How managers can use (E)MBA to improve themselves

Time: February 20, 2003
Location: Shanghai Donghai Commercial Center
Moderator: Liu Lan
Editor-in-Chief of CEConlines Digest
Discussers:
Xu Fei: Assistant to the Dean of the School of Management, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Director of the EMBA Program
Yin Zhiwen: Co-Director of the University of Washington-Fudan University EMBA Program
Zhang Yi: Senior Executive of the Fudan University EMBA Program Assistant
Yan Jun: CEIBS MBA Marketing and Admissions Manager
Jiang Xiaodong: CEIBS EMBA Marketing Manager
Chen Li: Shanghai International Finance School MSBA Program Director
Chen Weizhong: Executive Director of Tongji University Sino-French Cooperation SIMBA
Li Minzhi: General Manager of Shanghai Kaiye Education Consulting Service Co., Ltd.
Ou Yingfeng: President of Pan Pacific Consulting Company
Zheng Zhongyi: Market of Shanghai Aurora Furniture Co., Ltd. Director
Shi Wei: General Manager of Investment and Development Department of New Hope Group
Ma Zhongmin: Manager of Marketing Department of Shanghai Spring and Autumn International Travel
Dai Jian: President of Shanghai Alloy International Trade Co., Ltd.
Liu Yong: China Yum! Brands Public Affairs Manager
Wang Qiyu: Project Manager, Data Customer Service Department, Nortel Networks Worldwide Corporation

Even in the West, where management education is relatively developed and mature, doubts about the ability of business schools to train managers It never stopped. In China, MBA and EMBA education are still in infancy. On the one hand, they are widely sought after as new things that came into being, and on the other hand, they are questioned because of their immaturity.

There is a thread on the Internet that says that when these symptoms appear, your MBA program is over or you are MBAized. For example: you start asking the waiters in the restaurant, "What is the core competency of your restaurant?"; you start reengineering your family, calling it a "team-based organization"; when you write love letters, you will Write a "Summary" at the beginning; you call your past life "accumulated costs"; your favorite articles generally begin with "Mr. Jones, Director of Marketing, sitting at his desk, staring out the window..." , because most of the HBS cases begin with such a scenario.

How can Chinese managers avoid the above-mentioned "return a pearl" style of MBA study? Should Chinese business schools provide management education to cultivate practical ability? According to the survey of the CEConlines website, the top three expectations of Chinese managers for receiving (E)MBA education are: improving management knowledge, building relationship networks, and seeking career development.

What are your expectations for an (E)MBA? What are you expecting to gain?

According to a survey by the CEConlines website, the top three expectations of Chinese managers for receiving an (E)MBA education are: improving management knowledge, building relationships, and seeking career development. Liu Yong and Wang Qiyu, who are preparing for MBA studies, also agreed.

Systematic learning of management knowledge Through MBA study, you can make your scattered management knowledge systematic and complete. Mr. Liu Yong, who has a background in law, thinks that although his expertise is good, when he encounters management problems, such as a business involving financial management, he feels more than enough and hopes to learn more about this. He believes that in MBA study, the first is to learn the mode of thinking, and the second is how to be a good manager.

Sharing other people's management experience Wang Qiyu believes that sharing other people's experience, lessons from failure, and the secret to success is the same as learning. Ma Zhongmin also pointed out that the greatest benefit of MBA is that it provides a platform and an opportunity, such as the APEC meeting. He emphasized that learning is a life-long process, and even if you learn MBA, you will still have new knowledge coming out, and with the platform just mentioned, everyone can communicate and exchange in the future to further improve.

Establishing a relationship network Ma Zhongmin, who studied in an MBA program in cooperation with Macau, has a deep feeling for the establishment of a relationship network. He believes that through MBA, building a relationship network will give everyone a better opportunity to communicate. Xu Fei revealed that many people study MBA for the purpose of personal connections, because everyone is an expert in being a person beforehand, and learning together will generate many opportunities, whether it is personal development or business, you can also borrow This is to share the experience between the same business and peers.

Ou Yingfeng, an MBA graduate from London Business School, UK, put forward a different view on the learning of management knowledge. He said: "If you are not talented in this field, it is useless to put in any effort. If you are not a business manager, you will It's very hard. Management knowledge can be obtained by reading books and magazines." However, he agrees with the statement of building a relationship network based on his own experience. Shi Wei, who has never studied in a business school, also believes: "If you like entrepreneurship, you don't have to study an MBA, because there are many channels for acquiring the same knowledge." Yin Zhiwen also said that MBA is not the only way to improve management knowledge. way. He told a story that he had met a former dean of a business school. The dean said that the best way to be a professional manager is for your father or your mother to give you a company to play with. , and then all knowledge is available, but not everyone has such an opportunity.

How can business schools better meet these expectations of managers?

Create an environment for students to communicate with each other and across cultures In Yin Zhiwen's view, MBA is also a process of mutual learning. If you already have rich experience in a certain area, you can be a provider of knowledge, allowing you to of your classmates learn from you. Therefore, business schools should consciously provide opportunities for students to communicate with each other. In addition, he hopes that domestic business schools can recruit foreign students, so that Chinese students can learn how to communicate with foreigners in a different cultural atmosphere.

Provide Western Management Theory and Local Practical Opportunities Yan Jun believes that business schools should not only provide advanced management theories, but also pay attention to localization issues. He suggested that if a manager wants to develop in China, he should consider a domestic business school, because most of the things he contacts abroad are still Westernized and out of touch with the country. Moreover, when looking for a job after returning from abroad, you can only use the Go to some of your own resources and networks in the past, the effect is not good. Schools in China that provide Western theories without departing from Chinese practice should be a good choice. At the same time, the alumni resources provided by the school and the opportunity to practice in the local area will benefit students a lot. Teach students to avoid detours and do outrageous things Chen Weizhong compared the military school with the business school: "Is it better for the officers who get out of the battlefield than the military academies to train officers? Not necessarily. The officers who get out of the battlefield, train him The cost is very high, and the same is true for directly training managers in the market. It must be at the cost of money, and the cost of making every wrong decision must be made up. MBA education may reduce your chances of making mistakes, or the losses caused by mistakes. , and avoid doing things that are too outrageous."

Provide more professional training As the MSBA program director of Shanghai International Finance Institute, Chen Li emphasizes the professional training of MBA, and her school is committed to training finance, human resources, etc. Orientation students.

How to develop executive ability through management education?

Pfeffer, a well-known professor of business school at Stanford University in the United States, and his collaborators recently published a new book "The Gap between Knowledge and Action", pointing out that successful companies must turn knowledge into action; and business school education is good at knowledge, but clumsy at action.

The real business environment cannot be completely simulated. Shi Wei, who graduated from CEIBS MBA, believes that because the business environment is very complex, it is impossible to completely simulate the execution ability in the school. It is written in books. The real cases in China are also related to us. The real experience is not exactly the same. He affirmed the methods he learned in business school. For example, in doing things, he will develop a priority principle, do what you do first, do what you do later, and improve efficiency only when you do things. He told us from his personal experience that through his MBA training, he improved his ability to "pull a car" and "look up at the road". Ma Zhongmin agrees with Shi Wei's point of view, "Whether it is an MBA or an EMBA, I think it is a kind of thinking mode. After you learn it, you will look at the problem more comprehensively and will not be very narrow. If you look at this problem, you will look at the whole." From the United States Zheng Zhongyi, who graduated with an MBA from a prestigious school, also said that executive ability cannot be learned in school, even if he can get some training through internships.

Both teachers and students must have management experience. Chen Li said: At present, some university teachers are from books to books, and they have no practical experience. This is our teacher's flaw. "Our college cooperates with American universities, and these teachers must have practical experience." She also pointed out that if students lack practical experience, what they have learned must not be profound. Therefore, before entering a business school, it is best for students to have some practical experience, so that the effect will be better when they go to a business school for processing.

The change of character and attitude is the key. Dai Jian's point of view is that a person's character directly affects whether he can become a qualified manager, and MBA learning must be combined with the change of character accordingly. "If in 18 It will be very difficult to become a qualified manager without truly changing this character within a month or two years of education." Ou Yingfeng agrees with Dai Jian's point of view, believing that the country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change. An MBA cannot make a bad person into a good person.

What kind of managers should an MBA education train?

The issue of managers' integrity has attracted worldwide attention, and western business schools have established or strengthened ethics courses. How should Chinese business schools cultivate honest managers?

Helping with the company Xu Fei's School of Management, Shanghai Jiaotong University, offers two courses: Business and Leadership and Entrepreneurship, both of which cover the topic of integrity. He expressed concern about a phenomenon, that is, "this year, when you are given an annual salary of 50,000 yuan, you will work with an annual salary of 50,000 yuan, and next year, when you will be paid a 100,000-year salary, you will work with an annual salary of 100,000 yuan." The company is in the same boat, and it is worth thinking about by MBAs. Dai Jian, a self-proclaimed "consumer of management education consumers", is very interested in the virtues of MBAs. He requires the managers of the company to be more virtuous than talents. If they have talents and virtues, they will only do worse.

"Integrity" in Business Schools Ou Yingfeng, who is also "consuming" MBAs, expressed concern about the uneven quality of the MBAs he interviewed for. He pointed out that business schools should also be moral and financial, to ensure the quality of students, not just for the purpose of making money to run schools.