Online MBA Forum

I've been examining some unusual MBAs - online programs that are aimed at either types of organizations different from the normal commercial activities, or for areas of management that are very specific. In general these MBAs give a fairly standard array of courses on the various management areas such as human resources, finance and information systems but they also include some other specific subjects.

One I have been examining is an MBA in Scientific Management. This looks at the management of science, and the specific issues of managing scientists - often highly intelligent, not responsive to the usual incentives, and can be quite chaotic in their use of systems. I wonder who is motivated to work with them?

For many online MBA programs, the end of the calendar year signals the end of the study year. Many MBAs ignore the traditional academic calendar, and run with the pulse of industry and commerce which they serve.

This means that new graduates are looking for their next career move during the last quarter of the year, ready to start the new job in a new year. There are some really great opportunities advertised at this time, and some graduates find their new job through the normal advertising channels. However, it is more likely that they will find new jobs through their network of contacts, either from their previous careers or through the new network contacts they have made during their study.

I was in a conversation last week with a University administrator, talking about programme fees in general, and the cost of MBAs in particular. The administrator was remarking that this year, for his institution, fees had to be raised at a greater level than inflation because the cost of putting on their programs had risen considerably. The cost of offering their MBA had been considerably raised because of a number of issues, mostly to do with the quality of personnel they had as contributors to their program. They as an institution had taken the decision that they could not compromise the quality of the program they offered.

We discussed the process that the average MBA student had to follow to make a decision as to whether they could afford to study an MBA. We concluded that the quality of the program was a major factor in the decision that students made, as this influenced the stature and reputation of the institution. Students were making an investment in their future, and although costs had to be kept as low as possible, this could not be at the expense of the quality of the program they were studying.