The MBA’s flexibility is its core strength
Since the first MBA was awarded by Harvard in 1908, the value and status of the degree has been regularly questioned.
The questions raised include: Is the qualification not inferior to other specialised master’s degrees? Is “management” a science that deserves to be in a university curriculum? Are the different functional areas such as human resources, finance, marketing and strategy not dealt with too superficially? Is the spirit that informs the MBA not too focused on self-enhancement to the detriment of understanding the social goals of business?
Despite these questions, the MBA is still going strong after 108 years, and South Africa is blessed with well-functioning public and private business schools.
What lies behind the resilience of this qualification?
Recently, arguing against specialised MBAs in an article in the Economist, the associate dean of the HEC Paris business school, Andrea Masini, said the purpose of an MBA is “to help those who have gained specialised knowledge in a certain field to move into a more general management position”.
As long as engineers, accountants and marketing specialists see the need for a general orientation to the key functional areas of business, the MBA will hold its own. That is the rationale behind the core business fundamentals included in the first part of the curriculum — they serve as a bridge between the student’s current competency and the wider business knowledge required for leadership positions.
Good schools are able to adjust their curricula to speak to changes in the business environment. Many schools take internationalisation seriously, with international staff, exchange students, campuses on different continents and a compulsory international study module in the curriculum.
The balance between local relevance and global insights is a fine one to strike, but students today carry the mindset of global citizenship and find good resonance with the MBA. Some schools collaborate and offer a “global MBA”, exposing participants to different business environments.
Another reason why the MBA remains attractive is the thorough quality assurance to which business schools subject themselves.
Ranking MBAs, as the Financial Times does, is more controversial. But at least students know that an MBA on the list is perceived by past graduates as a worthwhile financial investment, and some businesses readily employ graduates from ranked schools.
Another factor that has contrib- uted to the success of the MBA is adjustment in modes of delivery. Technology has made it possible for the University of Stellenbosch’s Business School to introduce a new, two-year “blended” modular MBA from next year. As Martin Butler, the head of our MBA programme, explains: “The blending happens between the actual physical attendance of students in a lecture hall and those logging in at the same time via a platform of their choice. It is still synchronous learning, which is to say that the students attend class. It is just their place of attendance that is completely flexible.”
The recent changes to the MBA in South Africa will strengthen the degree. Admission requirements are now higher, but the duration is shorter and a significant credit value is accorded to research.