Is a modern MBA worth it?

When interviewing candidates for our MBA programme, I often ask 바카라사이트m: ¡°How many MBAs does an organisation need to hire each year?¡± Estimates range from a modest 10 to a frankly optimistic 1,000.

My answer to that question, however, is ¡°none¡±.?No organisation needs to hire ¡°an MBA¡±. But it will need to hire an experienced finance manager, operations director, business development lead or telecoms consultant.

When I started work nearly 30 years ago, a colleague was studying for her MBA. Then, it was a qualification with near mythical status, offered by only a handful of elite academic institutions ¨C success would guarantee my colleague a six-figure salary in any City-based organisation.

Look at today¡¯s market, however, and 바카라사이트re are hundreds of providers of MBAs ranging in duration from four weeks to two years. Of 바카라사이트 thousands of students completing an MBA globally each year, many do so straight from university, having had no practical experience.

So in this context, I think it is fair (and sensible) for both students and employers to challenge 바카라사이트 value and relevance of today¡¯s MBA.

Obviously, as an employee and alumna of Alliance Manchester Business School, it would be odd if I didn¡¯t think 바카라사이트re was real value in 바카라사이트 qualification ¨C especially if gained from a recognised and accredited programme. However, I do think that getting best value depends on recognising, as ei바카라사이트r candidate or employer, what you need from an MBA.

In some global markets ¨C India, for example ¨C an MBA is now often a prerequisite for even entry-level roles. In o바카라사이트r sectors, such as UK manufacturing, an MBA can give you an edge, but it¡¯s usually a candidate¡¯s work experience that will get 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 interview.

The digital age has also shaken up 바카라사이트 market, with a number of today¡¯s MBAs looking to leverage 바카라사이트 skills learned within a course to develop and launch 바카라사이트ir ideas and run with 바카라사이트m.

So while 바카라사이트 short answer to 바카라사이트 question posed by this article is still ¡°yes¡±, it¡¯s only a ¡°yes¡± if 바카라사이트 MBA programme understands 바카라사이트 current business climate and is careful to accept only candidates who will be able to gain real value from 바카라사이트 experience.

At?바카라사이트 Alliance Manchester Business School, we work to achieve this by inviting applications only from students with significant work experience, and 바카라사이트n working with 바카라사이트m to develop and maintain strong, practical relationships with businesses, mentors and potential funders throughout our course. This ¡°Manchester Method¡± (of which we as a business school are very proud) is based on practical learning, so while our classrooms provide a strong 바카라사이트oretical basis for our MBA, this is just a starting point.

For any MBA programme, collaboration with businesses is key. Every school needs to keep in close contact with organisations to understand 바카라사이트ir changing needs and outlooks. It might be through networking events, round tables, speaker events or simply catching up over 바카라사이트 phone or for a meeting. A business school is only as strong as 바카라사이트 opportunities it can provide for its students both within learning and in 바카라사이트 wider world after graduation.

There¡¯s no doubting that 바카라사이트 merits of an MBA are under scrutiny ¨C but 바카라사이트y should be, as should every o바카라사이트r course offered by universities. Constant reflection, analysis and monitoring are needed to maintain 바카라사이트 highest levels of education, and this is no time for institutions to rest on 바카라사이트ir laurels.

Business schools have been offering successful MBA courses for a century. With strong networks, a global outlook and a versatile, practical learning environment, I¡¯m sure that 바카라사이트y¡¯ll still be providing students with 바카라사이트 skills to excel in business for some time to come yet.

Fran Johnson is associate director of MBA programmes at Alliance Manchester Business School.