Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/63446
The executive edge EMBA programs have come on strong as win/win/win initiatives. Business schools, students, and Executive MBA programs have been around for close to 60 years, but they've only recently been recognized—formally and informally—as criti- cally important school programs. Formally, both the Financial Times and BusinessWeek introduced rankings for EMBA pro- grams in October 2001, using this set of rankings as one of several platforms to rate business schools and their strengths. Informally, schools themselves have realized what big plat- by Sharon Shinn forms these EMBA programs can be. With some schools charging upward of $100,000 for a two-year program, and most schools cementing their alliances with corporate stake- holders by grooming their executives for better positions, EMBA programs are sound investments, both financially and strategically. They represent an opportunity for schools to carve out a niche for themselves regionally, even if they're competing against powerhouse international schools. And while they might not be entirely recession-proof, historically EMBA programs function well in a poor economy, as corpo- rate workers strive to make themselves more valuable in their current positions—or more employable elsewhere. The first surge of EMBA programs came in the '70s and '80s for U.S. programs and in the following decade for European schools, according to Maury Kalnitz, executive director of the EMBA Council (www.emba.org). But schools worldwide are still adding EMBA programs, albeit at a slower rate than in the past ten years. One reason for their sustained growth is that these programs can offer generous revenue streams; another is that EMBA programs, which depend so much on peer learning, clearly fit the concept of integrated curricula and a broader approach to management education. "In the '70s and '80s, we focused on the silos of industry, finance, marketing, operations, and human resources," says Kalnitz, who is based in Atlanta, Georgia. "I used to be in product development. At one point my vice president said, 'Technically, you're great, but you're in a position now where you've got to communicate with VPs of marketing and CFOs. You don't speak the same language, and they sure aren't going to learn yours.' An EMBA offers executives that chance to broaden their knowledge. 46 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2002