Students invest a great deal of time, effort, and capital to obtain the MBA credential that they believe will provide them with the skills necessary to succeed in business. They expect such skills to position them for better job opportunities, salary increases, and a faster track to promotion up the corporate ladder. It is an investment that should yield rewards. However, the value of an MBA is open to skepticism by some. Critics have questioned the appropriateness of the skills that have become part of the typical curriculum and the ability of business programs to keep pace with a changing business environment. While students continue to believe in the value of the MBA, there is little current evidence to determine if the perception of employers toward its value has changed. Historical evidence demonstrates negative bias by some employers toward non-traditional degrees, such as those offered by online programs, due to a perception of student isolation and lack of collaboration in the online learning community. As technology advances and some of these perception issues are addressed, the lines between traditional and non-traditional program formats have become blurred. Consequently, demand for online programs, and the flexibility that they offer, has been strong. There is recent evidence that the public is more accepting of the non-traditional programs. This investigation was designed to expand the learning environment knowledge base. Employers and MBA graduates were queried on the importance and mastery of skills necessary in the workplace, the environment, traditional and non-traditional, and the rewards. The goal was to ascertain how the MBA is currently valued, and how the choice of program has met expectations. Using a cross-sectional survey design employing a questionnaire, alumni of MBA programs and employers were surveyed. Both groups identified problem solving, communication, and decision-making as the most essential skills that MBAs should bring to the workplace, and mastery of those skills was generally viewed as positive. Online learning was viewed positively, although employers continue to prefer on-campus learning. The role of technology was viewed by alumni as enhancing the online experience by facilitating interactivity. Overall, most were positive about the MBA experience and its rewards, but were less enthusiastic about the cost-benefit.

There have been several debates about the value of an MBA. Proponents of the MBA believe that the MBA contributes greatly to the development of general managers, while critics argue that the MBA course is disconnected from reality and does not equip graduates with the skills required to navigate managerial roles. Against this backdrop, the research aimed to establish which career capital components are accumulated through the MBA and what aspect of the MBA contribute to the accumulation of career capital.The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase of the research was qualitative and comprised ten semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders. The first phase aimed to establish the career capital components that are accumulated through the MBA and the aspects of the MBA that contribute to the accumulation of career capital. The constructs identified in phase one, together with those identified in the literature, were then used as inputs in the design of a self-administered questionnaire distributed in phase two. The questionnaire was sent to a total of 1 129 MBA graduates out of whom 205 completed the questionnaire.The career capital components that are developed through the MBA were identified, as well as the aspects of the MBA that contribute the most to accumulating career capital. The top career capital component identified was the ability to work under pressure. The aspect of the MBA that contributes the most to career capital accumulation was the case study method. Furthermore, the career capital components for which there were significant differences between males and females, as well as between those who completed their studies recently and those who completed them some time ago were also identified. The study found that there were no significant differences in perceived career capital between those who had different types of roles prior to embarking on the MBA. A model that encapsulates the key findings was also developed. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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I modern teori har lärande och utveckling inom ledarskap beskrivits som en dynamisk process, där flera komponenter har pekats ut som viktiga. En sådan komponent är högre utbildning vid universitet och högskolor. Trots utbildningens betydelse indikerar tidigare forskning att dess påverkan är understuderad. Studien har därför fokuserat på att utforska ledares självbild samt identifiera bidragande faktorer till ledarskapsutveckling utifrån deltagande i en EMBA-utbildning. För att besvara forskningsfrågan genomfördes intervjuer med tretton individer i ledande positioner. Resultaten visar att eget initiativtagande, samt stöd från omgivningen, har varit avgörande för hur betydelsefull utbildningen har uppfattats. Vikten av reflektion, förståelse för kursinnehåll, konceptualisering av material, samt möjligheter till praktisk tillämpning har vidare fastställts som väsentligt för ett framgångsrikt utbildningsutfall. Trots att en del intervjuobjekt upplevt bristande stöd eller implementeringssvårigheter visar resultaten att programmet haft en påtaglig effekt på deltagarnas självbild och ledarskapsförmåga. Således dras slutsatsen att deltagandet i EMBA-utbildningar, utöver att stärka akademiska och praktiska kompetenser, även spelar en avgörande roll i personliga och karriärmässiga utvecklingar.

This paper adds to existing literature regarding MBA selection processes and helps identify and better understand the needs that motivate consumers to pursue an MBA degree. Through a series of qualitative, one-on-one interviews with 17 brand-new MBA students or prospective students, this research found that while many people have "always wanted" to earn the advanced degree, most have toyed with the idea of a graduate business degree for many years. The most frequent reasons that people cite regarding their decision to seriously consider an MBA at a large southern university centers around four desires. These are, not surprisingly, the desire to earn more money, the desire to change careers, the desire to advance their careers by obtaining a required credential, and the desire for knowledge that can be obtained by earning the degree. Further, this research identified the single most important factor that prospects considered when determining which university to attend for the MBA degree: the university's ability to help make them more marketable or advance their career. Other answers included cost, university's reputation, convenience, program duration, the university's location, and the caliber of peers in the classroom.

Online education has changed the way education is delivered. Higher education has been the leader of providing online education. Currently, the fastest growing online degree program in higher education is a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. This demand is due to employees who are looking to move up in their career but who are not able to attend school full-time. Many accredited not-for-profit business schools as well as for-profit universities have launched their own online business degree programs to meet this demand. This report aims to review best practices for online business degree programs. It will describe the evolution of distance education as it pertains to higher education, the difference between campus, online and hybrid mode and the types of online learning. This report also identifies how higher education and business schools are providing online education and are competing with for-profit universities and explains why Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation is important. I will also discuss the benefits of delivering online business degree programs as well as proves the challenges that administration, students and faculty face in this process. Through analysis of existing research studies, the report will explain which best practices administration, faculty and students can adopt in order to offer and participate in a successful online business degree program. / text

abstract: Driven by a variety of factors, online learning has continued to grow at an unprecedented rate. A Sloan Foundation report issued in January of 2010 indicated that in 2009, 4.6 million students took at least one online class, an increase in 17% over 2008. Graduate business education, and more specifically, Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs have responded to this growth and other drivers such as globalization, institutional competition and student demand by leveraging the online platform more extensively. Because of the continued growth of online programs, there is an ongoing need to better understand the motivational beliefs and self-regulatory strategies students utilize to achieve academic success. Self-regulation is a social-cognitive construct supported by several decades of research, which posits that students engage in a self-directive process to transform their mental abilities into academic skills. Online MBA students balance work, family, business travel and other life events while pursuing their degree. Their ability to balance life events while succeeding academically suggests they possess the capacity for academic self-regulation. Can admissions requirements that are already in place provide insight into how students' manage their academic self-regulation? This study examined the relationship between the MBA admissions requirements of Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) total score, GMAT verbal score and years of work experience to determine if they were predictive of the student's motivational beliefs and self-regulatory learning strategies. GMAT scores and years of work experience are often thought to be predictors of student success in MBA programs. Self-selected online MBA students (n = 130) completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire during the final week of Organization Theory and Behavior, a core course in the MBA program. Analysis indicated that the MBA admissions requirements of GMAT total score, GMAT verbal score, and years of work experience were not reliable predictors of motivational beliefs and self-regulatory strategies. The findings indicate that while admissions criteria may be predictive of student success in the overall program, they provide little insight about how students manage their motivational beliefs and self-regulatory strategies while participating in their courses. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2010

The multigenerational workforce creates leadership challenges for business managers, and the members of each generational group have different factors that motivate them. Failure to motivate a multigenerational workforce can lead to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, high turnover rates, and reduced profits. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that marketing managers in a Maryland-based marketing firm use to motivate a multigenerational workforce using Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. The study comprised 7 marketing managers who have experience motivating a multigenerational workforce. The data collection process for this study consisted of semistructured interviews, observation, and member checking to explore successful strategies for motivating members of the multigenerational workforce. The data analysis used to examine the research for this study consisted of data coding, organizing, and making conclusions using methodical triangulation. In this study, methodical triangulation was used to confirm findings, increase validity, and enhance understanding. During the analysis, the 4 themes that emerged were communication and connecting, teamwork and collaboration, training and development, and rewards and recognition. By implementing the identified strategies, these marketing managers were able to motivate members of the multigenerational workforce. These findings indicate that there are specific strategies leaders can use to motivate a multigenerational workforce. The implications for positive social change include potential to foster better understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of the members of the multigenerational workforce as well as improved community relations.

全球已經進入知識經濟時代，未來對於教育的需求會越來越大。從產業的觀點來看MBA教育，由於需求的增加，未來產業規模將會不斷地擴張，行政院預估在2008年將達到4000億之多。另外，參考國外的經驗，以美國為例，教育的商業化使美國的教育產業在市場機制中不斷提升品質，使美國的MBA教育執世界之牛耳。另外美國科學局所發表「2002年科學與工程指標」（Science and Engineering Indicators-2002）中有關知識服務業的統計，教育服務產值名列第五大知識服務業，高達5000億美金。 隨著全球化的發展，跨國管理教育服務的規模也慢慢增加，台灣如果要擴展大學的規模以及國際化程度，跨國的發展是不可避免的趨勢。本文特別針對跨國管理教育服務的提供者做研究，以服務創新的角度去看這些個案的發展過程，做為台灣未來發展的參考。 一、 對台灣管理教育服務提供者建議 (1)台灣管理教育之國際化發展應先確立明確的目標顧客、自我定位與一致性的品質確認機制 (2)結合國內資源或是尋求各國聯盟以強化面對國際競爭時的競爭力 二、 對政府的建議 (1)應考量國際情勢適度開放法規限制，開放學位學程的遠距教學比例，配合監督教學品質，讓國內之教育機構在服務創新的過程中有更大的彈性。 (2)國內大學的財源、營運方式給予更多自主性，可以運用更多不同的資源提高競爭力。