This month the MBA Roundtable released the results of its 2009 MBA Curricular Innovation Study indicating that 69% of MBA programs have significantly revised the curriculum in the past four years to improve the relevancy of the degree in response to criticism that they are not preparing graduates for today’s business challenges.

What Is Relevance?

Among the 69% of MBA programs making significant revisions to their curriculum, the most common change was the addition of ‘applied content’, or project-based courses. In addition to giving students more opportunities to take their learning out of the comfortable lecture hall and into the demanding real-world business simulations, respondents also reported that integration across topics and disciplines, as well as interdisciplinary content were popular changes.

MBA Programs That Get Into Details

MBA programs have traditionally focused on equipping students with big picture concepts, eschewing fine details of specific industries for personal leadership and decision making skills. Apparently that’s changing. The MBA Roundtable data reveals that 25% of MBA degree programs have added an industry specialization in the past three years. Common emphasis areas are healthcare, biotech, medicine, and entrepreneurship. Another change: about half the programs reported that they had added a focus on leadership development (as in, developing others) and global perspectives to their offerings.

Change is Good

And the changes just keep coming. 89% of all MBA programs surveyed are planning additional curricular changes.

“I think this is very promising news,” said Rodney Alsup, president of the MBA Roundtable. “It shows that there has been a concentrated effort among MBA programs to innovate and make changes that increase their relevance to both students and employers. Furthermore, this has been done in an educational environment that can be resistant to change, or, at the very least, has approval processes that make it difficult to make changes in a timely manner. Some schools need approval from their state boards of education prior to revising their curricula, for example.”

The motivation for these changes comes from both internal and external sources, according to the study. The most common motivator by far was internal quality improvement initiatives, with 64% of participants selecting it as one of their motivators. Among external motivators, “competitor schools” was the most commonly chosen answer, with 34% of respondents choosing it as one of their motivators.

If  you want to know more, check out all the results at www.mbaroundtable.org/events_preview.html.

A History of Excellence

Moore has been ranked among the top two in the category for the past twenty years. This year, in terms of international business, they beat out all these heavy hitters:

• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ross)
• Columbia University
• Duke University (Fuqua)
• New York University (Stern)
• Harvard Business School
• University of Southern California (Marshall)
• University of California-Berkeley (Haas)

In addition to the top marks for their international business program, the Moore School also moved into the Top 25 among the top business schools at the nation’s public universities.

New International Programs at Moore

The latest ranking comes on the heels of the Moore’s announcement of two new international business programs for the fall.

The Master of International Business (MIB)
This a unique one-year graduate program will be offered jointly with the political science department and the School of Law to provide students with an advanced understanding of the interaction between business, government and society. Courses are approached from an interdisciplinary view so that students gain practice in applying socio-cultural, political and economic perspectives to a rich variety of international management issues including overseas trade and investment and the operation and role of multinational firms in the global economy.

International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE)
This collaborative program partners with the Chinese University of Hong Kong for undergraduates and includes two years of study in Hong Kong, along with intensive language and cultural training.

“These new offerings are continuing evidence of the Moore School’s innovative leadership in international business education,” said Moore School Dean Hildy Teegen. “We are pleased that this leadership is further recognized by U.S. News and we look forward to building on this position with the development of new international programs in the future.”About The Moore School of Business

The Moore School of Business is a comprehensive business school with more than 4,200 students in its undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, and 38,000 living alumni around the world. The Executive Education program last year provided approximately 90 programs for 2,500 executives and government leaders. The Moore School’s undergraduate program in International Business is ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report and, in the category of “international experience,” the School’s MBA program is ranked second among all business schools globally and first in the U.S. by the Financial Times.

Passing the series of CFA exams demonstrates that you have the technical skills to succeed in asset or investment management, specifically in the field of investment banking. Getting your MBA prepares you for a broad range of challenges in the business world, especially the so called ‘softer’, yet crucially important leadership and people skills.

The MBA and CFA are actually quite complimentary designations.  This is why the CFA Institute has created specialized resources to help university offer the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) as part of their business programs. The following North American colleges and universities currently offer CBOK curriculum.

Northeast

• Baruch College, The City University of New York, Executive MS in Financial Statement Analysis and Securities Valuation
• Boston University, Master of Science in Investment Management
• Cornell University, MBA Program at the Johnson School of Management  University of North
• University of Pittsburgh, MBA with Concentration in Finance Program
• Fordham University, Bachelor of Science in Finance 
• University of Rhode Island, Bachelor of Science, Major in Finance 

Southeast

• Georgia Institute of Technology, Master of Business Administration 
• University of Richmond,  BS in Finance 
• Carolina at Chapel Hill, Master of Business Administration, Concentration in Investment Management
• University of Virginia, B.S. in Commerce with a Concentration in Finance
• University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Finance Master of Science in Finance
• Virginia Tech, BS in Finance

Midwest

• University of Kansas, Bachelor of Science in Business, Major in Finance
• University of Missouri at Columbia, Bachelor of Business Administration, Emphasis in Finance 
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, CFA Track within the Finance Major 
• Creighton University, Master of Security Analysis and Portfolio Management     
• Marquette University, Applied Investment Management Program 
• Michigan State University, Bachelor of Arts in Finance MBA Program 
• Saint Louis University, John Cook School of Business, Bachelor of Science in Finance, Financial Analyst Track 
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Business Administration, Applied Securities Analysis Program 
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Master of Science in Finance

West

• University of San Francisco, MS in Financial Analysis
• University of Southern California, MBA
• Texas Tech University, Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance Major with Investments Emphasis

Canada

• Concordia University, Goodman Institute of Investment Management MBA Program
• Université de Sherbrooke, M.Sc. in Finance
• Université Laval, Bachelor of Administration with Finance Major MBA Finance

On Campus vs. Online Study

The first decision you might make is whether to pursue a traditional course of study on a physical campus or to get your degree in the ever more popular online arena. Regardless of which you choose, a business degree program will typically include courses in accounting, finance, management, marketing, analysis, and computer applications. You may also study organizational behavior, ethics, social interaction, and research methods.

Types of College Business Degrees

Associate’s Degrees in Business

The Associate’s degree in business is a great option for those not prepared to commit to a full bachelor’s degree. An Associate’s degree program is typically a two-year course of study in many of the areas of business stated above. It gives students some business skills in demand by many employers. It also lays the groundwork to continue business education at a later time.

Bachelor’s Degrees in Business

The Bachelor’s degree in business (sometimes called business  administration) is considered to be a requirement for entry into professional business careers. This is usually a four-year program. As a graduate of a Bachelor’s degree program, you will be qualified for entry-level positions in fields like accounting, financial services, economics, human resources, sales, and marketing. Although you could probably break into any of these fields with a lesser education, you may have to work harder to be taken seriously for career advancement without a Bachelor’s degree.

If you’re already working in business and running up against obstacles because you lack a formal degree, consider getting that credential through an online outlet. Most online business degree programs are designed with the needs of working adults in mind.

Master’s Degrees in Business

Many people with Bachelor’s degrees in business (or another area) find it advantageous at some point in their careers to undertake a Master’s degree in business (MBA) program. While an MBA is not required for career advancement and won’t necessarily garner you a huge salary increase, candidates for higher level executive positions may be preferred if they have an MBA. Most MBA programs can be tailored somewhat to include the types of courses that are most applicable to your current position or one you aspire to.

MBAs used to be a two-year course of study, but today there are many options for completing a program. Many are designed to fit the needs and scheduling of working professionals. Part-time, evening, or online courses are offered. In addition to enhancing a student’s technical skills in areas like accounting, finance, and sales, MBA programs teach students to be leaders of larger organizations. MBA programs are available in a selection of industry-specific concentrations.

Doctorate Degrees in Business

Academically, a Doctorate degree (or PhD) is the highest you can go. Doctorate degrees in business are built on electives you select to achieve the type of self-directed learning you choose. Students complete personalized research on a specific topic in the areas of finance, marketing, operations, or any other business field.

Doctorate degrees often require students to teach Bachelor’s or Master’s degree students. Therefore most programs are not offered in a correspondence or online format. Even if offered online, most doctoral programs will usually require students to complete at least a brief residency to confer with professors and other doctoral students. A PhD in business is generally preparation to teach at the university level. Many professors also provide consultation to companies for additional income.

Once you’ve decided to get a business education, there is almost no end to the possibilities. In addition to the degrees listed there are many professional licenses and certifications that business professionals hold, many with annual educational requirements.

A career in business is one of lifelong learning. Enjoy!

OpenCourseWare is free and open online publication of high quality educational materials offered by some of the top universities in the world. Many high ranking schools are putting entire courses online. You can easily download syllabi, reading lists, labs, assignment, and exams online. Streaming video lectures are even available for some courses.

It’s all free for the taking. No pesky registration or prerequisites required.

Why Give Education Away?
OpenCourseWare is the new model top tier schools are using to disseminate knowledge among scholars worldwide. The practice of making full courses available to everyone promotes collaboration and contributes to the idea of shared intellectual commons in academia. Open license publishing encourages reuse, redistribution and modification for non-commercial purposes.

One of the original committee members, Associate Dean of Engineering Dick Yue, had this to say,

“The idea is simple…just to publish our teaching material, our course content online and make it widely available to everyone who can use it, for free. The dream was that OpenCourseWare would be a broad-based movement that would impact knowledge, information and education worldwide. I think it’s coming to fruition even as we speak.”

What’s In It For Me?
While OCW does not grant degrees or certificates, doesn’t’ provide access to faculty, and probably doesn’t emcompass the entire content of a course, you can’t deny that an ambitious student could supplement traditional education significantly. (Or at least impress the boss.)

Say you’re sitting in a meeting where people are tossing out the phrase supply chain management. You keep your mouth shut until you can get home and search the OpenCourseWare Consortium database. Then you download the lecture notes and show up the next day as the resident expert on supply chain management. Knowledge is power.

The Consortium
The OpenCourseWare Consortium brings together more than 160 higher education institutions to create a comprehensive body of open educational content. Participating contributors use a shared model to present the information. OpenCourseWare Consortium’s mission is to advance education and empower people worldwide through opencourseware.

They seek to accomplish this by encouraging institutions worldwide to adopt the model of OpenCourseWare. They foster the development of new projects, as well as continue to improve delivery of the materials and reduce costs.

OCW contributors from all over the world have published an estimated 5,000 courses. Leading universities from the United States, China, Japan, Spain, Africa, Australia, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia all publish OCW.

OpenCourseWare Expands
In November of 2007, MIT celebrated the accomplishment of having published 1800 virtual courses. Ninety percent of MIT faculty, many from the Sloan School of Management voluntarily contribute courses to the initiative.

OpenCourseWare began in 2001 at MIT as a 50-course pilot project. Now the site that includes nearly the complete undergraduate and graduate curriculum. MIT estimates that 35 million individuals have accessed OCW materials to date. Of those, 60 percent reside outside the United States. Courses have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai.

Business education is catching up with simulated business models where students get to apply classroom learning to a set of real world variables. With virtual workplace scenarios and computer-based simulations, students practice choices they’ll have to make in the real world. By some estimates, more than half the business schools accredited by AACSB are using online business simulations.

What’s a Business Simulation?

The case study has long been used in business school to simulate real business situations and illicit practical responses from students. Online simulations allow students to oversee operations management of a virtual factory and network with other executives. They apply theory to a virtual workplace. The game aspect of business simulations stimulate even more competition among students. And what’s B-School without some cutthrouat competition?

Samuel Wood left the Stanford Graduate School of Business to lead Responsive Learning Technologies, whose Littlefield Technologies creates for students virtual factory in which to practice business decisions. It’s all about getting practical experience.

“You can read about bicycles, but you won’t be a good cyclist until you start riding one,” said Wood.

Professors Embrace Biz Sims

Virtual business simulations engage students. They are more realistic than than lectures and theory. They force students to apply what they’ve learned in a textbook to a real life scenario.

Business decisions are monitored by professors who use students’ choices to calculate grades, fine tune instruction, and provide feedback on specific skills. Moves executed in the ‘game’ provide jumping off points for class discussion. Actual examples serve to motivate students. There their mistakes can be corrected and successes celebrated together, breeding cameraderie.

Simulations are highly variable and customizable. They can take up one class period, or comprise a semester long project. Alfred West Jr. Learning Lab is helping professors at Wharton create online simulations that are tailored to their specific courses. Professors can start from scratch, or turn an existing case study into a simulation. After using the simulation for a semester, they can adjust it for student needs or new information.

The Case Study Goes Virtual

Critics of the traditional case study argue it can be too tidy, effectively spoon feeding students answers before they’ve adequately struggled over possible solutions. Virtual business sims can incorporate far more variables. Not only that, but instructors are able to track student’s decision processes in real time as they work through the situations.

Critics of online business simulations complain that by having students work on a computer, they miss out of the interaction with other students, thereby miss learing key skills. Business simulations are also more expensive to develop compared to traditional paper case studies.

The solution may lie in new simuluations designed in conjuction with case studies that are used together with the more traditional method. Harvard Business School Publishing is getting in on the action with online simulations designed to compliment its best-selling case studies.

Business Simulations As Recuiting Tools

In the future, it’s possible that employers will be able to look at simulation performance to verify that MBA students can apply their classroom learning. Business simulations could become a powerful tools for recruiters who need to predict how a potential candidate will react to real world circumstances.

Will there come a day when the interview process will include ‘testing out’ of a complex scenario? Could business acumen be tested as accurately as typing is today? We’ll see. What we know is that online business simulations provide a new world of possibility for today’s business students.

High Tech Retail Requires Special Skills

Wal-Mart suppliers use sophisticated software programs to access to sales data online in real time. Suppliers need account reps who can make constant decisions about the information they receive. Under-performing sellers must be replaced with new items based on the numbers.

Basic category management skills for Wal-Mart suppliers include the ability to work with software programs like RetailLink and ProSpace as well as the analytical skills to use the date received. Students use technology to optimize allocation of products, identify inventory problems, design displays, and instantly see the effects of changes.

Growing Talent Through Targeted Education

Wal-Mart requires its suppliers to maintain an office near their headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Having all that talent in one geographic area pays off. Wal-Mart has worked closely with retail experts from among their suppliers and Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) to design education targeted at training potential retail analysts.

NWACC provides software training as well as education in other aspects of Category Management needed for the new world of retail. The program is designed to appeal to those beginning their retail career as well as those looking to change fields or expand their retail knowledge. Fortune 500 companies hire from the pool of analysts who have received education in he retail business, including advanced computer and statistical skills.

Marketing Analyst Certification

NWACC’s Marketing Analyst Program prepares students for the retail industry. In addition to core business classes like accounting and economics, retail students take classes with titles like Merchandising and Data Analysis, Retail Fundamentals, and Internet Resourcing. These customized courses are taught by working professionals in the Wal-Mart vendor community. Students in the certificate program are taught key software programs, such as RetailLink, with the emphasis on practical business case studies.

According to Marshall McCall, Executive Director of Retail Programs, as of January 2008, new student enrollment had more than doubled when compared to the same semester of the prior year. This spring there are 213 students enrolled.
“The enrollments also speak to the quality of real-life instruction provided by the instructors, all of whom are members of the retail community here in northwest Arkansas,” McCall said.

Success Breeds Partnership

In October, 2007, the Wal-Mart Foundation contributed $600,000 to NWACC to help create a new associate’s degree in business management with a retail emphasis. This expanded on the certificate program to provide a sound business education foundation with a focus on retail management and marketing. Students complete four certificates within the degree: retail management, business ethics, quantitative analysis (statistics), and communications.

The retail program benefits the world beyond Wal-Mart too. The skills leaned there are applicable to careers in real estate, marketing, human resources, finance, and information technology. What’s next WBS – Wal-Mart Business School? It may not be far away. In the meantime, if you want to break into retail – get yourself to Arkansas and enroll in community college.

Business schools are stepping up to the challenge with new curriculum on everything from self-regulation to sustainable distribution methods. While some companies must maneuver regulations to reduce environmental impact, others can use concern over the environment as an opportunity to increase revenues and/or cut costs.

It’s Not All Environmental
In the past, non-profit organizations and governments addressed unmet human needs. However, business is increasingly called upon to cooperate in finding more effective, efficient, and sustainable solutions. These changing roles are redefining business education.

Even financial markets are changing as interest in social investing grows. Concerns over globalization and climate change are challenging ideas that social and environmental concerns are always subordinate to financial goals.

Why Go Green?
New research indicates that a visible commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is rewarded in the marketplace. Embracing a CSR strategy means companies integrate positive social and environmental change into their core business objective and use corporate core competencies to create and add value.

Students and professionals require courses that approach environmental objectives effectively, but also in a practical way. Business education now teaches students to use progressive environmental policies for competitive advantage, innovate products and processes, maintain relationships with environmental advocacy groups, and choose the best way to manage the supply chain for sustainability.

Industries like wood products, electronics, garments, shoes, coffee, food, chemicals, and oil and undergoing massive change. Students must learn emerging issues management strategies like corporate voluntary self-regulation, self-imposed codes of conduct, participation in certification and labeling, fair trade programs, and transparent reporting.

Stanford Ranked #1
Stanford’s Graduate School of Business promotes green curriculum through its Center for Social Innovation (CSI). The CSI offers social innovation courses and experiential learning opportunities for Stanford MBA students and executive education to professionals in business, non-profit, and government.

They also produce a series of free podcasts, Social Innovation Conversations. The upcoming conference, Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains, explores how innovations in supply chain practices can improve business models and address social problems.

Stanford is ranked #1 on the Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes Report on business schools that are incorporating the topics of social and environmental stewardship into the curriculum. Ross, Schulich, Hass, and Mendoza round out the top five. The Aspen Institute, which ranks schools based on survey information, also provides syllabi from all its participating schools to give educators everywhere a glimpse of what’s being taught at other schools.

Harvard: Good and Green
Harvard Business School tackles green issues through the Social Enterprise Initiative, which has led to the creation of more than 400 cases written by their faculty. One such case, Marketing the $100 PC, examines the business model of the One Laptop Per Child foundation.

When asked about the future of social entrepreneurship, Assistant Professor Jane Wei-Skillern stated,

“More and more students in the United States and other countries are seeking to earn their MBAs with an eye toward building careers in this field. Even students who plan to go into the business sector upon graduation are increasingly aware that they will be engaged as leaders in the social sector at some point in their lives, whether as executives, board members, or philanthropists.”

Green curriculum is here to stay. As their popularity and demand grows, they are trickling down to the undergraduate level. Many schools are now requiring some type of environmental or social responsibility survey class for bachelor’s degrees in business administration.

Why channel your energies into a business education? In today’s competitive employment climate, it all comes down to marketability. A business education is practical, durable, and portable. It’s what you bring to the table. It’s your opening credential.

Remember when high schools divided students into the college prep program (those going on to higher education) and the business program (those who weren’t going to college and were going to find a job right out of high school)? Well, having a high school diploma just doesn’t cut it anymore in the business world. Employers want you to hit the ground running; they don’t want to have to train you. For the young business executive, a business education is basic training.

No doubt about it, a degree in business gives you a leg up in today’s workplace. And that’s a good hedge against recession.

With everyone concerned about a recession these days, employers can be picky, and they’re going hire and keep management employees with business degrees. A BBA is good; an MBA is even better.

At one time, the most popular business degrees were MBAs. But now many undergrads eagerly pursue degrees in business as well, and gain the tools they need early on as they look toward a career in the business world. They can then further hone their skills in graduate school.

Those who combine a technical background like computer science and engineering with a business education give employers almost everything they want in one package–a manager who understands the product, who knows how to run a department efficiently, and who can manage people effectively. So a business education puts you in line for promotion and increases your lifetime earning potential. You can apply a business education to many different fields, giving you the freedom to use your expertise in a variety of industries. Even someone in the professions–like a lawyer, a doctor or an architect–can benefit from some formal business education.

A business education is broadening, too. It gives you an opportunity to learn the nuances of both new and time-tested business philosophies, to debate management styles, and to begin to develop some of your own. As you investigate the role of market research in product development and customer satisfaction, and understand how organizational structure works, you gain insight into all sorts of businesses and how to make them profitable. And you meet lots of people who are going into business, just like you, so you can network or perhaps even pool your resources to develop your own entrepreneurial startup.

What other discipline lets you delve into all sorts of fields, from strategic planning to marketing, human resources, distribution, manufacturing, sales, and financial planning, while also focusing on your own particular area of interest?

Approach a business education as you would a business: Analyze the programs that are out there, choose the one that suits you the best, and pick a school that’s going to help you build the career–and the future–that you want.