Contents

MBA SUPPLEMENT 2016

04 08 30 0
Editor's Letter The Future of the
Finding the ideal MBA MBA
scenario for you An analysis of how
07 0 MBA programmes are Looking forward
From the CEO adapting to prepare The MBA is evolving to prepare
Some advice when leaders for a changing world
leaders for an ever-
choosing your MBA
0 changing world
0
08
33
Your Career
Leading Lights
How the MBA
will transform Two winners of
your professional AMBA's Student of
experience the Year Award share
12 0 their own insight on
Decision Factors how they are using
Leading admissions their qualification to
professionals share affect change 3
their advice on the 37 0
factors that will help Graduate Insight
you choose the right
MBA programme
How MBA graduates
Case studies
from the US, South
16 0 Africa and Bulgaria
MBA graduates from across the
world share their experiences
Admissions are shaking up the
What are the world's business world
leading Business 42 0
Schools looking for The MBA
from MBA applicants? unbundled
21 0 Generating a life-
Applications changing return on
Advice investment from
Some insider your MBA
information on
crafting the perfect
MBA application
26 0
Innovation

PLUS
How the changing
MBA landscape
Our insiders'
is moulting the
creative innovators Innovation guide to selling
yourself to
of tomorrow How the MBA is nurturing
Business Schools
global creativity
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Editorial
Editor
David Woods-Hale
d.woods@mbaworld.com
@davidpaulwoods

Art Editor
Sam Price

Deputy Art Editor

Jim Ladbury

Research and Media

Relations Executive
James Menzies
j.menzies@mbaworld.com

Finding the ideal MBA

Digital Content and
Community Manager
Jack Villanueva
j.villanueva@mbaworld.com

scenario for you Copy Editor

Sarah Wild

Corporate
Welcome to AMBA’s MBA requires investment leave you with her thoughts
Commercial Executive
inaugural report, designed for of time and money – not on why she decided to Emily Wall
people considering an MBA. least in navigating the maze complete an MBA: e.wall@mbaworld.com
No other qualification of information to find the 'The MBA gave me a
Client Relations
can prove to employers and right Business School and platform to rely on for the rest Executive (Events)
4 clients that you know how to programme. That's why of my life. If I wanted a job in Victor Hedenberg
v.hedenberg@mbaworld.com
run a strategic business. And AMBA is here to help. California or Bangladesh, I
a disproportionate number Over the following knew my qualification would Employer Relations Manager
of the world's business high- pages, renowned experts be recognised. It also suited Aarti Bhasin

fliers, thriving entrepreneurs
and effective consultants
have those three letters after
their name. But the MBA
is more than just a quality
mark. It shows that the bearer
has spent time exploring
the facets of business –
from finance and HR, to
sustainability and innovation.
MBAs share ideas with the
most diverse thinkers in the
world and build life-long
networks of thought leaders.
Most MBAs will say their
qualification has enabled
them to do things they could
never have imagined.
But it’s a challenge as well
as an opportunity and the
from businesses and world- me because I’m interested in Head of Events
class AMBA-accredited lots of things. Putting all this Leah Carter
business schools will guide together, I had the ideal MBA
Head of Marketing
you through the process of experience, so my advice Alison Price
application and answer a lot would be to go through
Marketing and
of questions you might have the MBA with the same
Communications Manager
and MBA graduates from all outlook, thinking about Lorna Green
over the world will share their your ideal experience.
Marketing Manager
experiences and offer advice. ‘This isn’t about anybody Cristina Mihaiescu
Last month, I had the else and it might be the most
pleasure of interviewing Dr indulgent thing you do for Membership and
Communications Director
Amy Jadesimi, Managing yourself. Embrace this and Adam Bolton
Director of Nigerian industrial figure out the ideal MBA
Finance and
free zone LADOL. Amy is scenario. Go for it 100%.’
Commercial Director
an MBA graduate who is Enjoy the magazine and Catherine Walker
not only leading economic don’t forget to drop me a line
Chief Executive
growth in West Africa, but if you have any questions, Andrew Main Wilson
also working with the UN on thoughts or feedback. Good
sustainability and trailblazing luck with the next steps. Executive Assistant
to the CEO
the way for female leaders. I’ll David Woods-Hale, Editor Amy Youngs
a.youngs@mbaworld.com

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The more advice you can get
before your MBA, the better
As a Business School alumnus himself, AMBA's CEO Andrew Main
Wilson offers his advice to those considering taking an MBA course
I
'm very pleased that you are, quite
rightly, considering taking an MBA,
because I know from my own
experience that it’s an excellent way
of enhancing career trajectory, personal
development and leadership skills.
In a fast-changing business
environment, speed and
entrepreneurship are skills corporate
leaders have to continually learn and
hone, and I’m no exception. I have run
businesses, both large and small, but
almost 20 years after I completed my
education at Harvard Business School,
I’m still learning new things every day. I
believe that the skills I learned
during my studies nurtured within me a
sense of curiosity, which has benefitted
me in ways I could never have imagined
back then.
AMBA is the world’s only truly MBA-
dedicated organisation. We accredit
238 of the world’s leading, and most
innovative, Business Schools and we
have a global membership 0f 20,000
MBA students and alumni.
These high-flying and high-potential
current and future leaders are based in
more than 150 countries and have
taken part in MBA programmes in 70
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countries across six continents.
I passionately believe that having an
MBA from a respected business school
makes a significant impact to career
progression, but those considering this
step would be well-advised to research
the MBA market and make sure they
have all the facts in front of them, before
making a decision about where, when
and how to study for an MBA.
'I passionately believe
an MBA from a respected
Business School makes
a significant impact
to career progression'
It’s a considerable investment in
both time and money, so the more
impartial advice you can get before
taking the leap, the better.
AMBA accredits just 2% of the world’s
MBA Business Schools and our standards
are high; our member research of 2,000
students and graduates in 2016, found
91% of our members classed their MBA
programmes as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ and
community.mbaworld.com
I know that all our accredited schools
are at the top of their game in terms of 7
programme content, innovation
and employability.
But as you read this supplement and
learn more about the dynamics of the
MBA – as well as some of our Schools –
think about the factors that are important
to you in making your decision: what are
your weakest business skills and which
Schools are most focused on these
aspects? Should you study full-time or
part-time? Do you want to study abroad
with global placements? What are your
values – and can you find Schools that
share your vision and purpose in life?
The answers to these questions will be
vital in helping you find the course that’s
right for you – but keep an open mind.
You can find out more about
all our accredited Schools at
www.mbaworld.com and you can join
our pre-MBA community for a wealth
of information and resources at
community.mbaworld.com.
Good luck! I look forward to hearing
from you and welcoming you into our
AMBA membership during your
MBA course and throughout your
subsequent career.

How an MBA
impacts on
your career
An MBA is a transformative experience, professionally
and personally, says AMBA employer relations manager
Aarti Bhasin.
S
tudying for an MBA is a
considerable undertaking that
requires a huge amount of
discipline, time and money
– and it can be challenging.
But if you are determined and dedicated,
8 completing an MBA can be life-changing.
The MBA offers high-level insight into
management strategy and analysis, focusing
on core areas such as marketing, operations
and finance and specialist topics including
sustainable business and innovation. But
an MBA can offer much more than that:
an MBA is a transformative experience,
professionally
and personally.
SO WHAT, IN PARTICULAR, CAN MBA
GRADUATES EXPECT TO ACHIEVE?
CAREER PROSPECTS
Completing an MBA is a great way to stand
out as a candidate for advancement within
your company. AMBA’s 2016 Careers and
Salary Survey of 3,355 MBA graduates,
found pre MBA 15% of respondents
held senior management positions, but
a quarter (25%) of respondents were at a
senior management level within one year
of completing their MBA. In 2016, 58% of
the MBA graduates surveyed for this study
are in senior management, board level or
CEO roles, following the completing their
MBA. Research conducted by AMBA’s
strategic partner, GMAC, found that 84% of
employers planned to recruit MBAs in
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2015 compared to 74% in 2014. In fact, the
MBA was the most sought after post-
graduate qualification in the opinion of the
employers surveyed.
FLEXIBILITY
If you want to stay with your current
company or cannot afford to give up a salary
for year, then an MBA is still a great option
for you. Part-time MBAs allow participants
to continue working in a job role they like,
and may have worked hard to obtain, while
developing their skills and knowledge.
Your employer may even offer to fund
your MBA as these programmes teach
valuable skills. If you show promise, it could
be in your company’s best interests to train
you in this way. You may have to commit
to your organisation long term for them to
invest in your future, so if you are content in
your work environment, ask your employer
whether this is an option.
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Studying for an MBA will give you
the chance to enhance your skills and
knowledge about your industry, and can
offer additional benefits that will span the
duration of your career. During the course,
you will develop leadership proficiency and
study in-depth management strategy and
analysis. These are vital skills that can be
used in all areas of business and are very
impressive to prospective employers.
The programme will give you the
opportunity to work on a series of team
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projects. Through these, you will develop

skills in people management, teamwork
and negotiation. You may also be required
to complete modules that require public
speaking; all good leaders develop their
communication skills to ensure they are
perceived as confident, knowledgeable
and calm.
You will have the opportunity to learn
about all aspects of business; not just the
areas in which you work. You will develop an
understanding other people’s roles, which is
paramount when leading in business.
You might consider starting your own
business. The leadership and negotiation
skills you develop during your MBA, as well
as your contacts and knowledge, will put
you in a great position to take this leap. 

SALARY INCREASE
If you’re looking for a high-earning role, an
MBA could be the route for you. AMBA’s
2014 career and salary survey found the
global average salary of a graduate from

‘COMPLETING AN MBA IS A SOLID INVESTMENT

an AMBA-accredited business school
was £96,661.

NETWORKING
During your MBA course you will meet and
10 build relationships with some of the best
business minds in the world. Your tutors
and lecturers will share their knowledge
and experience with you, and there will
be regular talks and guest lectures from
industry
thought leaders.
The people you study alongside study
make excellent networking contacts. During
your course, they can help as a sounding
board as they will be experiencing the same
things as you. Afterwards, they will be likely
to be successful in their field, so will be
useful contacts throughout your career.  Community or at our social events across
Studying for an AMBA-accredited MBA
gives you an exceptional platform for
networking at the highest level. You will be
part of a diverse and experienced group of
professionals, studying alongside people
‘YOU WILL DEVELOP
FOR A HARDWORKING, AMBITIOUS AND
MOTIVATED PERSON WHO BELIEVES THAT THEY
ARE SUITED TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT’
who have been carefully selected, while
benefiting from top-quality connections
with alumni from some of the world's best
Business Schools. Some of your fellow
students are likely to become life-long
friends
AMBA has a membership network
of more than 18,500 MBA students and
graduates in some 100 countries across the
world, who regularly connect via our online
the globe, to innovate and collaborate.
AFTER YOUR MBA
Completing an MBA is a solid investment
for a hardworking, ambitious and motivated
person who believes that they are suited
to senior management. Studying for an
MBA can help you advance up the career
your career, an MBA could be the best
career direction for you.  
AMBA is here to support you throughout
your entire MBA journey, from researching
courses to offering support during and after
your studies, through knowledge sharing,
networking and learning events.
As an AMBA member, you will have
access to our Career Development
Centre, where you will find e-learning
tools and guidance to help you with your
employability and candidacy for your next
step. The Career Development Centre also
has an MBA Jobs portal, updated daily with
relevant jobs to help you make the most of
your qualification.
You can sign up to receive regular
newsletters and updates on our activities,
including international learning events.

LEADERSHIP ladder, create new networks of contacts and

open doors you may not have previously
Our entire global network of MBA students
and alumni will be within reach, helping
PROFICIENCY AND considered. you forge new connections and business

STUDY IN-DEPTH
Although it’s a considerable commitment,
if you know you’re the type of person who
MANAGEMENT can handle the challenge of holding a
STRATEGY ANALYSIS’
leadership position, and are prepared to
learn and develop new skills throughout
partnerships. Get the best out of this
by becoming involved with our varied
programmes and helping to run events.
Visit us at www.mbaworld.com for
more information

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The key factors

to consider
when choosing
an MBA
Choosing the right MBA
Programme at the right Business
School is a daunting challenge for
any would-be MBA candidate.
As well as course material,
12 performance and employability,
location, culture and ethos should
be researched before you apply.
Leah Carter, Head of Events at
AMBA, spoke to three leading
Business School admissions
professionals to find out what
MBA applicants should consider
before applying to any course.

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Q: What factors
should you consider
before applying
LUIS JOVER, ASSOCIATE
DIRECTOR, MBA ADMISSIONS,
IESE BUSINESS SCHOOL
The key thing to ask is: ‘why do you want
to do it?’ There are many things you can
get out of an MBA but what is it you’re
looking for?
Is it gaining an holistic perspective on the
business world? Is it acquiring new skills and
knowledge? Do you want to expand your
business network? Do you want to explore
new career opportunities? Or is just that
you would like to earn more money? You need
to reflect on your true motivation because this
is what the admission people want to know
from you. They will want authenticity in your
reasoning, so it’s important to be sincere.
Another important factor is whether or
not it’s the right time. The MBA is a great
investment if you do it at the right time, in
the right place. It is not good to do it if you
don’t have enough experience. If you’d like to
have a say in your own industry, it might make
‘Full-time MBA
people want to
change career,
but exec MBAs
want to progress
internally’
community.mbaworld.com
sense for you to wait a little bit longer, but if
you’d like a career move, it might be better to
do it sooner rather than later.
You’ll have to talk to a lot of people to
ascertain whether or not it will address your
career goals. I tell candidates that if you live
in a tiny village and apply to study in the
same place, your aspirations are unrealistic.
Honestly and transparency will be key.
Think about fees and culture. Culture and
community vary between Business Schools.
There are open days and events through
which you experience organisations and find
out whether they’re the right school for you.
I’d also look at rankings per sector, as this is
a good indicator of how companies value a
particular MBA. Some schools are particularly
strong in marketing or entrepreneurship, for
example, so be really clear about what you
want from your MBA.
Location is vital, because you’ll have to
spend a lot of time in that place and build
a network there, and international scope is
important as well because you’ll learn as
much from your peers as from faculty.
MICHAEL WORT, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, 13
MARKETING & RECRUITMENT, INSEAD
It’s really important to consider what your
objectives are when you come to do an MBA
programme. For some people in their current
role, it’s that they’ve hit a ceiling and they want
to make more of their potential and take their
development along a new trajectory. Others
want to change the environment in which
they’re working, be it function, geography
or industry. Because of the nature of the
programme, you’ll get a lot of perspectives
and this will help you with both these issues.
The network is important as it can help you
both professionally and on a personal level.
People make life-long friends on
MBA programmes, so you’ll meet interesting
people and be exposed to new ideas. In
terms of an example, I liken it to a radar:
be aware of yourself and your strengths
and weaknesses. You might be an expert
in one particular area, but the MBA will
give you exposure to new experiences and
information.
The length of the programme will be
something you might want to consider; also

‘Business Schools have different
personalities depending on the
students they want to attract and
where they’re based’
14 return on investment – given the investment
you’ll make in terms of time and money. Most
schools publish graduate career statistics,
giving breakdowns of students, so you can see
the people with whom you’ll be studying in
class. You’ll see where they’re coming from and
where they’re going – this is also useful.
STEPHANIE THRANE, SENIOR ADMISSIONS
MANAGER FOR THE MBA, LONDON
BUSINESS SCHOOL
There are two things to consider. Every
Business School will ask you about your
motivation – why you want to do an MBA – so
it’s worth considering this in advance. For most
people, this is about career advancement or
career transitioning. It’s important to go into
your research knowing why you want to do an
MBA and the motivation behind it.
The other thing to consider is commitment.
This is a huge investment in your career and
in your life. It’s not just something to add to
your CV. It’s a lot more than that, it’s a big
commitment over one or two years, with a
rigorous academic programme behind it. It’s
a brand new network with lots of recruitment
activities on top of the academic work.
The main thing to think about when
choosing a Business School will be about fit.
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Business Schools have different personalities
depending on the students they want to
attract and where they’re based. When you’re
researching Business Schools, it’s a good
idea to visit them as this will give you a good
idea of campus environment; maybe sit in a
lecture to get an idea of the dynamics of the
students and faculty on the programme. Also
speak to alumni if you can, to get an idea of
how the MBA has helped them in their career
and speak to students to find out about their
current experiences of the programme. Decide
whether these are the sort of people with
whom you’d like to spend one or two years of
your life. Finally, consider the alumni network,
as these are people you’ll be in touch with for
the remainder of your career.
Q: What is the difference
between an MBA and an
executive MBA?
STEPHANIE THRANE It’s important to
remember that an executive MBA is not a ‘part-
time MBA’ it’s an ‘executive’ MBA for people
with a lot more experience than those on the
full-time MBA. Exec MBAs stay within their
companies (either sponsored or not) but are
going back to these in a more senior position.
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In exec MBAs, the curriculum is tailored
more towards strategy and professional
development. There is not a recruitment arena
because most of our students will return to
their own companies.
MICHAEL WORT I think that people
considering an exec MBA have often already
‘proved themselves’ especially if they’re
working at a senior level. Many are moving to
more general positions, so want to focus on
their leadership and soft skills to be an effective
general manager.
LUIS JOVER Full-time MBA people want
to change career, but exec MBAs want to
progress internally, so they have a plan to work
and study at the same time and they don’t
intend to quit their jobs when they complete
the MBA.
Q:How does an MBA
compare with a Specialist
Masters programme?
LUIS JOVER Again, I think it’s important to
think about what you want to attain. If you’re
in finance and you want to stay in finance, a
Masters in Finance is enough, but if you want
to acquire a broader view of the business
world, then an MBA is more suitable.
STEPHANIE THRANE With a Masters in
Finance, someone who is not from a finance
background, but wants to go into finance,
might not be the right fit for this, because it’s
so specialised and will have lots of students
from finance. On an MBA, those who are not
in finance will receive a generalist overview of
business and this will enable them to embark
on a career in finance.
Q: How will schools
help students with the
‘Full-time MBA
people want to
change career,
but exec MBAs
want to progress
internally’

recruitment process
and finding jobs and
how are connections made
with employers?
STEPHANIE THRANE Recruitment is a
machine that happens from day one, and
finance careers recruitment kicks off at the
beginning of the academic year. Lots of
companies will visit the campus, have coffee,
interview people, present and offer internships.
Recruitment for consulting comes next, then,
throughout the first year, we have fast-moving
consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare and tech.
It’s something we manage within the school
with a careers department.
Some jobs come on the back of internships,
but otherwise the machine kicks off in
the second year, for full-time hires. More
and more jobs are sourced through our alumni
community.
MICHAEL WORT Pre-programme, you should
be thinking about your reasons for taking
an MBA, reflecting on your strengths and
weaknesses; you have some kind of idea of the
direction in which you wish to go. Have a plan
A, plan B and plan C. Do some research and
‘Lots of MBA students are exposed
to many new things after just
two weeks and this reshapes
their thinking
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be clear that your objectives are realistic.
Lots of MBA students are exposed to many
new things after just two weeks, and this
reshapes their thinking. You’ll quickly know
what you’re good at and what you enjoy and
this will frame your career goals; then you’ll
look at the market and understand the key
players. It’s no longer about just uploading your
CV onto a website.
It’s definitely advantageous to be located
within interview distance. Many recruiters will
visit campuses globally, but it can be good to
build a network in the area in which you want
to work.
LUIS JOVER All schools have professional
careers services, but it’s up to you to
take ownership of your career. Your
ultimate responsibility is to land the right
opportunity; reflect on what you’re good at and
exploit that.
Q: How would you advise
someone who wants to
change careers but is
worried about the cost
of a full-time MBA?
community.mbaworld.com
LUIS JOVER If you want to change careers,
make a decision and think long term. There is
no other programme that will enable you to
change careers, so I think it’s worth investing
in a full-time MBA if this is the case. Main
message: look long term.
STEPHANIE THRANE
Look at rankings and alumni research to find
out how salaries compare five years after MBA
completion; for most people, it works out
very well.
Q: Are there differences
between MBAs in the
US and Europe?
STEPHANIE THRANE All European
programmes offer a truly global experience
with an international cohort. We attract local
talent. US programmes are amazing and have
great reputations but have a very domestic
approach and I would claim that the class
profile there is mainly American. That’s right for
a lot of people, but it’s not what we offer.
MICHAEL WORT I agree. Diversity of students
leads to diversity of ideas. The cultural
15
backgrounds build a map of the world and
you’ll learn how you fit into that. People who
are different learn how to work together and
challenge each other on assumptions and
this can be interesting when discussing ideas
such as protectionism. People of different
backgrounds can provide a rich source of
learning and debate.
Regarding teaching methodology, some
US schools tend to accept people onto
MBA programmes quite soon after doing an
undergraduate degree, whereas in Europe
there is more work experience. US schools
are keen on the case method for teaching,
but in European schools there is a mixture of
approaches – discussion, group work, varied
and interactive.
There is a need to be adaptable and
change direction and try new things. The
diversity allows you to fit in with cultures and
travel post MBA.
LUIS JOVER The MBA is an American
product, so there is no doubt about the
quality of teaching there, but when it comes
to diversity, we have people from 50 different
countries and they have people from 50
different states. The richness of discussion and
its beauty would be missed without
this diversity.
 AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

How Business Schools

choose their candidates
16

Broadly speaking, Business Schools use

Give yourself the best chance of winning a place on an
this information to rate candidates in four
MBA course by understanding Schools’ selection criteria general categories: intellectual ability;
and how and when to apply. Author and consultant managerial and leadership potential;
Richard Montauk provides some practical tips on improving personal attributes (such as integrity,

B
determination, and creativity); and career
your admissions profile. awareness and planning.

usiness Schools look for WHAT THEY EXAMINE BALANCING STRENGTHS

candidates who will go on to run
successful small business and
become non-profit executives,
civic leaders, change agents,
and entrepreneurs. They cannot discover
all they need to know about candidates
from their grades or test scores – these
are simply insufficient for determining
leadership qualities, team working skills,
creativity, and other critical abilities – so they
ask candidates to submit a great deal of
additional information and material to help
them make their decisions.
Schools start by examining
your basic credentials,
including your undergraduate
performance; your GMAT
or GRE score; your work experience to
date; and your community contributions
and other activities outside of work. On
top of that, they evaluate your essays,
the recommendations submitted on your
behalf and the results of your interviews,
to determine whether you are likely to be
successful in a Business School environment
and in your post-MBA career.
AND WEAKNESSES
The question inevitably arises: how do
admissions officers determine who gets in,
given that some applicants have outstanding
job records, but unimpressive grades and
GMAT scores, whereas others have the
reverse set of strengths and weaknesses?
There is no set answer, but bear in mind
the following:
The top Business Schools don’t need to
make substantial trade-offs. INSEAD, London
Business School, Harvard, and Wharton, for
example, have many

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applicants with sterling undergraduate
records, high GMAT scores and impressive
work experience, which eliminates the
need to accept applicants with any
substantial weaknesses.
Schools value specific criteria differently,
depending on the applicant. For example,
if you have worked for less than three years,
your undergraduate record, extra-curricular
activities and GMAT score will count very
heavily because your work experience is
too slight to provide definitive information.
By contrast, if you have ten years’ of work
experience, you can expect less weight to
be placed on academic measures.
Each programme is looking to shape an
‘A LACK OF CAREER DATA FOR APPLICANTS
FORCES ADMISSIONS OFFICES TO GIVE
EXTRA WEIGHT TO THE DATA THEY DO HAVE’
interesting and diverse class. This means
that you may be valued particularly positively
(or negatively), depending upon how you
compare with others in terms of nationality,
religion, race, ethnicity, family background,
gender, career, and functional background.
This desire for diversity is based, in part, on
the need to have a sprinkling of experts – for
example, in accounting, technology, and so
on – able to teach fellow classmates their
specialty beyond what is taught in class.
EXPERIENCE COUNTS
MBA programmes value
work experience in their
students. Students with work
experience can contribute
real-world experience to class and case-
team discussions. They know enough about
how organisations function; the role of
technology in their industry; what is required
to succeed in a given job; the prerequisites
for progressing within their industry, and so
on, to provide a major career resource for
their classmates.
Similarly, students with work experience
will have learned a great deal about their
own strengths and weaknesses, values and
interests. They are likely to know what sort of
career path makes sense for them.
As a result, they know what classes to
choose, projects to undertake, and
student groups to join. In other words,
they are ready to get the most out of their
MBA programmes.
By contrast, students without practical
work experience tend to have a number
of substantial weaknesses, from the
perspective of a serious MBA
programme. They:
• cannot teach other students about their
own jobs/organisations/industries
• are not effective participants in class,
especially in case-orientated courses, where
real-world experience is particularly valued
• are generally regarded as adding time
inefficiency to student-learning teams and
are therefore often avoided by those with
practical experience
• lack sufficient self-knowledge and career
perspective to know which elective courses
to select and student organisations to join
• may not fit the profile traditional
community.mbaworld.com
recruiters seek from MBA graduates,
making it hard for them to find a suitable
job on graduation.
THE NEW REALITY
Does this mean that young
applicants cannot hope to
be accepted on to an MBA
course? Hardly. Many MBA
programmes, including some of the very top
ones, have a track record of taking at least a
handful of applicants directly from university.
These have traditionally been students with
substantial experience in a family business
or within large student organisations with
some of the characteristics of a business or
non-profit enterprise.
Business Schools have changed their
admissions policies dramatically in recent
years and now admit substantial numbers of
applicants who have limited experience.
This change is the result of two
related factors:
1. The growth of the tech sector and
its interest in hiring knowledgeable
candidates still in their (early) twenties.
2. Many talented people, of the sort
who formerly manoeuvred to work for
traditional MBA employers (investment 17
banks, consulting firms and so on) now
seek careers offering personal fulfillment,
not just money. Thus, they want to work
in non-profit organisations, socially-
orientated enterprises and start-ups.
MBA programmes have responded
by admitting substantially more young
applicants (especially those who are
tech-oriented) and those who aim to work
in non-profits.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME
TO DO AN MBA?
Timing your MBA
programme can be a tricky
business. As highlighted
above, there is a good argument for waiting
until you have substantial work experience
before doing an MBA, particularly for
candidates able to make good use of their
time, post-Bachelor’s degree. For those
who gain useful work experience and
develop their skills (including ‘soft’ skills
such as handling office politics, satisfying a
demanding boss and working within teams),
identify their personal needs, improve
their understanding of the job market and
develop a professional network, it is time
well spent.

‘EACH PROGRAMME IS LOOKING TO SHAPE
AN INTERESTING AND DIVERSE CLASS’
So who should consider heading to
Business School shortly after earning
their Bachelor’s degree? It might
make sense if:
1. You are having trouble gaining early
career traction and risk being relegated
to mindless jobs that do not equip you
with new skills
2. You know, with reasonable certainty, what
you want to gain from an MBA
3. You have had sufficient work experience
– or internships/other organisational
experience – before or during your
degree to profit from an MBA (and to
be taken seriously by your classmates)
4. Your skill-set (probably high tech) makes
you a valuable contributor on
the programme
5. You have a sufficient combination of
experience, skills and self-awareness
to make you attractive to employers
post-MBA, or able to start your
own business.
AMBA criteria stipulates that Business
18 Schools must require three years' of
management experience from MBA
applicants. Although you may be an
exception to this suggested rule,
you will probably be glad if your MBA
class is loaded with people who do
have substantial experience. They’ll be
founts of learning providing you with
advice and contacts.
ENHANCING YOUR
CHANCES OF ADMISSION
A lack of career data for
applicants forces admissions
offices to give extra weight
to the data they do have: undergraduate
performance, GMAT score and so on. So
do what you can to improve these basic
elements of your profile.
Note, however, that you can do more
than that to enhance your chances of
admission. Although Business Schools
are increasingly willing to admit young
applicants, they still want to avoid the
negative points associated with youth:
immaturity, an inability to work with older
people, lack of self-knowledge and career
focus. Combat this by acquiring useful
experience and demonstrating qualities
valued by MBA programmes.
AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
MARKETING YOURSELF
Consult the companion
article on page 25 of this
supplement, which offers tips
In addition to (or as a substitute for) on selling yourself to MBA
working in a ‘proper’ job, you could admissions staff. Keep in mind that, as a
join a student organisation (such as the young applicant, you face issues specific to
student union), work part-time for a local your circumstances that you should address
business or volunteer for a non-profit throughout your application.
or civic organisation.
FURTHER READING
Whatever activities you choose, keep For more in-depth advice,
in mind that the following will help consult my book How to
you to maximise the value of your Get Into the Top MBA
outside activities: Programs (Prentice Hall),
• depth of involvement: the longer you or email me at rmontauk@aol.com for
have been seriously committed to an individual consulting.
activity, the better
• leadership: show that you have taken Richard Montauk is the author of
an active leadership role (and have How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs,
motivated others around you to contribute currently in its sixth edition. The book,
their best efforts) a bestseller in multiple countries, is
• avoid reinforcing doubts: if your profile generally regarded as the most analytical
features little team involvement, for and comprehensive guide to the
example, be wary of highlighting activities business school application process.
that are solo pursuits It is based in part on his 25+ years of
• recruit referees: recommendations from consulting to applicants and, in part, on
those who have seen you perform outside his in-depth interviews with the admissions
of classrooms are particularly valued by and career service deans at the world’s
MBA programmes. top Business Schools.
INFORMATION SOURCES
Criteria Primary sources Secondary sources
Intellectual ability Undergraduate record Work experience
GMAT or GRE score Additional coursework (post-BA)
Essays
Interviews
Managerial/leadership Work experience Extra-curricular and community
activities
Essays
Recommendations
Personal attributes Essays Extra-curricular and community
Interviews activities
Interviews
Recommendations
Career plan* Essays Work experience
Interviews Recommendations
*For young applicants, self- and market-awareness can largely substitute for a career plan
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21

The art of marketing

yourself to Business Schools
Develop your personal story to showcase your talents and experience
and present yourself to admissions staff in the most favourable light,
advises author and consultant Richard Montauk.

community.mbaworld.com
 T
ry to begin the
application process
a year before you
would like to start at
Business School.
In most countries,
applying to university
is a simple matter
that requires a day
or two of thought and effort. How well or
poorly you write your application has little
impact upon your admission results. MBA
applications are fundamentally different.
They require substantial effort, and your
skill at marketing yourself will be a major
determinant of your admission success.
SELLING YOURSELF
Because MBA applications require you
to submit a slew of material – essays,
recommendations, references, CV,
standardised test results (GMAT or
GRE), lengthy descriptions of your work
experience, and so on – and probably
an interview as well, you have lots of
opportunity to impress.
You can do this in several ways: ‘position’
yourself, taking full advantage of who you
are, what you’ve achieved, and where
22 you are heading. Take advantage of the
opportunity to present your objective data
– credentials and experience – in
their most favourable light. Consider
how to show off your strengths and
minimise your weaknesses. And best
of all, tell your story: the character arc
that describes how you have reached
where you are currently, including what
you’ve learned about yourself and the
world, and how you are planning to
take advantage of this, once you’ve
acquired your MBA. To ensure that all
the components of your MBA application
reflect your skills, aptitudes, and story,
follow the tips below.
BASIC ONLINE FORMS
Pay attention to how you present yourself
in the basic online forms (where you
describe your career and educational
history and respond to short-answer
questions). Take care that what you
say here is consistent with how you are
presented in the essays, interviews,
and recommendations. Don’t overlook
the opportunity to advance your case
by showing, for example, the steady
increase in your responsibilities and
accomplishments.
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ESSAYS
If you rely on your ‘numbers’ (GMAT score,
undergraduate record, salary) to achieve
admittance to Business School, you will be
missing the opportunity to improve your
chances dramatically. In fact, the better
the School, the more likely it is that the
objective data in your application will not
determine your fate, and that your essays
will weigh heavily in the decision.
Admissions officers will
judge you on the basis of
what your essays reveal about
your writing ability (including your
ability to persuade, structure, and
maintain a well-reasoned argument,
and communicate in an interesting
and professional manner); honesty
and maturity; understanding of what
the programme offers and requires
and how well you would contribute
to it; and clear (believable) ideas
about where you are heading.
They want to learn what you have
'It’s often worth scheduling formal
meetings with your referees’
Popular essay
questions
What are your goals for the
future and how can an MBA help
you reach them?
Why have you chosen
this programme?
What are your most substantial
accomplishments?
What are your strengths and
weaknesses?
What have you done to help an
organisation change?
Describe a creative solution
you have devised to address
a problem.
Describe a risk you’ve taken
and its outcome.
What have you done that
demonstrates your
leadership potential?
Describe meaningful cross-
cultural experiences you’ve had.
What do you do in your
spare time?
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accomplished, who you are as a person,
and how well you can communicate.
Thus, essays offer the chance to show
Schools who you are. Take advantage
of this opportunity. Referees can show only
a part of who you are, since most of them
are employers and have only seen you in
one context. Similarly, interviews are not
under your control to the same extent
as your essays, which can be re-examined
to make sure the ‘best you’ is presented.
Your essays should present a clear
picture of you, but they do not need to
tell all. Sketching in the main points with
appropriate stories will show who you
are. In fact, whenever possible, try to
tell a story rather than write an essay.
The task will seem lighter. This is
your chance to choose which parts of
yourself to highlight and to determine
how people should view them. This is
a precious opportunity: take advantage
of the chance to colour your readers’
interpretations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Schools generally ask for references from
two referees. It is usually best to obtain
both recommendations from employers
or colleagues, who can address most of
the key issues, rather than from former
professors, who can seldom add much
to the picture that emerges from your
university transcript.
THERE ARE THREE CARDINAL RULES
THAT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED
WHEN CHOOSING YOUR REFEREES:
RULE 1: choose people who know you
well. Don’t select people who are famous
or influential if they are unable to discuss
your candidacy and performance in detail.
Instead, choose people who can make the
recommendation credible by illustrating
their points with anecdotes that show you
at your best.
RULE 2: choose people who genuinely
like you – they will take the time to
write a polished, carefully considered
recommendation.
RULE 3: choose people who can address
more than one of the key subjects: your

Interview
tips
Establish your objectives; for
example, making a good impression,
conveying your strengths and
explaining what you could potentially
bring to a programme.
Prepare for the most likely
questions. Be ready to explain why
you want an MBA and why now; why
you want to attend the School and
what you can contribute.
Know the programme and
the School, and be ready to ask
questions. The School wants to see
that you are curious and enthusiastic
about its programme.
Practise. Undertake mock
interviews with friends who are
applying to similar programmes.
Consider interviewing first with the
Schools that matter least to you,
in order to gain experience and
confidence. In interviews, listen for
clues as to what the interviewer
values. Picking up on these values will
help you to establish a rapport.
intellectual ability, your managerial and
leadership potential, your personal
attributes, and your career plan. It’s often
worth scheduling formal meetings with
your referees, and providing them with
written information about your goals and
reminders of your accomplishments. At a
minimum, explain why you are seeking an
MBA, why you have chosen the Schools
you have, and your application strategy.
You might also give them an outline of
what you want discussed, including the
examples that you think best demonstrate
your capabilities and performance.
INTERVIEWS
Interviews offer Schools an ideal
opportunity to learn much more about
you. Some things are not readily apparent
without a face-to-face meeting, such as
your charm, persuasiveness, presence, and
business manner. The greater emphasis
upon soft skills in MBA programmes
means that personality and social skills
are considered more important than they
were in the past. Interviews also provide an
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opportunity to probe any areas that were
insufficiently explained in the application.
APPLICATION TIMING
Most applicants underestimate the amount
of time a successful MBA application
requires. The reality is that many of the
necessary steps are very time consuming.
For example, contacting referees, briefing
them, and allowing them time to write
a recommendation will take weeks (or
months) rather than days. Timing is
particularly important when you apply to
several Schools rather than just one.
Try to begin the application process
a year before you would like to start
at Business School. Therefore, if you
anticipate beginning in September,
you would be wise to start getting your
material together in June of the preceding
year. Business Schools generally require
applications to be submitted from three
to eight months before the start of the
programme. Apply as early in each School’s
application cycle as you can, unless
you expect your credentials to improve
dramatically later in the application period.
CONCLUSION
Succeeding in the MBA application
process requires strategic thinking, sound
planning, organisational skills, persuasive
ability and lots of hard work; in other
words, it is good training for the MBA itself.
FURTHER READING
Consult the companion article on
page 18 or, for more in-depth advice,
consult my book How to Get Into
the Top MBA Programs (Prentice Hall),
or email me at rmontauk@aol.com for
individual consulting.
Richard Montauk is the author
of How to Get Into the Top MBA
Programs, currently in its sixth
edition. The book, a best-
seller in multiple countries,
is generally regarded as
the most analytical and
comprehensive
guide to the Business
School application process.
It is based in part on his
25+ years of consulting to
applicants and, in part, on his
in-depth interviews with the
admissions and career service
deans at the world’s top
Business Schools.
community.mbaworld.com
Which essays
should you
start with?
If you undertake multiple
applications to Business
Schools, an important issue is
which essay, or set of essays,
should be your starting point.
Don’t write essays piecemeal;
for example, one essay from
each of several Schools’
applications. Instead, complete
a full set of essays for one
School before tackling another
essay set for a different
School. This will allow you to:
put your overall positioning
strategy in place
Think hard about the
attributes and experiences you
have to offer.
Make sure you are discussing
the right stories and examples
(those that illustrate key points
you wish to make)
Balance the professional and 23
personal elements you discuss
(about 75/25 is a good rule of
thumb for a typical applicant).
Start with whichever
application requires you to
write the most, but try to
avoid ones that force you to
write either very lengthy or
very short answers to each
question because you will
develop habits that will be
hard to break when writing
essays for other Schools.
Within a given School’s set
of essays, consider starting
with the usual ‘why do you
want an MBA?’ essay. You
are likely to be unsuccessful
in writing the other essays if
you haven’t thought carefully
about your future career. It will
be extremely helpful to know
where you are heading – at
least in a general sense – when
you try to answer many of the
other essay questions. If you
cannot answer this question,
consider waiting before
applying to Business School.
 AMBITION | PATIL VIS VIT. T ADVERTISING FEATURE

Business School Rankings:

Use Them to Your Advantage
Making sense of multiple school rankings can be confusing to any MBA applicant.
A new “User’s Guide to Full-Time MBA Rankings” from the Graduate Management
Admission Council (GMAC) helps you better understand them.

I
f you’re considering applying to full-time
MBA programs, you’ve probably looked
at business school rankings to help you
gather information and decide where to
apply. For many soon-to-be applicants, rankings
are appealing because they provide some level
of clarity and order to a marketplace of business
schools that is highly complex. Rankings curate
diverse data points from a variety of sources
into a simple, easily comparable measure of
12 overall quality.
The inherent issue with rankings, however,
is that quality is highly subjective and there is
no universally agreed upon measurement. For
that reason, multiple rankings exist for full-time
MBA programs, each with its own methodology
that draws upon a different mix of data
indicators and weights. What this means is that
each ranking judges full-time MBA programmes
differently and tells you something different
about how programs compare.
Understanding the Rankings
To help you better understand the nuances of
the different approaches taken by the five most
popular business school rankings (Bloomberg
Businessweek, The Economist, The Financial
Times, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report),
GMAC, the maker of the GMAT® exam and the
leading association of more than 6,000 GMAT
accepting business programs worldwide, has
developed The User’s Guide to Full-Time
MBA Rankings.
The guide clearly lays out what goes into the
five methodologies, breaks them down across
standardised weighting categories, identifies
aspects of each that make them distinctive
and compiles useful ranking information and
analysis in one place.
Although rankings can be helpful, for
years, GMAC has maintained that they don’t
tell the entire story. 'We’ve always cautioned
prospective students that school rankings are
best viewed skeptically. They don’t necessarily
take into account the unique attributes of a
program’s curriculum, culture, relationship
with employers and alumni, etc., or how these
attributes may meet your needs,' according to
GMAC President and CEO Sangeet Chowfla.
The reality is that no one ranking
methodology will speak to all of your
individualised needs and aspirations. In short,
rankings won’t necessarily tell you which
schools are the best fit for you.
Business school admissions professionals
agree. 'The key to using institution or program
rankings offered by various publications is

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 PATIL VIS VIT. T | AMBITION
ADVERTISING FEATURE

to understand how specific rankings were

developed. You want to know who was asked
what, how they were asked, and how their
answers were combined
to achieve the ranking.' according to Debra
Ringold, dean and JELD-WEN professor
of Free Enterprise at Willamette
University MBA.
GMAC’s User’s Guide to Full-Time MBA
Rankings is built to help you determine if a
ranking’s formulation of quality aligns with
your own, and whether or not the information
provided by a ranking should influence your
decision making. 'We created this resource
to clarify the differences among the various
rankings, as no one ranking methodology can
speak to the individual needs and aspirations of
every candidate considering a business degree,'
Chowfla said.

The User’s Guide also features:

• A description of which schools are included in
each publication’s full-time MBA ranking
• GMAC data on how many students around the
world use each ranking and how influential it
is to their decision making
• Publication dates and frequency for
each ranking
• Ranking history
• Accessibility of rankings data
• Additional business school rankings produced
by each publication
• The full-time MBA rankings for each of
the five publications
The bottom line is that higher education is a
market and buyers should weigh their options
carefully. Prospective MBA students should take
the time to learn what a particular institution’s
or program’s rankings actually mean – to them.
Start exploring the User’s Guide to Full-Time
MBA Rankings at mba.com/rankings.
The Graduate Management Admission Council
(GMAC) is a nonprofit organization of 216
leading graduate business schools from around
the world actively committed to advancing the
art and science of admissions. The Council
provides the solutions necessary for business
schools and candidates to discover and evaluate
one another to ensure that talent never goes
undiscovered. GMAC owns and administers
the Graduate Management Admission Test®
(GMAT®), used by more than 6,100 graduate
programs worldwide, as well as the NMAT by
GMAC™ exam, used for entrance into graduate
management programs in India. The Council
is based in Reston, Va., with offices in London,
New Delhi and Hong Kong.
'We’ve always cautioned prospective students that
school rankings don’t necessarily take into account
the unique attributes of a programme’s curriculum,
culture, relationship with employers and alumni, 13
or how these may meet your needs.'
Sangeet Chowfla,
GMAC President & CEO
A Look Inside: Breaking
Down the Methodologies
- Which are the standardised weighting
categories that are used in each ranking?
- How do the rankings assign weight across
those categories?
© 2016 Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). All
rights reserved. NMAT by GMAC™ is a trademark, GMAC logo,
- Which categories are fact-based and which
GMAC®, GMAT logo, GMAT®, Graduate Management Admission
are opinion-based? Council®, and Graduate Management Admission Test® are
registered trademarks of Graduate Management Admission
- What factors make each ranking unique – Council in the United States and other countries.
what factors are not used by more than one
other ranking or have less than half of its
weight assigned?
- How much do the schools’ ranking positions
change year to year and which rankings are
the most volatile?

community.mbaworld.com community.mbaworld.com

Guiding the
entrepreneurs
of the future
26
MBAs are encouraging innovative thinking that is
instrumental in changing the way the world works,
writes Francois Bonnici, Founding Director of the Bertha
Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.
T
he digital economy is rewriting
the rules of the game. In an
era of disruptive forces –
technological, social, political
and environmental – the
elements that made you successful in
business even a few years ago are different
to the elements needed now.
Today, the call is for a new way of thinking,
a new way of doing, and a new way of being
in business and more than that – entirely new
kinds of businesses. As global challenges
mount and become interdependent, we
need an extraordinary effort to overcome
them, involving unprecedented levels of
collaboration, cooperation and innovation.
That change will be driven by people. So
what does this new generation of business
leaders look like and how can Business
Schools give them the tools they need to
speed them on their way?
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There is plenty of evidence that members
of the millennial generation, those currently
aged between 18 and 33, are hungry for
change and eager to be at the forefront of
shaping it. The Deloitte Millennial Survey
2016, found that millennials want businesses
to focus more on people (employees,
customers, and society), products, and
purpose – and less on profits. Respondents
agreed that ‘the success of a business should
be measured in terms of more than just
its financial performance, with a focus on
improving society among the most important
things it should seek to achieve’.
Business Schools are starting to heed
‘The MBA is constantly changing
to meet the needs of students,
employers and the business world’
www.mbaworld.com
this call too. All over the world, the MBA
curriculum, for example, is undergoing
change to ensure it keeps up with these
new demands. From new modes of delivery
(online and blended learning) to new focuses
of attention, the changes are gathering
pace. In the past decade, entrepreneurship
and innovation – and more recently social
innovation – have been gaining a stealthy
foothold in most serious MBA programmes
as concepts such as inclusive business, the
circular economy and social impact gain
ground and credibility.
Entrepreneurs and innovators are
important because they see new patterns
and possibilities for change that those
in more established organisations and
institutions might miss. They are willing
to try things out and push them through
where others might give up. This is the kind
of attitude that is required and the kind of
approach that Business Schools need to do
more to promote.
In emerging markets where the challenges
are much more visible, in the form of
excessive inequality, flux and uncertainty,
the need is, if anything, greater and so
the solutions that are emerging require
significant innovation to integrate socio-
economic value creation.
South Africa, and the rest of the continent,
is a hotbed of social innovation. New
research from the Global Entrepreneurship
Monitor (GEM) indicates that sub-Saharan
Africa has one of the highest numbers of
entrepreneurs in the world who explicitly
include social impact in their business
models. This stems from a mix of significant
social challenges on their doorstep, high
unemployment, a youth bulge and a high
level of entrepreneurial ambition among
these young people.
Tapping into this, the University of Cape
Town Graduate School of Business has,
for several years, been developing an
increasing focus on social innovation and
entrepreneurship. It was the first on the
continent to set up an academic centre
dedicated to advancing these ideas on
the continent (the Bertha Centre for Social
Innovation and Entrepreneurship), and in
2016, became one of the first in the world
 AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

to integrate social innovation into the core

thematic content of its MBA curriculum –
including a strong element of immersion in
practice. Through a variety of electives and
core courses, students are given insights into
how business models and social innovation
can impact on products, services and models
of working that have the potential to shift
the continent onto a new trajectory.
The school has also launched new
programmes that are dedicated to this new
style of teaching and learning including
a Master’s in Inclusive Innovation which is
drawing considerable interest from recruiters
who are looking for values-driven graduates
more in tune with social responsiveness.
Several student-led innovations have
emerged from this hothouse, as people are
increasingly inspired to use their energy and
ingenuity to create social value.
Current MBA student, Bathabile Mpofu,
took top honours in the 2016 TOTAL
Startupper of the Year competition for
her fledgling business Nkazimulo Applied
Sciences, which delivers physical science- ‘Today, the call is for a new way of
related experiments for use by high-school
thinking, a new way of doing, and
a new way of being in business’
learners and teachers. Meanwhile MPhil
graduate and Bertha Fellow Francois
Petousis co-founded Lumkani, a proactive,
early-warning, fire detection system 27
designed for shack-dwellers worldwide. In to teach them the way the world currently
2013, Lumkani (previously Khusela) won the works, but to expose them to the ways
People’s Choice Award at the Global Social in which the world is rapidly changing, to
Venture Competition (GSVC), held each year the experiments of more sustainable, just
at the University of California, Berkeley. More and inclusive models that are being made
recently it came second in two separate possible, and ask them the right questions
categories at South Africa’s innovation to guide them through various systems of
summit, and received an award to go on a thinking to help them forge their own paths.
South African trade delegation to Japan. This is how good leaders and
‘There is no doubt that the scale and organisations are shaped and how
complexity of the problems we face in the innovative thinking can be promoted. It also
world today demand more and more from helps entrepreneurs to refine their thinking,
us,' says Petousis. 'Social innovation, which find their business models and structure their
by its nature is collaborative and creative ideas and companies to ensure they hold
and looks at challenges with fresh eyes, is up in both conventional and unconventional
definitely born out of this.' business arenas. This kind of agility is the
Others have taken such skills into large destination at which each MBA student
corporates as intrapreneurs, to design and needs to arrive on their own. The role of a
deliver novel products and solutions within good Business School is to provide a ticket
existing industries such as health and energy. tourism in aid of local communities. She for the journey.
Kenyan businesswoman Elizabeth took a business model that was aimed at
Kimotho says her MBA studies changed wealthy customers and modified it for the Francois Bonnici is Founding Director of
the way she thinks about entrepreneurship. less affluent. She reports that she learned to the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation
She explains: ‘It gives you the opportunity think strategically while doing her MBA, and and Entrepreneurship at the UCT Graduate
to make a positive impact – if you are not values the relationships she built during it. School of Business. Founded in 2011, in
happy with the way things look or are done, These students are committed and driven partnership with the Bertha Foundation, the
start a business to change it.’ to effect social change that is sustainable centre is the first academic centre in Africa
She started a business called Exclusive and lasting. To help them, and further their dedicated to advancing social innovation
Eco Travels, a company that promotes thinking, the Business School aims not only and entrepreneurship.

community.mbaworld.com

CA S E ST U DY
Solving business
problems creatively
ALBA Graduate Business School’s Associate Dean of Academic Programmes,
Kyriakos Kyriakopoulos, outlines his award-winning projects to help students
develop their management practice.
I
n an ever-changing world, innovation
is just as important in a Business
School setting as it is in the
corporate sector, and a School’s
innovative ideas can have a dramatic
effect on the outcomes of its students
and their experiences.
ALBA Graduate Business School
was the 2015 winner of the The MBA
28 Innovation Award, presented to the
AMBA-accredited MBA programme
that best demonstrates its dedication
to new practice, risk and creativity.
ALBA was recognised for two new
MBA modules: 'Creativity and Innovation'
and 'Management Acts: A
Theatrical Integration'.
Both modules use creative processes to
help students develop their management
practice. In the former, student groups
direct, edit and produce a ‘creativity
chronicle’, a short video that artfully
narrates a story of creativity.
In the latter, they explore the notion
of management as a performance of
roles, casting light on the inner and outer
performance dimensions of leadership.
Students are introduced to theatrical
tools and learn dramaturgical methods to
craft their characters, prepare and enact
their roles.
In this exclusive interview, Kyriakos
Kyriakopoulos, Associate Dean of
Academic Programmes at ALBA
Graduate Business School at The
American College of Greece, outlines
how he convinced the School to
carry out the project, and its
subsequent evolution.
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TELL US ABOUT ALBA’S WINNING
INNOVATION: CREATIVE EXPRESSION
IN BUSINESS
The idea relates to the challenges managers
face nowadays. These don’t fit neatly with
the existing paradigms of how we educate
business leaders. There’s too much bias,
emphasis on the analytical side, but we know
that more and more leaders are having to
make decisions that embrace contradictory
demands. In these cases, analysis is not
the best way to make educated decisions.
In business education, we have to allow
people to explore their creative side and
other traditions. So we allow MBA students
to explore management dilemmas through
‘It’s about creating
new, immersive
experiences for
students, so they
can find new answers
to old problems'
theatre or video production, for example.
It’s about creating immersive experiences for
students, so they can find new answers to
old problems.
WAS IS DIFFICULT TO CONVINCE
MANAGERS AT THE UNIVERSITY
THAT THIS WAS THE RIGHT DIRECTION
TO TAKE?
There are many risks in embedding these
non-traditional ways of teaching in MBA
curricula. How easy is it for students to
access these skills? We used university-
www.mbaworld.com
relevant artistic media such as theatre,
that cuts across time and culture, as well
as utilising the creativity of the younger
generation, which is more familiar with video
technology, such as YouTube. We wanted to
make it easier for students to experiment.
The idea can be great and inspiring, but
the devil is in the detail. Professors carefully
created a set of experiences that allow
students to use these traditional settings to
make sense of management problems.
HOW DO YOU SEE THIS EVOLVING?
We’re exploring how to move this into other
programmes – such as Masters courses. They
have to be adapted to the needs of different
student groups, so we’re full steam ahead on
exploring these prospects.
COULD THIS BE ADOPTED BY OTHER
MBA PROGRAMMES GLOBALLY?
We need to use new tools to explore old
problems. The fact that the challenges
companies face are becoming more
ambiguous, uncertain and high velocity, will
force Business Schools to think in new ways
to deliver these skills to leaders.
The idea is to enable leaders to become
reflective and understand the challenges for
HR, for investors and for society. This trend
is here to stay and I expect many Business
Schools to look at this going forward. The
question is how we utilise theory to solve
practical problems. What will students do if
they’re wearing the shoes of real managers?
This is a very important element of the
MBA. When graduates have to manage a
company, a product or a process, they will
know what to do.
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The future
of the MBA
MBA programmes that successfully adapt to the
changing world will have a place in the economic
future of business, developing responsible global
30
leaders, writes Dr Richard McBain, Head of the
Post-Graduate, Post-Experience Programmes
Area at Henley Business School
T
he MBA has been successful in
providing career development for
managers, but has undoubtedly
faced significant challenges over
recent years, within a volatile marketplace.
If Business Schools can face up to these
challenges and adapt their MBA programmes
accordingly, the MBA will continue to play
an important role in business and society
– in particular, by creating global leaders.
However, this will require a focus on the
needs of future students and sponsors, as well
as investment in adapting MBA programmes
to provide fresh content, up-to-date skills
development and more blended and online
learning materials.
The main changes in the business
landscape have been well-documented: they
include rapidly evolving ways of working,
due to new technologies, associated
changes in organisational structures, and
the development of a knowledge-based
economy. These have driven demand for
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more functional and specialist knowledge
and skills among corporate recruits, because
only those at very senior levels within an
organisation, or in consultancy, need to
understand all aspects of the business.
In addition, a difficult economic context,
following the economic crash in 2008,
and a slowdown in China, plus ongoing
uncertainties, including the UK’s vote to leave
the EU, have accompanied increasing levels
of globalisation, and are shaping an ever
more competitive and unpredictable world.
Recruiting students into MBA programmes
is a growing challenge. AMBA’s Intake and
graduation Report, 2014, found that, on
average, Business Schools in Western Europe
saw applications for all types of MBA fall by
20% that year, with enrolments below 2009
levels, after a peak in 2011. Furthermore, the
Graduate Management Admission Council
(GMAC) identified growth in full-time MBA
programmes in 2015, as well as in online
programmes, but concluded that executive
www.mbaworld.com
programmes were stalling or declining.
Within this broad picture, there is
considerable variation, with premium-
branded MBAs from leading Business Schools
taking a larger share of a tightening market.
There appears to have been a significant
decline in levels of corporate sponsorship,
which may reflect the difficult economic
context as well as changes in the perceived
value of MBAs and the appeal of
competitor programmes.
MBA programmes must adapt to these
changes and the process should focus on the
key challenges Business Schools are facing.
The first is recognising that prospective
applicants may have different needs.
Overall, prospective full-time MBA
students, who take time out to complete
their degree, typically seek immediate
career outcomes. Applicants for Executive
MBAs increasingly require MBAs that equip
them with knowledge and skills to enhance
their careers, as well as programmes that

fit with their busy work and personal lives.
The requirement for greater flexibility will be
one of the drivers for greater use of online
materials and blended delivery.
Some commentators believe online
programmes will come to dominate the
MBA market, but I believe this is unlikely, for
several reasons. There is evidence that most
students prefer a blend of face-to-face and
online provision and that cost and flexibility
considerations tend to play a part in the
selection of purely online study. It seems likely
that the proportion of online components
in all modes of delivery, including full-time,
will increase, without replacing face-to-face
experience and interaction. This interaction
seems to be a critical part of the truly
transformative experience that has become
the hallmark of a good MBA, and it is likely to
be essential for skills development.
Meeting the needs of sponsors and
employers will be critical. There is evidence
(for example, a report by the Chartered
Association of Business Schools in 2013) that
Schools play a vital role in driving innovation
and growth, but there is also concern that
they are not always producing graduates with
the skills required by industry and business.
Organisations need graduates who are
self-aware and possess a wide range of hard
and soft skills, plus the knowledge to improve
organisational performance. Furthermore,
as a 2015 Henley Business School survey
of corporate learning priorities indicates,
organisations seek leadership development
at all levels and view the development
of leadership capability as a top staff-
development priority. Leaders must have a
global mindset and be able to demonstrate
sustainable and responsible leadership
practices, in increasingly diverse contexts.
MBA programmes, with their growing
desire to develop soft skills alongside
the hard skills of management, and the
widespread use of team working, have
developed a robust learning process, attuned
to developing leadership skills. They offer an
environment for learning among significant
levels of diversity, where participants are
exposed to a range of perspectives. This is
an important aspect of the transformative
experience of an MBA, and plays a critical
role in leadership development; it must
be retained in the MBA of the future. The
opportunities for increased international
experience, including study visits and
exchange programmes, are also important
and should be enhanced.
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Business Schools must also respond to
the need for some specialisation in MBA
programmes and hold off the challenge
from specialist Masters and Masters in
Management programmes, which may be
completed immediately after undergraduate
study, and can be seen as more suited to
functional or specialist roles.
The MBA should retain a broad coverage
and a ‘general’ management perspective,
while allowing functional or sector tailoring.
This will help to provide an ongoing relevance
for the MBA, including to potential sponsors.
Specialist Masters programmes may be
cheaper than MBAs, but they don’t provide
the same opportunities for skills development
or the application of knowledge that
Executive MBAs, in particular, provide.
New content and subjects will be required,
to address the needs of the new economy
and the impact of advancing technology, such
as big data, analytics and entrepreneurship.
In addition, this new world will place greater
emphasis on skills development alongside
knowledge development and its application
to the workplace. Important skills will include
critical and innovative thinking, problem
solving and the softer skills of coaching,
networking, team building, motivating others
‘Some commentators
believe online
programmes will come
to dominate the MBA
market, but I believe
this is unlikely’
community.mbaworld.com
and working across cultures. The importance
of values should not be underestimated,
and MBA programmes need to pay greater
attention to ethics, responsibility and
sustainable leadership.
The MBA of the future needs to adapt to a
changing world, while retaining its successful
attributes such as experiential learning
though consultancy projects, and providing
a transformative experience that helps to
facilitate personal growth and development.
MBA graduates value the salary uplift and
employability benefits that typically follow
an MBA, including access to networks and a
broad understanding of business.
According to GMAC (2016), an average
alumni of graduate management education
recoups their investment within four years
of graduating; however, increasing MBA
programme costs are having an impact. The
MBA may not be the only passport to success
but more personalised and relevant MBA
programmes will help maintain their appeal
to potential applicants. MBA programmes
that successfully adapt to the changing world
will continue to have a place in the economic
future of business and to be valued over other
postgraduate business qualifications.
The principal means by which MBA 31
programmes may add value to business
and society is by helping to develop the
responsible global leaders of tomorrow.
An MBA offers a learning environment
that is almost uniquely placed in terms of
qualification programmes to achieve this
ambition. However, to compete effectively,
Business Schools must review and adapt their
MBA offerings and should not underestimate
the costs involved.
 MBA
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MEET AMBA'S
AWARD-WINNING
MBA STUDENTS
Our Student of the Year Award winners illustrate the
quality of our MBA graduates, and the value they have
derived from their programmes.

Cecilia Rodríguez Alcalá,

an MBA graduate from IE Business
School, and AMBA’s winner of The
Independent Student of the Year Award 33
2015, talks about her education project
in Paraguay and shares the best business
advice she has received so far.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR AWARD-

WINNING PROJECT
I worked for seven years developing my
own start-up business. Working with the
education service, this created the first
digital city in Paraguay, where I am from.
The team and I provided 13,500 school
children with laptops, the internet and
taught them programming. After that,
we worked with youth organisations and
journalists to mediate the development
of $1bn a trust fund for education in
the country.
Now, Paraguay designates $108m
per year to education, because of this
collective effort.

'Working with the

education service my
company built Paraguay's
first digital city'

community.mbaworld.com
 AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

WHY WERE YOU NOMINATED

FOR THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT
OF THE YEAR AWARD?
The award not only looks at what you’re
accomplishing in your academic work, but
also how you apply that toolkit. It looks at
how you’re becoming a leader, wherever
you choose to establish yourself. A lot of
my personal inspiration came from the fact
that my peers were nominating me. That
shows a sense of community.

WHAT DOES WINNING THE AWARD

MEAN TO YOU?
It’s an opportunity to show the world that
Paraguay has developed tremendously
in the past few years, economically.
Education is still a challenge for us and
being part of this global MBA setting
allows us to co-create and find solutions.
It’s about finding people and ideas as well
as connecting things together to make the
development happen.

'In the entrepreneurial

world we're full of ideas
34
but until you execute
them, you don't know how
they are going to work'
WHAT’S THE BEST BUSINESS ADVICE
YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
I once heard someone say ‘deploy or
die’. This is a very strong statement. In
the entrepreneurial world, we’re full of
ideas about what needs to be done, but
until you execute something, you don’t
know how it’s going to work and how the
community’s going to receive it. So, I think
one of the biggest things I learned is not
to be afraid. Be audacious, make mistakes,
learn in the process.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE
TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF
MBA STUDENTS?
Take advantage of the classroom and also
the extracurricular activities. I joined the
Latin America Club as coordinator, which
exposed me to business people and
politicians. I think, in any School, you
have a credibility that allows you to be
in touch with decision makers and that’s
really important.
Marta Cunha
Marta Cunha works in Portugal’s largest retail company,
Sonae Distribuição, as Customer Insights Director. In 2014,
AMBA awarded her Student of the Year. Marta completed
her executive MBA at Porto Business School.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MBA because, while it’s hard and
DO AN MBA? there are time pressures, you can
It was a dream of mine when I immediately apply what
was younger. I thought it would you are learning in the workplace.
give me another perspective on I think the most valuable thing
management, but I must confess I about the Executive MBA is that
was starting to think that it wasn’t you’re not waiting for two years to
for me because I was getting older use it. As you learn, you’re applying
and had children. your learning and that makes it
However, my company offered very natural in your day to day
to fund my MBA because they working life. I felt as if I were
thought it was important for my already getting the value of what I
development. It was a dream come was learning. So for that reason, I
true, but also a big responsibility would say the executive MBA was
and I was nervous about what I was best for me.
going to face in the coming year. On the other hand, you don’t
  have the time to explore concepts
WAS YOUR DECISION TO as deeply as you can in a full-
DO AN EXECUTIVE MBA time MBA. So it depends on the
VINDICATED? individual and where there are in
Yes of course. There a lot of their career.
advantages to doing an Executive For me, it was the perfect year.

www.mbaworld.com
 The business
world is evolving
Lead the change
with a Surrey MBA

Through studying the Surrey MBA I became

part of a great network of professionals from
different companies in the private and public
sectors, learning so much from all of them.

- Sarah De Carvalho, MBE,

CEO Happy Child International
and It’s a Penalty Campaign

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Leading McKinsey Marketing the GRAMMYS The Future of Work

Insight from The consultancy’s Exclusive interview with The Recording What trends are set to impact
former European Chairman Academy’s CMO Evan Greene on people strategy?

Five innovators shaking

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+ News and Analysis + Business School Updates + Opinion
You,
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connected
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How my MBA changed my life
‘What I enjoyed most about
the MBA was the support
we gave one another,
as a student cohort’
RICHARD SKINNER, US
My decision to undertake an MBA was based on furthering
my career as a technology manager in an investment bank.
At the time, I believed that acquiring these three letters
would move me up the managerial ladder; however, this
transpired to be somewhat erroneous.
D
uring the MBA, and specifically
as a result of undertaking
the personal development
module, I realised I had never
determined what motivates
me. Previously, my incentives were around
making money, feeling valued by others,
and attaining greater levels of responsibility.
Post-MBA, my thinking has radically altered,
because of my greater understanding of
what truly motivates me.
This change in understanding is
perhaps best exemplified by my decision
to undertake a PhD. I am now finishing a
Doctorate in Management Information
Systems (MIS) at the University of Houston in
the US. My desire is to enter academia as an
assistant professor, teaching and researching
MIS here in the US, and this is looking
increasingly attainable the closer I come to
finishing my studies.
My focus on academic learning and
research developed from the teaching I
received during my MBA. With the PhD
excepted, study for my MBA was the most
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challenging experience of my life; never
before had I been outside my comfort zone
for such an extended period of time.
Learning to be comfortable with the
challenges that arise in such a scenario
has very much impacted (positively) on my
desire to continue focusing on my own
personal development, post-MBA. As a
‘Post-MBA, my thinking
has radically altered,
because of my greater
understanding of what
truly motivates me’
result of undertaking it, I have learned
to write: how to express my thinking in
a rigorous fashion so that a reader can
understand whatever it is I am trying
to express.
This ability is a direct result of the desire
to gain high grades in my MBA assignments,
which require excellent writing skills. This
community.mbaworld.com
37
has more than paid itself back, to the extent
that I published my first academic paper in
2015, and have two more going through the
review process in top-tier business journals.
What I enjoyed most about the MBA
was the support we gave one another, as a
student cohort, whether coming together to
revise for our exams, or working in teams
on assignments.
Meeting like-minded individuals,
from wholly different walks of life,
industries and countries, also provided
an important context when considering
alternative perspectives within the MBA
learning environment.
To the prospective MBA graduate I’d say
that if you are passionate about disrupting
the status quo, for your organisation or for
yourself, then you could do no better than
to undertake an MBA: you can only benefit
from the positive changes that subsequently
take place.
Richard completed his MBA at
Henley Business School, UK.
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Sustaining
a social
enterprise
38

long term To develop a successful social enterprise, you must first

identify the real purpose behind your business idea, as
exemplified by a South African grocery-shopping service for
parents and crèches in underprivileged areas.

I
n 2014, Nokwethu Khojane and Lauren
Drake were two Cape Town students
studying for their MBAs at the University
of Cape Town Graduate School of
Business (GSB). They met during the
course, decided to start a business together
and founded Lakheni – a bulk-buying
grocery-shopping service for parents and
crèches in underprivileged areas.
Within six months, Lakheni was awarded
third prize in the SAB Foundation Innovation
Awards. It also came third in the Global
Social Venture Competition and received
seed funding from Alphacode and Bank of
America Merrill Lynch. Few start-ups can
claim this kind of early success – especially
in South Africa. The country is known for
low entrepreneurial activity. According to
the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
(GEM) results, entrepreneurial activity in
South Africa dropped from 10.6% in 2013 to
7% in 2014
HOW IS LAKHENI BUCKING THE TREND?
First, it’s a great idea. Cash-strapped parents
in underprivileged areas are offered grocery
items at a discounted rate and these are
delivered to their local crèches. Khojane
and Drake are able to cut each household’s
grocery bill by between 5% and 10%. In
addition, families save on the travelling
costs to supermarkets each month. Crèches
make a commission on each hamper sold to
parents, generating funds for their schools.
‘These are not hand-outs; this is not
charity,’ says Drake. ‘This is a for-profit
organisation with very real benefits as well
as a share option in the business for crèches.
The name, Lakheni, is a Nguni term that can
loosely be translated as “let’s build”.’
It may run like a well-oiled machine now,
but it took the two entrepreneurs time

www.mbaworld.com
 AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

to come up with the right concept. Their

initial thinking was around helping
crèches to perform better and improving
early childhood development in
underprivileged areas.
But once they started visiting pre-schools
and talking to principals, they realised that
many of these schools were actually working
quite well. They saw that they would be able
to make a bigger impact by finding indirect
ways to support financially struggling
parents as well as the crèches themselves.
With the help of Dr Warren Nilsson from
the Social Innovation Lab, which runs as one
of the core courses on the MBA programme
at the GSB, Khojane and Drake refined their
business ideas.
They both credit Dr Nilsson, who has
spent years researching why some social
ventures work and others fail, with guiding
them in the right direction in terms of asking This sounds simple, but in practice, it is need to ask more questions, go into the
more questions and digging deeper where many social change start-ups fail. The field and exhaust every single angle of what
to find the real social purpose for their experience of Philip Wilson, CEO of South they want to do. ‘Ask what people’s needs
business idea. American company, Ecofiltro, serves as a are,’ he advises. 39
In 2016, the MBA programme at the perfect example. Wilson’s social enterprise ‘You’d be surprised that these may be
GSB integrated social innovation into the set out as a non-profit organisation – and different from your perception.’
core thematic content of its curriculum initially failed. Despite noble intentions to Khojane agrees. ‘What was critical for us
– including immersion in practice. The provide the rural poor in Guatemala with was looking into a system, not to fix what we
school has developed a strong focus on clean water at no cost, people were not thought to be broken, but to find what was
using business thinking to solve social and using the filter as intended and still drank working and building on its strengths.’ She
environmental challenges in an emerging contaminated water, falling ill. says it was this concept of ‘holding on to
market context, which attracts many The product only took off when Wilson things on lightly’ that allowed her and Drake
students such as Khojane and Drake to decided to look at his target market as to recognise new possibilities when they
its programmes. potential clients rather than objects of pity. presented themselves.
For a social innovation enterprise to He re-packaged the product in a more Drake adds that they didn’t approach the
succeed, it needs more than a good aesthetic container and did additional crèches with concrete ideas about what to
business plan, according to Dr Nilsson. research into how much money households do; instead they listened to what parents
It must also go beyond the philanthropic spent on buying bottled water for cooking and principals really needed.
urge to help people. Instead of seeing and drinking, working out a price for each This echoes Dr Nilsson’s thinking about
themselves as a tool or an instrument unit of Ecofiltro, coming up with a new social ventures. ‘Every moment of authentic
of change, businesses need to see instalment payment programme that would interaction we have with another human
themselves as part of the world that allow him a small profit margin. being is a doorway,’ he says. ‘We can begin
needs to change, he adds. Wilson argues that social entrepreneurs to understand what it is we are trying to
change and how we might change it not

‘Instead of seeing themselves through abstract models, but through

as a tool or an instrument of
lived experiences.’
This takes the entrepreneur to the next

change, businesses need to see

level, where a business becomes sustainable
and viable in the long term, hopefully able

themselves as part of the world

to outlast its first year of operations.
As Dr Nilsson says: ‘The biggest challenge

that needs to change’ the world is facing today is not how to

create change but how to sustain it.’

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How my MBA
changed my life
Martina Petkova an MBA graduate from Bulgaria outlines some of the changes
she has experienced in her career and lifestyle since completing her MBA
B
40
efore taking my MBA, I saw
myself as a successful person
in a multinational organisation,
who only needed more business
knowledge to support further
career growth, along a predetermined
path. Now, I see myself as an individual,
fully aware and in control of my own skills.
I am no longer defined by the organisation
for which I work, but have the ability to
determine the direction and field of my
development independently.
The traditional view of an MBA degree
guaranteeing senior positions and keys
to the boardroom, has become irrelevant
in today’s constantly changing world. The
value of an MBA is becoming less about
the degree itself than the actual skills and
knowledge acquired during the programme.
A successful modern MBA graduate does
not merely present his or her diploma and
expect red-carpet treatment followed by a
linear career path; rather, they identify and
analyse patterns and have the flexibility to
make strategic decisions, dictate and set
trends, and take full control of the nature
and direction of their own career.
An MBA is applicable to any sector,
industry, organisation and even person.
AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Regardless of your starting point, goals
and aspirations, the MBA will inevitably
equip you with specific skills and tools
to move forward. In my view, an equally
important benefit is the networking aspect,
especially if the MBA programme facilitates
and encourages team work. This forges
strong working and personal relationships,
which have great professional value due
to the diversity of industries in a typical
MBA cohort, but also tremendous personal
value because of the strong team spirit that
develops over time.
‘The main way in which
I use the knowledge
I’ve gained, is through
critical thinking’
In my current organisation I have been
promoted three times since I started
my MBA, mainly because I felt more
knowledgeable and sufficiently confident
to take on decision-making responsibilities.
The most significant way in which the MBA
helped my career, however, was by forcing
me to identify my own strengths and to
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evaluate them outside of the context of my
organisation. As a result, I started actively
setting the direction of my career and am
currently taking steps to transition full-time
into the non-profit sector, after becoming a
member of the United Nations Association
in Bulgaria a few months ago.
I regularly use specific tools and models,
acquired during my MBA, to enable in-
depth data analysis or to develop action
plans. However, the main way in which I
use the knowledge I’ve gained is through
critical thinking – it has become second
nature to assess a situation from a strategic
standpoint and to connect the dots – even
with limited information. This enhances my
decision-making skills.
I thoroughly enjoyed being introduced
to the many diverse aspects of the business
world and learning how each of them works
and relates to the others. It’s an eye-opening
experience, and one that changes the way
you engage with your professional life. I also
loved meeting numerous bright, unique
individuals from different countries and
different industries, some of whom have
become friends for life.
Martina completed her MBA
at Henley Business School, UK.
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Excellent/ Good Average Poor

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February 2016 : 1,240 Respondents Quality of Teaching 91% 9% 0%

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 AMBITION | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY

Inputs: Estimated costs of tangible

goods and services:
1. Diploma (the actual MBA degree). The approximate
running costs of a good degree-awarding
institution, including all the administrative and
supervisory bodies, boards and committees,
national and international accreditation and so
on: $10,000
2. Teaching by professors and practitioners.
This is the most expensive service delivered by
a Business School. It also includes the cost of
research that,which professors carry out away
from the classroom. This research informs their
teaching and keeps them on the cutting edge
of their field): $35,000
3. Use of facilities and equipment: $5,000
4. Administrative services: $3,000
5. Selection of classmates

MBA unbundled: 15
(admissions): $3,000
6. Job placement and career support: $15,000

ways to demonstrate
7. Social activities, entertainment, food
and drink: $2,000
Total: £73,000

the value of an MBA Outputs: Estimated value of

Breaking down MBAs into tangible and intangible benefits:
42 intangible costs and benefits demonstrates 8. Hard skills acquired: $40,000 (quantitative skills and
their value for money. George Iliev, Director industry knowledge)
9. Soft skills acquired: $50,000 (teamwork, leadership,
of Development Markets at AMBA, reflects management and communication)
on his own MBA as a case study and outlines 10. Lessons in ethics: $10,000
the 15 things he was able to take from it. 11. Reputation booster: $20,000
12. Access to networks: $50,000
13. Increased earning potential and future career
progression: $180,000 (present value)
14. The opportunity to stop and think about your life
and career: $10,000
When you ask for your I am using my own MBA as 15. Lifelong friends: invaluable
restaurant bill, all dishes a 'back-of-the-envelope' case Total: If you add up the sums in the two categories,
and drinks are listed on it as study, right. I studied at Emory you’ll see that the two overall numbers differ. And that’s
separate items. Why can't University in Atlanta in the the point. The sum of the inputs is $73,000 but the value
Business Schools break up United States, hence the values of the outputs is in excess of $360,000+, roughly five
the cost (and value) of an are in US dollars ($), but the times higher.
MBA in a similar way? general rules apply wherever
This doesn’t mean making you study. My tuition fee was This explains why the MBA remains a prized
the MBA a-la-carte: if you sign $81,000 when I completed the qualification and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You
up for an MBA, you pay for programme between 2008 and may have noticed the difference between my $73,000
the whole bundle. Yet, there 2010, so these are my best estimate of the value of goods and services and the
would be no harm in Business estimates of the monetary $81,000 tuition fee. This difference does not represent
Schools itemising the various value of the school’s services a profit for the school. As a matter of fact, many of the
benefits gained from a MBA and the long-term benefits top full-time MBA programmes barely break even, as
and making their making of the MBA; feel free to take schools may over-invest in a flagship MBA to establish
their applicants, students and these with a pinch of salt a reputation on the market. Part of this investment
graduates aware of these item (or a slice of lemon if you is scholarships, which make up the $8,000 difference
by item. so choose): between the two figures above.

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experienced, globally-connected professionals.
Whether choosing to work virtually or during study visits on campus, you will be immersed
in an environment that asks much of you and emphasises collaboration and openness.
We’ll encourage you to think creatively, solving problems
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With your ambitions in mind, we offer you the support you need
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