Careers in Business Administration = Business Degree = Master of Business AdministrationReturn to the Board Room | Find Business Schools By Gianni Truzzi and the All Business Schools career research team—Your source for Business Career news, trends and programs. The Board Room: Business News and Community CenterKeep up with current news about business school. From accounting and finance to MBA degrees, The Board Room has the latest on your degree in business and all business education trends. Degree in Business TypesDiscover the variety of degree in business programs available to you. For people pursuing executive careers in business administration, a business degree like a Master of Business Administration and the management and analytical skills acquired in school are essential. In addition, employers value business degree-holders for the following attributes, according to MBA.com:
But it wasn't always that way. The administration business degree master's—or MBA— is a fairly recent and mostly American invention. Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, established in 1900, was the first to offer a graduate-level degree in "commercial sciences." Before that, most business-related education focused on specific skills such as bookkeeping, and the administration of a company didn't require a business degree, at the master's or undergraduate level. The Rise of the Administration Business Degree Master'sAs the nation developed and became more industrialized, growing companies needed managers who could coordinate labor with the growing level of automation in production. Emerging "scientific" methods to become more efficient drove the need for professional managers with greater education. The Master's of Business Administration didn't really become an established degree until after World War II, fueling the rise of the modern corporation. The University Of Chicago Graduate School Of Business introduced the first Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 1940, and the model spread widely to other US schools. The MBA degree was soon offered in other countries, first in Canada and South Africa. The first European MBA degree was offered by the Institut Europeen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in 1957. Business Evolution Changes the Administration Business Degree MasterThe focus of a Master's in Business Administration degree has changed as the nature of business has evolved. Critical reports in 1959 by the Ford and Carnegie foundations concluded that students could not master the administration skills needed for a business degree because of poor professors and an emphasis on vocational skills. After that, schools revised their administration business degree master's programs so students could master analytical methods. They also improved their faculty by hiring instructors who were trained in sophisticated theory. MBA programs adjusted again in the early 1990s, after complaints by potential employers that students' training was no longer relevant to modern business. The emphasis on analysis, it was said, had become too theoretical and academic. Schools altered their programs accordingly, hiring faculty with real-world experience to train students to develop practical solutions to real-life business problems. Recently, high-profile business scandals have led business schools to examine themselves once more. Many administration business degree master's programs increasingly include coursework that emphasizes leadership, business ethics and morality. The Future of the Administration Business Degree Master'sAs the global economy grows and business challenges grow more sophisticated and international, companies are certain to be more reliant on candidates who have the analytical business skills that are earned with an MBA. That expectation is reflected in the volume of applications to Master's of Business Administration degree programs. While year-to-year interest varies as the economy swings, the Graduate Management Admission Council reports that 2008 saw a record high for the number of applications to graduate management programs. That increase slowed in 2009 (with a sharp decline for Executive MBA programs), but remained strong overall. The global financial downturn has forced a shift in emphasis in many MBA programs, as fewer candidates expect to work in finance-related jobs. Schools are shifting their attention to international business, as opportunities develop in emerging markets like China and India. Enrollment in Asian programs is especially strong, with schools like the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology reporting a 50 percent rise in applications in 2009. Sources: mba.com; economist.com; bbworld06.com  Find a Business School Today—Getting Your Business Degree is One Step Away! |
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