Mba Courses: Learning From Diversity and Similarity

Abstract

The School of Management at the University of Bath has offered and concurrently run four different MBA (Master of Business Administration) degrees. They differ in length, content, and in the audiences for which they cater. Course delivery varies in style of presentation and geographical location, that is, the extent to which the course is university campus-based. This article looks briefly at the design and delivery of the four courses, and asks what can be learned from the experience of tailoring MBA education to four different groups of people. In the article we shall look at the four MBA courses from the perspective of five authors, all of whom have taught on two or more of the courses, and who in most cases have been involved in the design of more than one of them. These four courses have been designed and delivered by staff from the same group of academics, and approved by the same Board of Studies. We believe that they offer an equivalent level of educational attainment. However, we also see ourselves as bespoke tailors, providing courses specifically to fit the needs of the prospective students on those courses, rather than as mass producers of off-the-peg degrees.The article is divided into three main sections. In the first we consider the main characteristics of each of the MBA courses. In the second we reflect on and evaluate the similarities and differences between the courses, and our experience of running them. Finally the conclusion draws out the main themes from our findings.The MBA Courses a. The Full Time MBA This is the longest-established programme. It had its origins in an MSc in Business Administration which began in the early 1970s. The course runs for

Stakeholder conceptions of quality in single company management education

“…According to Pollack (1992) enlightened organisations will not demand substantial changes in the curriculum since they recognise that they need to recruit and retain employees wanting a "tradeable" commodity rather than a companyspecific course. A similar point is made by Harris et al (1992) in discussing the design of an MBA programme for British Airways. They state that the company was keen not to further "institutionalise" staff.…”

“…Alvesson and Wilmott, 1996;French and Grey, 1996) and this goal is clearly shared by others involved in teaching single company management schemes (e.g. Boot and Evans, 1992;Harris et al, 1992). The interviewees perceived clear barriers in the path of student learning.…”

“…Houlden, 1992) the situation becomes more complex on single company schemes. There is potential for conflict between the organisation and the business school regarding which individuals are suitable to join the programme (Harris et al, 1992).…”

“…This can provide considerable benefits to both the client organisation and the student manager cutting out travel to the business school and with the timing of teaching sessions taking account of the peaks and troughs of organisational life. However, the downside to the convenience of company-based delivery is a concern that student managers lose out on the change of environment afforded by being "on-campus" with access to wider learning facilities and the opportunity to reflect on their practice away from the office (Harris et al, 1992). Also, they miss out on the cross-fertilisation of ideas which can occur when they engage in discussion with student managers from a wide variety of organisations on an "open" course (Macfarlane and Lomas, 1995).…”

Effects of Cost on the Quality of MBA Programmes in Ugandan Universities

“…There is a preponderant number of publications about the MBA programme. The writings focus most on the MBA in the contexts of Europe, Australia, the USA and Asia (Arbaugh, 2000;Blair, 1998;Brown, 2000;Fox, 2008;Kaiza, 2001;Kleiman and Kass, 2007;Mattis , 2008;Harris et al;Cohen and Miaoulis, 1978;Sinclair, 1997;Golen, 1989;Deconink and Steiner, 1999;Castleberry, 2007;Thursfield, 2008;Maxwell, 1986;Miller et al, 2007;Thompson, 2002;Bowman, 2007;Duncan, 1986;Elkin, 1991;Viljoen et al, 1990;Sims, et al, 1994;Dacko, 2001;Tonn and Milledge 2002;Simpson et al, 2005;Gabriel, 2005;Naude et al, 1997;Hay and Hodgkinson, 2008;Polvnick, 1979). Although these studies are very good in articulating the theories that underpin the MBA, they do not address Ugandan setting, hence leaving a gap that the current study seeks to fill.…”