The MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree is a general management qualification that equips students for a career in business management, helping them acquire broad perspectives across a wide range of areas that they need to understand in order to lead and operate effectively at a senior level. The MBA is highly valued by business people, entrepreneurs, and employers/recruiters.

The business world, the workplace and the nature of work are all changing at an amazing speed. As digital business transformation is now a necessity and a reality, business education has to embrace the transformations taking place, and make sense of the strategic management implications and challenges. But all of the business management processes are still applicable, even within a digital business environment – management and leadership, talent management, ICT, finance, operations, marketing and sales – as well as the corporate governance and ethical framework required to protect reputation and investors.

The MBA remains the pre-eminent business qualification but it is changing to meet the changing nature of business. The three notable trends are the greater personalisation of content; shorter programmes attracting younger students and helping graduates achieve faster ROI; and a greater emphasis on entrepreneurial and soft skills to meet the increasing need to be agile in the face of industry transformation and disruption. Business education providers also have to respond to the demands of a younger ‘digital native’ population of students who expect learning to reflect their digital view and experience of the world around us. 

Who needs an MBA?

The Middle East region will require additional skills and access to talent, and the leadership skills that successful digital transformation and rapid diversification of the economy will require. Talent comes in different forms and there is no doubt that soft skills are increasingly valued by business and these skills are easily transferable across industries – and not easily automated. LinkedIn Learning identified the soft skills companies need most in 2019, in which 57% of senior leaders said soft skills were more important than hard skills – especially Creativity, Persuasion, Collaboration, Adaptability, and Time Management. 

The business world is transforming rapidly and the MBA programme helps students understand these fundamental shifts. Students benefit from new knowledge, tools and skills, career support and a professional network of contacts – all essential to maintaining long-term sustainable employability.

Student motivations for studying an MBA vary from person to person but there is some common ground. In many multinational organisations, the MBA may be viewed as a pre-requisite for a career in senior management and providing candidates with a set of tools that makes them more effective in their roles while accelerating their careers. For other prospective students, the trigger may be a plan to switch careers, start a company, or move from a specialist role to general management. 

Today, there is a growing choice of MBA options in the region and candidates should look for the best fit in terms of programme content, opportunities to personalise and learning format. 

Choosing an MBA programme

The MBA covers all the core functions of business and so the skills and tools are equally applicable to c-level executives and managers, heads of specialist functions in large enterprises, SMEs and entrepreneurs looking to start-up a new venture. Students can also further personalise the MBA programme with a range of electives to suit specific goals and interests.

Choosing an MBA is a very personal decision but it should start with research – building an initial shortlist of candidate schools based on reputation and ranking (the Financial Times annual MBA ranking, for example) and accreditation (triple MBA ranking is the gold standard) is a good start. Prospective students may also want to look at global rankings for return on investment in various MBA programmes. 

Following this, candidates should look for the programmes that best suit their personal situations, learning objectives and interests – subjects, study formats (full-time or part-time/blended learning) amount of face to face contact time with peers and faculty, international network and exposure, alumni network, careers support, entry criteria and cost. 

Many business programmes are becoming more modular and flexible, offering a greater degree of personalisation and specialisation to meet specific learning objectives – for example through a range of elective courses. 

It is not just about customized content but also about content delivery. It is no coincidence that business education providers are delivering learning through channels and in a flexible format that reflects global business, with learners working remotely in self-study mode online, liaising and collaborating with fellow students through social and other media, and then spending short bursts of intense face to face study time with faculty and peers, while continuing to work and earn.  This is the reality of working life for many young and mid-career executives today. 

The next stage is to go and meet the shortlisted schools – and students and alumni, if possible – for deeper insights into the learning and student experience, as well as different perspectives on the teaching styles, calibre of student peers, and careers support services. 

Sustainable employability

The essential key for business educators is staying relevant and ahead of the wave of transformations that will no doubt continue to be a feature of business in the region, into the future. MBA content is having to be updated to reflect these rapid technological, social and workplace changes, with IOT, AI and Blockchain all part of an increasing technology emphasis in business education.  Students can now choose to add electives on Big Data Analytics, Digital Marketing Strategy, Information Systems and Digital Strategy, Managing Disruptive Technologies, and the Digital Economy to their core MBA subjects. Students can develop their skills through consultancy style MBA projects rather than class based exercises, so this more closely mirrors the real business world. This also helps to build the soft skills and the confidence required to build a successful and sustainable career in business. 

The deeper trend in business education is lifelong learning as people need to refresh and learn skills constantly to maintain their employability. Business executives continue to return to the classroom and not just for the digital view of business, strategy and management, but also with an interest in building portfolio careers. At the heart of this is sustainable employability and the need to develop and sustain the transferable skills for the 21st century and a rapidly changing world.

Ultimately, business people only study for an MBA once in their lives and so prospective students should choose the best school and programme available to them – it should prove to be a career- and life-transforming experience and a very good investment, whether you’re kick-starting a career or a new business startup.