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History of business cases
When Harvard Business School was founded, the faculty realized that there were no textbooks suitable to a graduate program in business. Their first solution to this problem was to interview leading practitioners of business and to write detailed accounts of what these managers were doing, based partly on the case method already in use at Harvard Law School. Of course the professors could not present these cases as practices to be emulated because there were no criteria available for determining what would succeed and what would not succeed. So the professors instructed their students to read the cases and to come to class prepared to discuss the cases and to offer recommendations for appropriate courses of action. The basic outlines of this method are still present in business school curriculum today.
Types
There are several forms of business schools, including school of business, business administration, and management.
Most of the university business schools are faculties, colleges, or departments within the university, and teach predominantly business courses.
In North America, a business school is often understood to be a university program that offers a graduate Master of Business Administration degrees and/or undergraduate bachelor's degrees.
In Europe and Asia, some universities teach only business.
In Europe, major business schools are owned by the Chambers of Commerce (including ESCP Europe, founded in 1819).
Privately owned business school which is not affiliated with any university.
Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, or on weekends. Part-time programs normally last three years or more. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
Two-year (Full Time) MBA programs normally take place over two academic years (i.e. approximately 18 months of term time). For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, they often begin in late August/September of year one and continue until May of year two, with a three- to four-month summer break in between years one and two. Students enter with a reasonable amount of prior real-world work experience and take classes during weekdays like other university students. A typical Full-time, accelerated, part-time or modular MBA requires 60 credits (600 class hours) of graduate work.
Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two-year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules. They usually have less "down time" during the program and between semesters. For example, there is no three- to four-month summer break, and between semesters there might be seven to ten days off rather than three to five weeks vacation.
Modular MBA programs are similar to part-time programs, although typically employing a lock-step curriculum with classes packaged together in blocks lasting from one to three weeks.
Distance learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Many schools offer these programs.
Blended learning programs combine distance learning with face-to-face instruction.[17] These programs typically target working professionals who are unable to attend traditional part-time programs.
Executive MBA (EMBA) programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree in two years or less while working full-time. Participants come from every type and size of organization – profit, nonprofit, government – representing a variety of industries. EMBA students typically have a higher level of work experience, often 10 years or more, compared to other MBA students. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
Mini-MBA is a term used by many non-profit and for-profit institutions to describe a training regimen focused on the fundamentals of business. In the past, Mini-MBA programs have typically been offered as non-credit bearing courses that require less than 100 hours of total learning. However, due to the criticisms of these certificates, many schools have now shifted their programs to offer courses for full credit so that may be applied towards a complete traditional MBA degree. This is to allow students to verify business related coursework for employment purposes and still allow the option complete a full-time MBA degree program at a later period if they elect to do so.
Dual MBA programs combine a MBA with others (such as an MS, MA, or a J.D., etc.) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing 2 degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor's degree in business administration and an MBA in four or five years.
Admissions criteria
Many programs base their admission decisions on a combination of Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a resume containing significant work experience, academic transcripts, essays, references and letters of recommendation or personal interviews. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is also accepted by some schools in lieu of the GMAT. Some schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities and how the student can improve the school's diversity and contribute to the student body as a whole. All of these qualifications can be important for admission; however, some schools do not weigh GMAT scores as heavily as other criteria, and some distance learning programs do not require the GMAT for admission. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios. Some MBA degrees do not require students to have an undergraduate degree and will accept experience in lieu of an undergraduate degree. In the UK for example an HND or even HNC is acceptable in some programs.
Depending on the program, type and length of work experience can be a critical admissions component for many MBA programs. Many top-tier programs require five or more years of work experience for admission.
Some schools of business
- Arizona State University
- American InterContinental University
- ITT Technical Institute
- Keller Graduate School of Management
- Virginia College
- Carrington College California
More schools of business
- Sullivan University Global
- The Art Institute
- Keiser University Graduate School
- DeVry University
- University of Phoenix
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