week and the Financial Times carefully
delineate their ratings- one for non-degree executive education, and
one for Executive MBA programs.
There are three critical factors when considering
the trade-offs between the EMBA, executive education, and the traditional
MBA: (1) status within the corporation (2) educational goals and (3)
future career goals.
#1: STATUS WITHIN THE CORPORATION & WORK EXPERIENCE
The first important factor to consider is ones
status within the corporation. Almost all executive education programs
offered by the elite B-schools demand that candidates selected for executive
education programs be one of 2-3 high-potential candidates within the
organization and earmarked for a defined promotion plan. Possession
of a mere title (e.g. Head of Representative Office) is
not enough, since most executive education programs stipulate corporate
sponsorship. Simply stated, a candidate who does not receive full monetary
sponsorship by his or her corporation will not qualify for executive
education. For instance, HBS requires that candidates be nominated,
sponsored, financially supported by the current employer, and relieved
of all work responsibilities as needed. In short, the corporation must
evince a dedicated interest in nurturing and advancing your career.
That being said, non-degree executive education programs
are much easier to be accepted to, since they only require a sponsorship
commitment by the employer, a brief outline of work experience, and
a billable credit card number. Executive MBA programs, much like traditional
MBA programs, require the full set of essays, transcripts, GMAT scores,
and application forms. Moreover, candidates are expected to be more
experienced (10+ years) and older (30+) than applicants accepted to
the 1- or 2-year flagship MBA program. At Wharton, the average age of
entering candidates to the EMBA program is 33, with 10 years of work
experience. At some top programs, candidates have 15-18 years of work
experience.
Finally, candidates ultimately accepted to EMBA or
executive education programs must have a flexible schedule to allow
junkets to Europe or the USA on a fairly regular basis. For this reason,
B-schools expect employers to fully support and coordinate the programs.
The most successful EMBA programs are those located in major metropolitan
areas (New York, Chicago, London) where candidates can easily attend
evening and weekend classes as well as take off for 1- or 2-week residential
segments of the program. In order to accommodate an increasingly more
international clientele, B-schools have launched onsite executive education
programs away from the home campus (especially in Europe and major Asian
business centers such as Singapore and Hong Kong). Kellogg has developed
an international EMBA offered in Israel, Hong Kong, and Germany.
#2: EDUCATIONAL GOALS
Next, consider your educational goals. Applicants
to traditional MBA programs desire first and foremost a wide-ranging
exposure to all aspects of general management theory and basic business
principles. In contrast, participants in short- term executive education
programs (and to a lesser extent, EMBA candidates) desire only real
world learning within a narrow niche. Consider a 5-day course
on Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) offered
by Whartons finance faculty. It is assumed that the building blocks
of M&A (DCF analysis, valuation, capital structure, securities markets,
competitive strategy) are already known. In a typical Finance
course at Wharton, the topic of M&A would occur only
in the final chapters of a textbook.
Many of the customized courses offered by executive
education providers have been a response to steady blurring of the distinction
between consultant-led seminars and B-school courses. Participants expect
an immediate take-away from short-term seminars and are
willing to pay up for this privilege. For instance, a 3-day program
at Kellogg on e-Business Strategies targeted to New Economy
types carries a price tag of almost $4,000. Keep in mind that firms
invest in executive education as a strategic weapon in order to compete,
and can sometimes demand highly-customized programs for their up-and-coming
executives. U.Texas offers customized courses for leading high-tech
companies (e.g. Texas Instruments) seeking an edge in the New Economy.
Moreover, a major difference between the EMBA and
MBA exists in how students are taught. The MBA is strictly a residential
experience, where one lives, breathes, and sleeps business 24/7. On
the other hand, an EMBA takes advantage of Internet content delivery
and videoconferencing technology to educate participants, some of whom
are located a continent away, while classes are not in session. Those
who desire strong alumni connections, a classroom setting, and the social
aspects of working in teams and living amongst peers might not desire
the more virtual aspect of executive education, where busy
professionals are more commuters than residents. B-schools such as Harvard,
Columbia, Stanford, and Chicago have embraced technology partners
in order to make the online components of the programs more of a complement,
than a replacement, for peer-to-peer learning.
#3: FUTURE CAREER GOALS
An important consideration for those contemplating
an EMBA versus an MBA is whether it makes sense to take a 1- or 2-year
time-out from a career in order to pursue advanced management
education. EMBA and executive education participants do not desire a
break in their career, and can structure different options of part-time,
evening, and short- term residential blocks that extend over two to
three years. While an MBA is a full-time commitment, an EMBA typically
requires at most 30 hours/week since all participants are busy managing
their companies. In a real sense, this most closely approximates the
current situation in Moscow. The final decision is one shaped in no
large part by the travel commitment involved in European and American
executive education programs. To give an idea of how executive MBA programs
typically draw only from a narrow geographical region, the Wharton EMBA
draws only 12% of its participants from outside the Northeast USA (New
York, Washington, Philadelphia) commuter region.
Consideration of the MBA ultimately revolves around
salary, with the elite B-schools promising starting salaries near $100,000/year.
Candidates are expected and even encouraged to change companies, sector,
and function upon graduation with the MBA. EMBA candidates, on the other
hand, remain with their companies and work during the full tenure of
the program - they do not change employers upon graduation, or only
upon payment of an acrimonious break-up fee. Employers have
dedicated anywhere between $50,000-$90,000 in financing for the EMBA
and view any moves away from the company as nothing short of treasonous.
For this reason, EMBA programs do not tout access to career placement
services or even average starting salaries after graduation.
Finally, some thought must be given to the prestige
of the degree. Russian candidates desiring more access to international
employers or seeking to break through a glass ceiling at
home desire a prestigious degree with plenty of market power. Unfortunately,
EMBAs have traditionally been viewed as only a part-time degree, as
a kind of MBA lite. Content for the EMBA ultimately is less
comprehensive than the full-time MBA and has been viewed as glorified
in- house corporate training. This perception has gradually been changing
as B-schools now view executive education in general, and EMBA programs
in particular, as more of a core business. Customized courses specifically
tailored for client companies now account for up to 40% of a B-schools
revenues in executive education, and the potential to offer a co-branded
EMBA with elite consulting firms has already been mentioned. In an extreme
scenario, two Russian managers might one day debate the merits of an
INSEAD MBA vis-a-vis an INSEAD-McKinsey EMBA.
Thus, there are obviously a number of issues to consider
when choosing between different options for business school education.
More experienced senior managers have the option of corporate-sponsored
EMBAs and short-term executive education, but the access to an Executive
MBA degree is limited at best for Russian applicants, once logistical
notions of travel and sponsorship capabilities of most Russian companies
are considered. In response to this problem on a global level, leading
institutions such as Columbia, London Business School, Duke, and Kellogg-
by fusing high technology with stellar program content- have been in
the forefront of making executive education available to all global
managers, be they in Texas, Taipei, or Tblisi.
Dominic Basulto is a 1998 graduate of Yale School
of Management and currently works as a consultant for Pericles ABLE.
He represents Pericles in America and does MBA Advising through the
internet. For more in formation please write to info@pericles.ru
or call us at 292-6463/5188 www.wetfeet.com.