By
Professor Ray Wild
Principal, Henley Management College, UK

THE MBA WORLD - A VIEW FROM THE UK

Finally, the MBA has conquered the world. Like cola drink, you can find an MBA programme almost anywhere. From Argentina to Zimbabwe and from Ankara to Zeist there are programmes for those who seek the worlds most recognised and envied academic qualification. Whatever the language or culture, an MBA means something wherever you are.

This Web site gives details of more than 1600 MBA programmes in over 100 countries. In fact there are probably more than 200 now available, world-wide. But unlike cola, this product differs considerably from place to place. This is a very variable commodity - not remotely the same wherever you find it.

Taking these 1600 programmes as a typical sample, by patient searching of the site we see that about 55% of them are in the USA, 20% in the UK, 13% in Europe (excluding the UK) and the remainder in the rest of the world. The typical US Business School appears to offer one or two programmes, whereas the average in the UK is nearly 3 and over 2 everywhere else. A major full time programme in the USA generally lasts a minimum of 21 months compared to 9-14 months everywhere else. Part time programmes in the US are usually evening programmes. This is relatively rare in the UK. UK schools provide programmes focussing on general management and up to 25 other subjects. In the US virtually all are general management MBAs. Distance Learning is relatively big in the UK, Australia and Asia (over 50% of all courses) but less than 2% of courses in the US are offered in this way. But flexibility is far greater in America for other reasons. In the USA, even full time programmes provide all lectures in the evenings - in common with their part time programmes, so the distinction between the two is blurred. There, programmes often start in Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. In the USA, perhaps surprisingly, most programmes require applicants to have little or no business experience - quite unlike the norm elsewhere. Perhaps for that reason so called Executive MBA programmes are offered for more experienced managers, usually involving evening or weekend work over 2 years.

The diversity and range of provision is far greater in Europe, especially the UK, than anywhere else in the world. Innovation seems to have been higher here. You will need more to get into a European and UK MBA - especially more relevant experience but you are less likely to need the GMAT test. You can, on average, get your MBA quicker in the UK, your class size will probably be smaller but the cost proportionally higher than in the USA.

The greatest choice is available in Hong Kong and Singapore. There are over 40 programmes available, from 22 providers from 7 countries, for a population of 5.5 million in Hong Kong. In Singapore there are 30 programmes for a population of 2.6 million. Outside these two, the USA and the UK, the greatest provision is in Australia where there are 32 establishments offering over 60 programmes.

The greatest proportion of the population currently following an MBA may well be in Malta where my information suggests that approximately 250 people out of a population of 340,000 are presently studying on 4 courses. Translating this to the UK it would be equivalent to 350,000 people currently on MBA programmes, whereas in fact there are probably less than 20,000 at the present time.

The MBA is ubiquitous, but unlike cola or beer or cigarettes it is a problematic commodity. It can differ in perhaps a dozen major ways so it is not easy to make comparison or a confident purchase. Some would argue that the reason is the lack of regulation - there is yet no global accreditation body. More important however is that there are no worldwide brands. Unlike Coke, Carlsberg or Marlboro, MBA brands have not travelled. The strongest brand, probably still Harvard, is really only available in the USA and even the Business Schools like Henley - with extensive international operations - only exist in at most 30 countries.

So buying an MBA can be a difficult task, as there are no recognisable symbols or easy benchmarks. It is still a case of 'caveat emptor'. Two things might therefore occur to the intending MBA student. Both provide a test of their will and their management potential. Firstly, even before beginning their development for senior management they have to make a complex and risky investment decision. Secondly, they might take the opportunity to begin their first case study and answer their first exam question, ie 'Given the rapid spread of international, branded, quality, products and services in other areas, how will the MBA - education's first global product - develop in future'.