Is it worthwhile taking an EMBA in China? 2005-08-19 12:16:17

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Is it worthwhile taking an EMBA in China in the current market?

                                               Interview with Irene Zhou-Thalamy, HR Director China, Roquette (China)

 Q1. Is it worthwhile for an Executive to do an EMBA in China in the current market? Why?

The answer is yes. It enables the executive to stay in their position AND at the same time gain theoretical knowledge. From my past experience I find that in such a dynamic context as China, it is very difficult to have an executive leave for two years to study a full-time MBA programme then return to the company. What happens is that the company and its organisation has changed so much that the executive has to adapt to a completely new situation. Moreover, the enterprise has replaced them in the intervening period of time and by the time they return, a suitable position may not be available. On the other hand, an eMBA allows the enterprise to keep the executive on board with a lightened workload whilst closely matching their development progress. Career orientation can be done with immediate reference to the individual and when a position needs to be filled urgently, a transfer or a promotion can even be considered during the study period, of course taking into consideration the time required away for study.

       eMBAs are particularly valuable in China in the current market because of the shortage of experienced managers compared to the companies’ needs (western AND now also Chinese companies). Enterprises have the possibility to develop their own staff without significant structural reorganisation. This will have positive impacts on the motivation of staff and their loyalty to the company for both the executive being trained AND the rest of the staff who see company invest in their colleagues’ career development. For the company, the benefit is also to develop and rely on internal resources already familiar with the company context, thereby enhancing global efficiency.

Q2. The value of an EMBA to a participant can come from many sources. What are the important points to look for in the EMBA learning experience in China? 

Formal learning in context is clearly a key point. It is very valuable to be able to apply newly learned concepts immediately to the job, it certainly helps the executive to benefit fully from the programme. Group learning is mainly interesting for sharing the views and experiences of others and acts as a reference to their own experience and knowledge. Diversity of background, sectors and working and life experiences in the group is also important. Planned experience enables the executive to jump one step ahead by analysing his or others experience and reason why it resulted in a failure or a success.

 
Q3. How do EMBA programmes with overseas visits benefit participants?

I am not sure that a programme with an overseas visit will be more beneficial than a completely China based programme. What is important is the quality of the faculty in the programme. They may come from abroad and share their “foreign experience and practices” with Chinese executives. This would be as valuable as an overseas visit, in my view. What is important after all for us as a Western company is that the student gets to know the ‘best practices’, management skills, overall view of company organisation and functional technical skills and share experiences with others in the China context. Because staff who take an eMBA will work here in China, the exposure to an overseas experience if needed would best be handled by organising training in the company’s head office. 

Q4. Do you think there is significant return on investment (ROI) from an EMBA in China in the current market?

Yes, sure there is good ROI for the company. If you take into consideration the advantages of having internal staff trained while remaining in their current position and the positive impact on their motivation and loyalty, and on other colleagues. If you have recruit staff externally, and the right people may be difficult to find on the market, they’ll have to understand and become familiar with the organisation and may stay but may not. The exact figure is probably not easy to calculate but that’s not important. 

Q.5 In terms of recruitment, in what cases do you give preference to an EMBA in China who’s degree is awarded by a Chinese institution or an overseas institution?

No specific example springs to mind but when I do recruitment, and if I consider an eMBA graduate, I will rely more on what I think is the quality of the faculty in their graduating programme. Exposure to international practices is a key point for these professors but this can be taught by either Chinese or foreign faculty. I think that in the past, eMBAs from overseas institutions or Hong Kong were guaranteed this ‘exposure to international practices’. I feel that now serious Chinese institutions on the mainland are also providing excellent programmes.

Q.6 What does accreditation of a B School (AACSB, Equis or AMBA) mean to you as an HR professional and how does this influence your decision to send participants on an EMBA?

I do not really look at the accreditation. Any decision will be made more on the working location of the executive and the eMBA programmes available there. We then try to understand which one of the available choices is the most serious.

 
 
 
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