A growing number of MBA programmes may be zeroing in on specific facets of business, from marketing to finance, and China business to technology. However, few are like the Henley Business School, which focuses on teaching the importance of upholding the 'moral high ground' in business.
'Morality and ethics are not just modules in the MBA. They are at the heart of what Henley stands for,' says Neil Logan, director of international business at the Henley Business School. 'We aim to develop each person as a true leader of business who can look to apply what we have taught immediately. The ethical fibre is very strong in our alumni.'
The SCMP/Henley MBA Scholarship programme offers two executives in Hong Kong a unique opportunity to experience an MBA programme with a difference. It is a programme that goes well beyond the theoretical and academic side of business.
'The MBA is very contemporary. It isn't just an MBA for people who need the letters behind their name. At Henley, we really look at the quality of the person. We believe leadership and management is as much about the character of the manager as it is about their competency and knowledge,' he says.
Mark Sharp, who started the course last year as one of two SCMP/Henley MBA Scholarship winners, was surprised at just how far the programme takes personal development.
'The personal development module forces you to 'unpack' your life. It tells you, in a systematic way, where you are at; identifies what makes you tick, the direction you are going in and helps you to think about where you want to go. It is a bizarre process, but it really makes you think about your life and work,' says Sharp, a senior investigator at the Independent Commission Against Corruption.