A "Certified MBA" program?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Paul, Sep 25, 2002.

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  1. Paul

    Paul New Member

    I heard a national testing organization is launching an exam program costing about $400 to test and award certificates to the graduate MBA's.

    Since there are numerous MBA programs out there, it's hard for a prospective MBA student to make an informed selection. I am interested to learn your comments to the meaningfulness or creditability of this program. In light of the ethics issues stemming from the recent accounting and management scandals, do you see the merit of administering a "Professional Manager" or "PM" exam emphasizing and encouraging the practice of " business ethics"?
     
  2. 9Chris

    9Chris New Member

    Search the threads, I known there are several comments on the certification.
     
  3. DCross

    DCross New Member

    I read in my local paper an AP wire story that indicated the AACSB is that testing organization we are talking about. Among B-school academia, however, the feeling seems to be that this would harm the educational process. They think this would give the AACSB even more control because schools would naturally teach the test. MBA progams are wide and varied enough to give students options. This would only hurt.

    Also, the plan was that this test would be optional. What would be the motivation to take it?.

    What do you guys think?
     
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    According to an article I cited in an earlier link when this story broke, it most certainly was NOT the AACSB who was proposing this examination. It is Thomson publishing.

    The motivation to take the test would exist if the employment market demands it. That is a dubious prospect. As the article in USA Today said, employers are more interested in which school you attended, as opposed to grades and/or test scores.

    The link: http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2002-08-26-cmba_x.htm
     
  5. DCross

    DCross New Member

    I stand corrected.

    I think this could really take off in academia, however.

    The CMBA who received his MBA from a Non-AACSB School may be more accepted than he who does not have the cert. May this WILL level the playing field.
     
  6. Peter French

    Peter French member

    Certified?????? :))

    ...and I thought that most people in academia either were 'certified' or should be :) ...

    ...like my PhD supervisor - shit for brains and a fucked up view of life - I got better service from Mel Suhd at Summit and that was non-GAAP - this one is GAAP and the 'gap' is between this wanker's ears - I have had enough so have filed away all of the research and data and have told him to file his copies where the sun doesn't shine, but that he will have to pull his head out of that cavity firstly - well ther's a Xmas card I won't get :) and one I won't have to send:p

    Well, my MA[History] may now get completed - presently doing a paper on appeasement, the ANZUS Treaty, and fundamentalist attitude of Dubbya that has followed him into politics - sorry other Baptists, but this guy would have fitted well into the dark ages.
     
  7. blahetka

    blahetka New Member

    I don't really mind which way the market goes on this one. If it becomes a necessary thing to pursue, I will take the exam. If not, well, that's fine with me. I prefer not to take ANY tests. As I am not an 'employee', I would only take it if it becomes a market differentiator.

    In posts on aed some time ago I wondered if the MBA market was becoming too crowded. I believe the statement I used was along the line of, "you can't swing a dead cat on the streets in Silicon Valley without knocking down several MBAs." That's one of the reasons I went for a DBA- to differentiate myself.

    I believe the reason folks are looking at certification is to raise the bar a little now that MBAs are becoming a dime a dozen. At one time the degree guaranteed a cushy job, money, etc. Now....

    Should we add one more test to the mix, or should we just stop minting MBAs? Do we really need more paradigms shifted or more leveraged financial schemes? Perhaps there should be a requirement for MBA programs to have at least 3 semester units of ethics. Might be fun to watch some heads explode :eek:
     
  8. Paul

    Paul New Member

     
  9. Professor Kennedy

    Professor Kennedy New Member

    Who tests the test?

    The reason that Thomson, a commercial publisher, is going to market on a test of MBA 'knowledge' (which is not what an MBA programme converys - it also conveys analytical skills, evaluation and synthesis skills which can only be tested by case study and essay questions untestable by computers) is to make money. No problem with that, but it raises questions of independence.

    MBA syllabii vary all over the world - who decides what is in and what is out? Pedagogies also vary - who decides which is to dominate? Examination standards vary (scores of 90+/100 are ridiculous), open book, choice of questions, continuous assessment (even counting attendance!), project papers of doubtful provenance, group papers, and so on, all corrupt the examination system. But the Certificate test will not alter this and if it took off the same systems would converge to teach how to pass the Certificate, and to help them, Thomson just happens to produce materials for sale that enable people to do so.:)
     

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