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In the history of economic downturn cycles, executive qualifications most invariably add extra value to employees for enhancing their competitiveness and job security. The surging demand for MBA and EMBA programmes in Asia last year created an extensive and diversified learning platform for business leaders and executives. New courses, features and specialties were introduced by various education institutions, and such changes are expected to continue with respect to course design, curriculum, teaching medium, student profile etc. next year. At the turn of a new year, it is high time to visit the trend today and find out how we can make the best value out of our education investment.
The Surging Demand of Business Education
Despite the economic downturn, there is a growing demand for full-time and part-time business education programmes. According to the statistics given by the School of Accounting and Finance at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), number of applicants for postgraduate programmes showed an increase of about 35 percent in 2008 compared with that of the previous year. In particular, the largest increase occurred in postgraduate programmes in finance.
Although there is no distinct measure on the correlation between the economic climate and the demand for business education programmes, it is revealed that some professionals wish to enhance their portfolio by getting a recognised business qualification in order to better equip themselves in the face of challenges ahead. In 2008, for instance, the student profile of the Master of Science in Global Finance Programme offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) presented a mix of senior management participants including vice president, director, general manager and manager, accounting for 64.5% of the total number of students. Besides, Alistair Benson, academic director of Manchester Business School Worldwide pointed out that some laid-off workers may opt to go back to school.
Globally speaking, it is evident that the number of application volume for full-time MBA programme has been increased regardless of the economic recession. Among the full-time MBA programmes participating in the 2008 GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) Application Trends Survey, 77 percent ?the highest level in 5 years ?reported an increase in applications in 2008.
According to GMAC, the survey data indicated a correlation between changes in the number of MBA programme applications and GMAT volume. In particular, the number of GMAT tests taken from July 2007 to July 2008 increased by 12%. In comparison, the number of applications that participating full-time MBA programmes received from June 2007 to June 2008 increased by 10% on average.
Likewise, there was a rapid increase in the number of GMAT takers in Asian region, as reported by GMAC findings in November 2008. The data showed that more than 11,280 GMAT tests have been taken in China during the year, compared with 4,507 tests taken in 2004, reaching nearly a triple growth.
Hunting Talent with Master Degree
According to the recruitment agency Talent2, the number of job seekers with Master qualifications increased at least by 10% between 2006 and 2008, accounting for about 20% of the talent pool.
Odilia Poon, Operations Director of Managed Services in Asia for Talent2 commented, "he market has never been volatile like this before, especially in the business and finance sector. To face the challenges, employees should broaden their knowledge and skill sets to become as versatile as possible over a short period of time, so as to catch up with the fast-changing market cycles."
"Continued learning is a good way to explore new knowledge and receive practical trainings. To choose between two candidates with similar performance level, employers usually prefer the one with a higher qualification. Master programmes help participants to develop acute commercial sense and perspectives about the financial world. It is particularly useful for career development in the finance, sales and marketing fields, where presentation and idea generation are crucial."
"It is also important for us to maintain a flexible mindset and attitude to cope with changes during economic downturn. Employees should be prepared to take up more responsibilities beyond the original job scope," she added.
New Executive Programmes - Changes, Evolution and Diversity
Globalisation, economic crisis and China - Hong Kong integration all help to shape the advanced business programmes which aim to help participants to dynamically address the latest market requirements. Up-to-date curriculum, various teaching languages and expanded student profile provide more options for students from around the world to pursue their studies which are most relevant to their needs.
To cast a glance, currently by the end of 2008 there are over 40 MBA courses, 10 EMBA and 13 DBA programmes being offered and taught in Hong Kong. Most executive education programmes are evolving to be more globalised both in the teaching context and class profile. In order to help potential applicants to evaluate the choices, the following are some new development trends in the executive programmes.
(1) Collaboration with Overseas Universities
Over the last 12 months, new MBA or EMBA programmes were rolled out consecutively by different local academies. In response to the impact of globalisation and worldwide competition, some local business schools have formed strategic partnership with overseas universities to deliver internationally focused MBA programmes. For example, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has launched the EMBA programme jointly with Columbia Business School (CBS) and London Business School (LBS).
(2) Dual Degree Programmes
For executives who would like to broaden their knowledge and vision through cross-disciplinary studies, double degree programmes offer new alternatives. The number of dual degree courses is increasing in order to cater for the needs of this market sector. For instance, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is offering a JD/MBA double degree programme. On the other hand, the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) also announced the partnership with the Stockholm University School of Business in Sweden to organise a dual MBA/MSc degree programme. Meanwhile, HKBU collaborates with the Northern Arizona University in USA to run a dual MBA degree programme. The new courses are available starting from 2008-09 academic year.
(3) Specialised Qualifications
Apart from standard MBA or EMBA programmes, advanced specialty education, such as Master in Finance, Master in Marketing, Master in Logistics, become just as popular among professionals who seek to acquire further trainings to address specific needs in their roles or industries. The focused approach can eliminate duplication in time and efforts on general business knowledge that the executives have already gained. For instance, PolyU has newly launched a full-time Master of Finance (Investment Management) programme.
From where the global economy sits today, corporate governance and risk management are crucial in keeping a healthy business operation. Master courses in corporate governance are available in HKBU, PolyU, the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) etc. Furthermore, CUHK has launched the Master of Science in Risk Management Science programme, and the risk management module is available in courses from other tertiary institutes.
Odilia Poon points out that courses in finance, corporate governance and risk management are designed to address the market volatility today. Such specialties will give job seekers extra competitiveness and they would be in demand in the next 1 or 2 years.
(4) Closer Link with China
In view of the cross-border business integration and the trend of Hong Kong enterprises' expansion to the mainland China, Chinese MBA programmes started to emerge to suit students' own business needs. For example, PolyU-HKCyberU will roll out a Chinese MBA programme with Edinburgh Business School of Heriot-Watt University in UK.
While overseas students take up a large portion of studentship in advanced business programmes, the number of applications from their counterparts in China, Southern America and Eastern Europe showed an increase. To support the demand from overseas students, HKUST began to adopt video-conferencing for admission interview in 2008, while CUHK continued with live interviews in the mainland China.
Executive Qualification Moving Up to the Doctorate
Insightful executives often opt to attain further business knowledge in times of uncertain economic climate, particularly in this complex and dynamic global era. Meanwhile, more large-scale companies regard highly qualified staff as their competitive strength and expect more innovative and strategic decision-making through research.
Furthermore, some executives may choose to demonstrate their leadership capability in reaching for higher ground by studying business at the doctorate level. In such circumstances, there is a growing trend of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programmes being offered in Hong Kong and Asia.
Taking business into research combining a "cholar-practitioner" approach, the research processes are training tools which teach the executives on how to analyse business issues from multiple perspectives and apply solutions effectively. In most DBA programmes offered by the local Business Schools, the doctoral students are taught with contemporary research skills in-depth and encouraged to face a business problem by theorising and undergoing empirical validation as well as forecasting future trends.
A typical part-time DBA programme is structured with compulsory courses, professional development workshops, and a thesis. It normally takes 3 to 6 years for completion and allows students to develop their business skills and professional knowledge. Furthermore, it is structured in a way that students are permitted to make contributions to business theory and impact real-world practice. Some of the programme's key courses include strategy generation, corporate governance and ethics, qualitative approaches to research, advanced statistics and data analysis, and leading organisational change. In comparison, some of the programmes dedicate a larger part of teaching time in enhancing students academic writing skills to doctoral standards.
HKBU Business School launched their DBA programme in autumn 2008 and it is the first school to offer a series of professional managerial workshops themed under last Century's one of the most influential business and social thinkers Peter Drucker, organised in collaboration with the Peter F. Drucker Academy of Hong Kong. The topics of the workshop series revolve around the core study areas of strategy, change and corporate governance, and management and leadership. The workshop also provides an opportunity for DBA students to attend classes on an exchange basis in China where the Academy in Beijing has already trained more than 10,000 professional executives since its firm establishment in 1999.
Return on Investment - Life-long Reward through Continued Learning
Better career prospect, higher wages and job security are common incentives to motivate participation in advanced business learning. On top of this, sense of achievement and self-fulfillment add extra meaning to students who seek after personal growth.
Data from Talent2 indicates that the average monthly salary for a MBA graduate with 5 to 6 years of work experience and satisfactory work performance, ranged from HKD40,000 to HKD80,000 in last 2 years. The MBA qualification is mostly valued by multi-national corporations, prestigious enterprises, banks and consultancy firms.
Applying Knowledge to Start a Business
Tommy Lo, founder of DDT Publishing, gave up a golden job opportunity in 2002 in exchange for 1 year full-time study in Manchester to complete the Master of Science in Business Management at The Manchester Metropolitan University.
"I have worked in a news agency for 4 years and I was given the golden opportunity to attend the Asian Games in South Korea in 2002. However, I was admitted to my dreamt University for a master programme at the same time. Eventually I chose to broaden my life experience and further my study." He recalled.
In 2005, Tommy decided to start his own publishing business with other friends, and developed a series of travel books. He combined his writing experiences and the knowledge in business management to achieve remarkable success.
He noted, "Publishing is different from writing. It requires promotion and budget planning. From the master programmes, I can apply my knowledge to marketing, financial strategies and negotiation. Therefore, it allows me to run the business in a better way." As a result, the company's Taipei travel guide reached the third position in major bookstore's best seller list shortly after it was published, recognised an outstanding achievement in the publishing industry.
Exploring New Perspectives and Experience
Nanna Man, former magazine editor, decided to quit her long-served job last year to become a MBA student. Graduated from the Arts stream, she had never received any formal business training before. However, the urge increased as she gradually involved more in planning and management at work. Currently she is completing the 2-year part-time MBA programme organised by HKBU SCE and the University of Strathclyde.
"In my role I had to involve in cross-team meetings, publishing strategy and budget planning, all of these are not related to writing. Without any business background, I had to train myself on the job. However, after attending the MBA programme, I found that many issues have already been covered and discussed by scholars, such as the thinking pattern of business owners, management and communications techniques."
From the programme, Nanna particularly enjoys the new experience of working with different team members. "We have to discuss and collaborate on a proposal. Whenever we come with different ideas, we have to seek an agreement and be mindful of not hurting other members' feelings. This is just like an office environment." She added that the process of discussion inspires her to think from multiple perspectives.
"I enjoy the learning process very much. It brings satisfaction to me when I discover new knowledge and insights every day," Nanna said. "It also creates more opportunities in the future. I may go back to the workplace, continue with self-employment or even start a new business. No matter which direction I pick, I believe my knowledge will bring me life-long benefits and be useful at work in different ways."
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