I'm currently in the process of developing a proposal to our Management Committee to approve my quest for admission into an Executive MBA programme.

Curious if anyone here has completed (or is in the process) of an EMBA and what your thoughts are of the programme. Is it better than a traditional MBA or just different.

If you graduated from or are currently enrolled in, were you self-funded or did your company assist you? Did you have to prepare a document to help sway your company into deciding in your favour? I'm looking at developing a paper comparing my top three preferred programmes, stating analysis of programmes (time, money, commitments), location, ROI, etc.

Any feedback you folks can provide me with may help in my "report" to the Grand Poobahs. :D

If you vote, could you please comment on why you selected what you did?

Thanks!

I'm at the point in my career that I have no interest in continuing the climb up the ladder of success. In fact, in April, my intention is to slow down the pace, move to northern lower Michigan and reduce my standard of living. Any advance degree will not add a lot to my long-term plans. Part of gettin old I suppose.

db said:

I'm at the point in my career that I have no interest in continuing the climb up the ladder of success. In fact, in April, my intention is to slow down the pace, move to northern lower Michigan and reduce my standard of living. Any advance degree will not add a lot to my long-term plans. Part of gettin old I suppose.

What you call the "ladder of success", I've dubbed the "Corporate Food Chain". Unfortunately, this food chain seems to frequently negate Darwin's theory of evolution. ;)

I wouldn't say you're getting old, db. I think my question will probably just reinforce how diverse the population of the Cove is and how we're all at different stages in our careers. And I feel that it's this diversity that makes the Cove and our discussions here such a huge success. You've got to admit, though, that it's almost always a learning experience when you come here. Guess what they say about old dogs and new tricks doesn't apply here. :vfunny:

As for me, I'm at the stage where I think I'm about ready to be fast-tracked up the food chain if I play my cards right. An EMBA would be a very nice tool to have. The question is where to go...or more importantly, who will accept me? :vfunny:

I've done the diagnostic GMAT (to find my weaknesses) and there are no surprises. My job does not have me using much math (other than stats), so my algebra has gone downhill. How I could forget about negative numbers is beyond me! I think I'm cut out for Finance with that kind of attitude! ;) Numbers start at '0', right?

But this weekend, will involve developing my report to the Top Dogs. My company does have a standard form to be completed for tuition reimbursement, but I think that an EMBA would require a bit more than just the bare minimum for me to submit to them. It's a long weekend and between bbq's and the CNE airshow (Red Arrows and Snowbirds will be there I'm told), I've got to find the time....and drive...to write this paper. :ko:

I wouldn't say you're getting old, db I'm not old, I just feel that way:vfunny:.

If I were even 10 years younger and IF I had a desire to climb the food chain, I would probably go after even just a MBA (I have a friend that is only 5 years younger that is just starting the process). But just like everything else. I look at the pain and effort required and look at the potential benefits and I don't see it for me.

My friend will most certainly make the most of his advanced degree (as will you I suspect), and I wish the both of you success (I would say luck, but I know neither of you need luck when you have skill and the Cove)!

EMBA? That's for wannabe's;)

I just starting the Doctorate program in Business Administration myself.

By the way....What is a family life anyway?:biglaugh:

Randy, I'm sorry to report that there is no smilie for "I'm not worthy!" ;)

Doctorate....I usually associate that with professional students or wannabe profs. Which category do you fall into? Or are you your own category? :vfunny: Just teasing...

I figure for me to succeed in this world, I need an MBA or EMBA. If I want to succeed in this universe...then the doctorate.

Hmmm....Dr. Roxane.....I like the sound of that. And I could have my own call-in show for quality related issues and MENSA puzzles that folks are stuck on. My face could be plastered on the sides of buses and in subway terminals. Oooooo....I'm liking this more and more!!! :vfunny:

I just hope you remember us 'little people', as the ones who got you started! :)

db said:

I just hope you remember us 'little people', as the ones who got you started! :)

Thanks, db...now the song that the Munchkins sing in "The Wizard of Oz" is stuck in my head. Oh well, that's better than yesterday when rounding up folks for a closing meeting I was humming "Rawhide". :bonk:

I see that two people voted "Huh?" Quick explanation...

An Executive MBA (or EMBA) is a Masters in Business Administration geared towards professionals/executives who are unable (or unwilling) to go to school fulltime. Classes are traditionally held every other Friday and Saturday either at the school's campus or via video conferencing (Queen's University is appealing to me for their modern "national classroom" setting).

You are still required to write the GMAT...the test that I suppose demonstrates your aptitude and ability to think/reason. The problem with the GMAT is that the format has now changed. It's all on a computer and once you answer the question, the computer automatically grades it. You can not change your answer later. If you were right, your next question is harder. If you were wrong, your next question is simpler. Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Data Analysis, Critical Reasoning, Algebra, Geometry, and Arithmetic are all sections of the test, as well as two essays to write. 4 hours in length, all on a computer, and you can not skip ahead to the next question (even if you're stuck).

Getting back to the EMBA, it does appear to be more expensive than a traditional MBA, but the requirements do differ from the traditional programme, as well. You do not necessarily need an undergraduate degree and they take into account your work experience and references. Many schools also have an interview session. Thankfully there is no talent contest or bathing suit portion! :biglaugh:

Average age seems to be 33 - 46, with 9 - 20 years experience. I'm well below the average age, but my experience is within that window thanks to my family and the opportunities they provided me with.

The EMBA takes about 2-3 years to complete, depending upon the school. There are also 2 - 4 residency periods, it seems, where students are required to be on campus for an intense week of workshops and networking.

The projects appear to allow you to immediately use the new skills that you've learned while providing a return on investment to your employer.

I think that about sums up an EMBA.

It's almost all an ego thing. When I grow up I figure I can find a nice 2 year campus to give business classes at. I'll be Dr. "D". Of course I've already earned my "Copter Doctor" credential and have a Doctorate in "Hamburgerology" from HU.:biglaugh:

I know folks who did the exec MBA at Univ of Roch and found it a great way to go. Beats evening classes, if its a Friday format, right? Personnally I got my Master's in Statistics, I had no patience for the financial, economics business side of things. I had alot of that as a undergrad so "MBA" didn't even come into the picture for me. Is your BS in Eng? That's a good combo to climb the ladder with.

Laura M said:

I know folks who did the exec MBA at Univ of Roch and found it a great way to go. Beats evening classes, if its a Friday format, right? Personnally I got my Master's in Statistics, I had no patience for the financial, economics business side of things. I had alot of that as a undergrad so "MBA" didn't even come into the picture for me. Is your BS in Eng? That's a good combo to climb the ladder with.

I think the closest I'll get to going to school in NY, is the course I took on the SUNY campus at Utica/Rome while working in Oriskany. Looked at Columbia's EMBA programme, but I don't think my company will foot the bill for Columbia's price tag. :eek:

Statistics....hmmmm....torture the numbers long enough and eventually they'll scream what you want to hear. Does that about sum it up? ;)

As for my undergrad, my school separated their B.Sc and B. Eng programmes. I'm a B.Eng with a concentration in Business. That means all of my electives from 2nd year and up were business courses, limited to engineering students and international business students. Good thing that it started in 2nd year...first year electives were horrible. Philosophy...*shudder*....failed that miserably. Natural History of Biology (literally, a bird course) and World Issues - two courses guaranteed to raise a student's GPA! :cool:

No MBA folks here? Gosh!

I see no posts explaining why you're not interested in an MBA. I'd love to hear some reasons! :confused:

There really isn't a category for me in the poll. I am kind of interested, but I don't think it would be the best use of my resources. I have an undergrad degree in accounting, and I've been told by several people that an MBA on top of that really isn't worth the effort.

I do have a Master's in QA, that I completed ~18 months ago. There is an interesting PhD program in Quality that a consortium of universities is offering. It is over the 'net and there are some on-campus requirements, if I remember correctly. That is similar to the Master's program I was in. If you are interested in more, the PhD program was featured several months ago in Quality Progress.

I am still thinking about the PhD program, but I've not recovered yet from the last ordeal...

:bonk:

The work I'm doing is auditing, consulting, and training. In this work, I believe that my clients are mainly looking for professional credentials (like RAB and ASQ certifications) and experience. Would an MBA help me? Probably so, as any additional learning is going help to round out my overall skill set. Will I get one? No current plans. ;)

RC:

In answer to your original post, could you give us a little information about your situation? The reason I ask is that to overcome managerial trepidation, we need to put any proposition into terms that make sense to the managers themselves.

How is your getting an EMBA going to help THEM?

I just started on mine this year. On a whim I applied @ U of M just to see what would happen and ended up getting accepted. I looked at the EMBA but that requires corporate sponsorship (at least for me) and they wanted the tuition paid in either 2 or 4 lump sums. When you're talking 100K + it counted me out. I took the other path for 2 main reasons.
When I was accepted the HR department said that they could swing getting me some tuition reembursment that they would be flexible. When I turned in the class schedule it was a different tune. I was told that since the company didn't require a degree (recommended but not required) for my position they would have a hard time justifying paying for a masters.
Secondly I don't think this company would look at it as a benefit to them. I'd probably be kept in the same position so why bother.
This way, when I'm done I can cut ties and go my own way.
I still haven't finished my masters in clinical psych, I only need 3 classes for that. I lost interest when I was trying to work full time and go to school full time. In other words, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.:bonk:

I might be interested, but I'm sure I don't qualify to be a top manager as I know who both my parents were. :biglaugh:

Really,not all managers are b&**%$, but it sure seems that way at times!
Is this something they learn in MBA schools? :confused:

Truely,I would consider this, but believe my path is more along the technical aspects.

Down the line, I would love to teach college. It is something I can definitely see in my future. Problem right now is that my two little girls are ages 3.5 and 1.5 and I am working part time (21 hours per week) so that I can be a big part of their growing up experience.

So right now, I am just not interested in pursing any higher education exploits. In the future I think I will be. Its just not what I want to do right now and I may never get around to it.

On a related note, I have applied to enter a program geared for teaching preparatory classes for the SAT test. I figure that my satisfy my urge to try teaching and we'll see how it goes. :cfingers:

[QUOTE=Marc]No MBA folks here? Gosh!
QUOTE]


There are some regular MBA folks here.....of course, some would find it hard to believe that someone like me could be edjicated.....

Seriously, I got my MBA through University of Redlands. For folks in the western part of the U.S., and So Cal in particular, that may be a good option. Understand they are not easy.....of the 15 courses (not counting thesis), 5 were math based courses, including stats, econ, research methods, accounting.....and other courses relied on the math base to expand.....except the "touchy-feely" ones of course.

I'm now considering going for a PhD in international business or similar....possibly through Capella, which is based in MN.....anyone have experience with them?

Hershal

[QUOTE=RCBeyette]

I see that two people voted "Huh?" Quick explanation...



Im one of the few who voted Huh?
Mostly becos Im not Canadian and therefore dont (yet) understand all the quirks of education in this landmass...

In the UK quite a few of my colleagues were doing MBA's in business/manufacturing - learning about quality tools and their place in production. I helped a lot of them with their assignements which were interesting and I learned a lot but I just cannot be bothered to do the work myself.... :whip:
Perhaps its a reflection of the fact that I am not desparate to gain a higher position in a company?

But i would not question anyone else who wishes to take further studying - I think , Dr Roxy :agree1: , that your approach of doing the research before plunging in, is brilliant. They should give you extra credit before you start!

Hope you get something useful from the forum!

:yes:

I see this 'bumped' up from a year ago. Sooooo RC, are you progressing in the program?
I just re-read the thread from the beginning. Wondering if opinions have changed. And RC - re: philosophy (shudder)?? I studied only in post college days, and really enjoyed. Interesting tie to Quality if you read the Guru thread.

Anyway - for some reason this bounced back up, just wondering if it panned out or not.

LM

I see this 'bumped' up from a year ago. Sooooo RC, are you progressing in the program?

No progress at my end. I thought about it some more and the schools I wished to attend have their youngest students around 35. 6 more years of work and perhaps some professional accreditations will boost my knowledge and perhaps allow me to contribute more at the EMBA level. I figure at I'm borderline right now to make the jump to the next level in Management and I'm focusing my energies on that. Once the jump is made, then the continuation of formal education will be a more realistic option for me.

I just re-read the thread from the beginning. Wondering if opinions have changed. And RC - re: philosophy (shudder)?? I studied only in post college days, and really enjoyed. Interesting tie to Quality if you read the Guru thread.

While I do admit to seeing the links between Quality and Philosophy...the actual Philosophy course just wasn't for me. My mind can think in the abstract but not that abstract!

I see that two people voted "Huh?" Quick explanation...

An MBA program is a traditional program that can take a few years to finish if you go full time or up to 7 or 8 years for part-time attendance (i.e., one or two classes at night every week).

An EMBA (Executive MBA) is geared towards management personnel who don't have time at night and can't afford to take two years off from work. Class is every Friday (for a full day) and some Saturdays, along with with some oncampus time once a year. It can be completed in 2 years and focuses less on the theory of management and more on the application. Real world projects are assigned with real world Customers as the focus. Check out the programs at Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario) and Western/Ivy (London, Ontario). Some programs, like Queen's, even offer the course via satellite communications so you don't need to drive to Kingston every Saturday and the students participate from across Canada!

No progress at my end. I thought about it some more and the schools I wished to attend have their youngest students around 35. 6 more years of work and perhaps some professional accreditations will boost my knowledge and perhaps allow me to contribute more at the EMBA level. I figure at I'm borderline right now to make the jump to the next level in Management and I'm focusing my energies on that. Once the jump is made, then the continuation of formal education will be a more realistic option for me.
...

An MBA program is a traditional program that can take a few years to finish if you go full time or up to 7 or 8 years for part-time attendance (i.e., one or two classes at night every week).

An EMBA (Executive MBA) is geared towards management personnel who don't have time at night and can't afford to take two years off from work. Class is every Friday (for a full day) and some Saturdays, along with with some oncampus time once a year. It can be completed in 2 years and focuses less on the theory of management and more on the application. Real world projects are assigned with real world Customers as the focus. Check out the programs at Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario) and Western/Ivy (London, Ontario). Some programs, like Queen's, even offer the course via satellite communications so you don't need to drive to Kingston every Saturday and the students participate from across Canada!Let me suggest there is only one reason to go for an MBA after an extended period away from school out in the workaday world:
To get promotions or change jobs!
Ann Landers' response to folks hesitating because of the length of time or how old they'll be when they graduate was unvarying over 30 years of her column,
"How old will you be in 4 or 6 or 8 years if you don't do it?"
There is no doubt it will mean sacrifices in money, family, sleep. The plus side is that you will widen your job horizons and you will be glad you did it once it's done.

That said: talk to any school you are thinking of attending and get some realistic answers on where their graduates are getting employment and how much help the school placement department will be. Talk to people in the industry and/or job function you aspire to and ask frankly whether a degree from one school has more "value" than from another.

I can tell you that it sure makes a difference for engineers in aerospace where some department managers won't even interview graduates from "lesser" schools and for MBAs at Wall Sreet Investment Banks where starting pay can be as much as $50,000/year MORE for a graduate from Harvard or Wharton than for a graduate from the University of Iowa.

If at all possible, get in a resident program rather than on-line because a major value is the one-on-one and one-on-many communication skills you get in the classroom and in the study groups and social interaction outside the classroom. An MBA needs to learn these social and personal communication skills to be effective on the job. The second major advantage is the networking contacts you make in school which help determine your success on the job. It stands to reason that the best contacts will be at the schools most favored by the industry or line of business you want to enter.

Most businesses prefer to hire MBAs who have work experience before achieving their degree. In most cases, your age will not be held against you.

My experience is the "executive" MBA is for folks who intend to stay at their same company to get a promotion. They are just picking up some "booklearning" and contacts they need. If you intend to make a big career change, go for the traditional program.

All in all, if it is at all possible to get into an MBA program so you can improve your job prospects, GO FOR IT!

I also don't fit with the poll. I teach courses for City University in the evening - which includes MBA students. Count me in with those not attempting to climb the corporate food chain. I am building my own food chain on my day job, and trying to influence future managers in the evening by messing with their minds. . .

I have hesitated to respond to the poll also. I have a regular MBA and have taught an MBA course at a university. There is an acquaintenance of mine who starts every statement the same way and I think I will do the same in this case.

Since I am older than dirt, in my day there was no such thing as an Executive MBA so I just got a plain, old MBA. The MBA was paid for by my employer and it was part of a development plan to make me eligible for another job in corporate. The director of engineering supported the plan with one provision. He wanted me to learn engineering and manufacturing before I went to the corporate job because he had enough of corporate types making decisions without knowing anything about the processes.

It took me 3 years to get the MBA and 2 more years to move to corporate. I convinced the director I had met my part of the bargain a few years later when we were developing a cost accounting system and I sent back a corrected version of a utilities usage report that the engineer had not done correctly. He wasn't very happy with me until I reminded him of our deal.

My advice is to decide what you want to accomplish and then decide which MBA is appropriate. In addition, I would recommend you work in the trenches for a few years so that when you move up to your executive position you will remember what you saw and make better decisions. It would be interesting to see how a knowledgeble and experienced quality professional would run a company.

Good luck and remember to take into account what is really important in your life.

Bill Pflanz

27 hours completed. After taking a new job that kept me out and about for three years I fell behind and was unable to finish.

With all of the many ASQ certs? who could be possibly bored enough and lacking enough 'letters' for a EMBA.

Personally, Breaking into this field, an MBA (or EMBA) isn't in the work.

I have one argument for certs-- plain old $$$. my boss doesn't pay to train no more so I have become pretty cost conscious. ASQ's many product come 100-200$ a peice.

But not that alone, APIC offers two challenging programs that surely are relevant to some of you struggling to advance. There's also certs through many other organization such as the AMA (America Management Association).

so why are you guys so intent to go back to school?- if you are out to advance with some credentials, and demonstrate knowledge, Certification seems better.

Of course, I'm just trying to break into this field. maybe things look different once your there. Though also Chemists get asked if their thinking about a MBA too. seems a universal affliction.
Maybe its just learning the 'real' rules of the rat race :tg:

also you could urge the ASQ to offer more certs. How about a ECQMgr (executive certified Quality Manager) or a LECQMgr (lean executive certified Quality Manager) or a LECQMgr+SSBBPM (lean executive certified Quality Manager with a concentration isn Six Sigma Black Belt Project manager) or ....