Welcome to a new level of executive excellence
Between 90 and 100 MBAs are offered in Hong Kong - and that does not even take into consideration the increasing number of overseas options or the growing number of online options.
Students can study part time or full time, on campus or offshore, online or via correspondence. Increasing numbers of programmes are combining a variety of teaching and learning modes.
But it does not stop there. As MBAs become a dime a dozen, a growing number of business schools are launching EMBAs, or executive MBAs, as well as DBAs, or Doctors of Business Administration. What sets them all apart?
MBAs, basically, are advanced programmes in management and administration. They are targeted at practising managers with prior qualifications, usually a bachelor's degree, but not necessarily in business. Academically orientated, they comprise a combination of mandatory core courses in business together with specialised electives, which are taught at a more advanced level. Formal research is not usually required. MBAs usually take between one to two years to complete. The programme at the University of Newcastle, for example, can generally be completed in 18 months of full-time study.
EMBAs are targeted at executives with more business experience under their belt. As a result, EMBA candidates tend to be older. They also tend to hold more senior positions, often having reached the director or chief executive level. Formal academic qualifications are not always required.
'The delivery is intensive and usually involves workshop formats, often dealing with issues in an interdisciplinary framework, rather than formal set courses,' a spokesman for the Newcastle Graduate School of Business says.
'Case studies and project assignments tend to be used, rather than traditional assessment via examinations and essays. EMBAs are often completed over a period of nine months using weekend intensive workshops.'
It is important to keep in mind that MBAs and EMBAs cover the same basic concepts, but they target people in different stages of their careers. MBA graduates wanting to continue their studies would therefore opt for either a DBA or a PhD - but not an EMBA.
EMBA graduates wanting further scholastic advancement would do the same and take either a DBA or PhD.
'A doctor of business administration is a progression from an MBA, requiring a further four new courses to be completed,' the spokesman explains.
'It gives more breadth and depth of understanding and develops research possibilities for candidates.'
So what sets a DBA apart from a PhD? The primary distinction is the amount of research required. At Newcastle, for example, a DBA is composed of two-thirds structured course work and one-third research. A PhD is 100 per cent research.
The DBA programme begins with two courses aimed at developing advanced level research skills. It ends with two courses in Global Corporate Governance and the concentration area being studied. A research project of 30,000 to 40,000 words rounds out the programme.
Two important components of the paper are a research review of 10,000 words and a 5,000-word section on research methodology.
