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The Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) is a program for business owners and senior executives. It is designed to develop managerial experience, not to teach management – like a classic MBA
What is the essence of the Executive MBA program
Initially, EMBA was designed as an upgrade program for established businessmen with over 15 years of experience and had a full-time format. But over time, more and more people began to decide not to leave work for a long period. Therefore, the formats began to shrink, and EMBA got younger. Today, the managerial experience of students is on average 3-5 years, and the average age is 34-37 years. Programs take place in “real time”, when the leader continues to perform his duties in parallel with the training.
It is useful for those wishing to receive an EMBA degree to know that all programs of this format are standardized and have 80% the same content. Any program must include disciplines on organizational development, strategy, marketing, personnel management, company structure, values and corporate culture, as well as organization of processes (operational management) and management accounting.
The variable part of the programs, as a rule, includes narrower – industry disciplines and disciplines that are highly relevant for business at the present time, for example, knowledge management, IT, innovation, etc.
The material was prepared for the special project “Guide to MBA”
What to choose: Executive MBA or MBA
The EMBA is fundamentally different from the traditional Master of Business Administration (MBA) in terms of learning objectives and program design.
There is a lot of theory in MBA programs, as they are designed to help middle managers build their careers. EMBA, as was said, is designed for established leaders. The managerial experience of students plays a key role in the program, since the material is often worked out directly in the real activities of students.
Main differences between Executive MBA and MBA
Qualification level of teachers The professional experience and expertise of EMBA teachers must meet the high requirements of student leaders, allow participants in the process to speak the “same language” and think in similar categories. If an EMBA teacher-expert enters the audience of the MBA group, then a significant part of the managers present will not be able to understand and assimilate the material. A business school where EMBA and MBA programs coexist should have a teaching resource for teaching a different composition of students and clear criteria for recruiting groups of students for different programs.
Part-time learning format Among classic MBA programs, the Full-time format is common, when the student is only studying and not working. EMBA, as a rule, is of a modular nature, which allows students to be trained without interrupting their current management activities. It is generally accepted that the passage of an EMBA takes twice as long as an MBA – but this thesis has not been true for a long time. Education for EMBA and MBA now takes from 1 to 2,5 years, and there are no fundamental differences.
It is worth adding that in recent years many business schools have begun to offer a distance learning format. It is difficult to unambiguously evaluate its effectiveness for Executive MBA and MBA. There is a risk that the online format deprives listeners not only of live communication, but also of the learning environment, the very “submarine effect” that allows them to quickly not only gain the maximum of important knowledge, but also develop specific management skills.
Practical nature of learning The theoretical part of training at EMBA, as a rule, is taken out of the module to the maximum. Thus, students get the opportunity to focus on the practical development of skills and acquired knowledge in the format of role-playing games and desktop business simulations, as well as participate in the analysis of specific cases.
Who is the Executive MBA for?
According to a survey conducted by AMI Business School at the end of 2021, 63% of graduates chose EMBA due to the need to acquire new knowledge and systematize existing ones. As a rule, owners and top managers choose an Executive MBA for themselves in two cases:
- when they feel the need to move to a new level in business or want to start their own business;
- when they realize the need to reboot an existing business.
Both cases are united by the absence in the minds of a manager or entrepreneur of a clear action plan that will lead to development.
Why you need an Executive MBA
Students of EMBA programs develop the ability to look at their business and surrounding companies in an abstract and systematic way. Helicopter View allows you to see how the different functional strategies of a company come together and how they support the core and competitive strategies. The knowledge gained in the program is implemented by graduates and evaluated by business partners, as well as stakeholders almost instantly.
The experience of the AMI business school has shown that knowledge does not guarantee changes in the actions of a particular leader. Therefore, the focus of the EMBA program from AMI is “non-delegable” skills, that is, skills on the implementation of which the quality of the management system depends. These are strategic vision, systems thinking, charismatic leadership, timely decision making and competent people management. The school aims to develop exactly the right habits of thinking and acting.
The cost of Executive MBA programs
Executive MBA is considered the most expensive business education program. For example, the cost of studying for the EMBA program at Harvard Business School can reach $70-120 thousand per year. Since two years of full-time study are required to complete the program, these costs need to be doubled. Accommodation and transportation costs for foreign students are not included in the amount. At the same time, over the past few years, the cost of EMBA in key business schools in Europe and the United States has continued to grow, despite a decrease in the flow of students from abroad due to covid and political restrictions.
The average cost of EMBA programs in our country is more than ₽2,5 million and, as a rule, included visiting (foreign) modules with the participation of foreign teachers.
Since 2020, the visiting modules of most business schools have changed: foreign lecturers either came to Russia themselves or taught online. The total cost of the program has not changed. The cost of most EMBAs in our country includes accommodation and training materials for students.
In fact, getting a business education abroad, the student pays for a brand and a prestigious diploma. There is no significant difference in the quality of knowledge.