THE MBA WORLDWIDE

The MBA is probably the most recognised degree in the world today. One of the biggest advantages of doing an MBA is that after obtaining the degree a person can work anywhere in the world, and bring with him or her proof of an excellent education.

The MBA was originated from United States but is now available everywhere in the world. One can obtain an MBA in places like Alaska, Argentina, Japan, Australia or Europe. The objective everywhere is the same: to create future high-level managers.

Despite the Globalisation of the economy, each country’s market and economy are very different. This must be taken into account not only when choosing elective courses, but also when deciding where to pursue the degree.

It is very important that students define clearly what their objectives are for doing an MBA and that they have a good notion of what they wish to do once they have obtained it.

Many business people throughout the world wish to enter MBA programmes in the United States. The reason for this is that while living in the United States for a certain period, and studying in an American school, they may have the opportunity to submerge themselves in Anglophile culture which could really be quite helpful in their future business career.

THE AMERICAN VS. EUROPEAN MBA

The MBA was created in the United States almost a century ago.

In Europe, the first MBA courses were offered in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s.

Today there are over 300 MBA programmes available in Europe.

Starting a decade ago, the number of MBA programmes in Europe have grown at a fast rate. As the European originator the country which has the most numerable programmes on offer is England, which has more than one hundred programmes. After England, comes Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, and very recently Germany. Eastern Europe also offers MBA programmes.

The principal difference that exists between the American and the European degrees is the duration of the programmes. In the United States courses usually last between 16 months and 2 years. In Europe, it is between 12 and 16 months. The difference is significant because students must take into account their personal circumstances, including the cost of earning his or her degree.

Another difference also lies in the age of students. The average age of an European student is generally higher than that of an American one. In Europe, MBA candidates enter postgraduate programmes at around age 28.

From the point of view of recruitment officers, American MBAs have already proven themselves and have shown their capacity to set forth from their programmes capable professionals from very diverse origins into the real world of management . As American business schools often have well-developed career services departments, recruitment on American campuses has been well-established.. Corporations are used to go directly to the school campuses for recruitment, it is not rare to see students who are hired by a company even before they have finished their degree.

In general, career services is not the strong point of the European MBA programmes Their programmes are still young, and so their placement services are not fully developed. At the same time, the quality of the courses and teachers in the principal European programmes are undeniably excellent. Recruiters are certainly not misled in this sense. However, the MBA has not yet reached its golden age in Europe, and only the big recruitment officers in consulting firms, financial institutions or engineering companies find themselves recruiting directly at these schools.

The MBA will surely have great importance in the future in Europe. However, many areas still need to be developed further in order to reach the US level of success especially placement services. European programmes have a strong reputation of being more international than American programmes in the sense that students in a European business school come from several countries, while in the US students are mainly American.

THE MBA IN THE REST OF THE WORLD

MBA programmes are now available all over the world. In Australia, there are about 40 different MBA programmes; in Asia — around 75; in Latin America — around 70 different MBAs. The majority of Latin American MBA students enter these programmes in order to master the different areas of management needed to begin careers in government administration, in large or small corporations but above all to put into effect their entrepreneurial ideas and create their own companies. Latin America is emerging as a rapidly developing market with many opportunities for MBA graduates.

In Latin America, Asia and Australia, the market for MBAs is still considerably young. But with the increasing demand for well prepared internationally minded managers, the global future of the MBA looks very promising.