What exactly is a Global Online Masters in Business Administration, and should you get one?

MANILA, Philippines – The idea of getting a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) is at a crossroads nowadays.

On one end of the argument, some say that in an increasingly competitive corporate landscape, aspiring industry leaders need all the help they can get in building their skill sets and credentials. This includes the credibility of having an MBA.

On the other side of the debate, in a world where the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg shaped life as we know it today without attaining business degrees, formal education is becoming less and less popular. “You learn through experience,” they say. “Why focus on academia, when the best way to learn is by doing.”

However, the notion that all MBAs are mere remnants of an outdated education system is a generalization. Just as businesses and corporations have evolved from office cubicles and ties to startups with open offices and no dress code, so has education and business degrees.

A global perspective

One such institution that has adapted its ways and is looking towards the future is IE Business School.

Though already an institution – having been founded in 1973, with its main campus located in Madrid – IE Business School prides itself as a school whose core values are taking risks and breaking traditional boundaries.

The school’s best example of this is the out-of-the-box and innovative methodologies of its Global Online MBA (for those with 5-15 years of work experience) and Executive MBA (for those with 8-25 years of work experience).

In a nutshell, the IE Business School Global Online MBA program isn’t just an online business degree, it is an MBA program that is designed for those aspiring to be digitally fluent. The course achieves this via a learning environment composed of diverse students from around the world and a system that blends online and face-to-face learning.

The Global Online MBA focuses on three areas: innovation & disruption, leadership, and management.

For innovation & disruption, students under the Global Online MBA program are encouraged to break tradition. It is in the program’s core that status-quos must be continuously-challenged, as future trends don’t come from simply keeping up but disrupting present behavior.

The Global Online MBA program also has a different perspective on leadership. It credits that today’s fast-paced landscape requires a new kind of business leader. Thus, its course is focused on subjects such as Critical Thinking, Influence and Persuasion, Leading through Emotions, Negotiation, and Building High-Performance Teams.

Lastly, the Global Online MBA seeks to equip its students with diverse management styles with the goal of building more holistic and more strategic company cultures.

Blended learning

As mentioned earlier, the Global Online MBA program has developed reimagining of online learning through its Blended Methodology.

This system of learning combines interactive online courses with face-to-face classes. It was designed to maximize students’ ability to apply their learnings to their professional environment in real-time without losing their momentum. 

The system lessens the need for students to take time away from their work for schooling abroad, and it gives them greater power in dictating the pace of their learning. 

Global Online MBA students will also get to access the WOW room, a futuristic virtual classroom that allows better interaction between classmates through advanced digital tools and greater accessible through multiple platforms.

There are also optional face-to-face meet-ups between students through their Global Immersion Week, in which students get to travel together to different international destinations. There, they are exposed to business practices through lectures and panel discussions. Previous trips were held in San Francisco, Sao Paolo, Singapore, Miami, Shanghai, Mumbai.

IE MBAs in practice

“I started out as a graphic designer and now I run a business intelligence service that utilizes numerous data pools,” said Miko David, Co-Founder & President of the digital strategy firm David & Golyat when asked how study and getting an MBA at IE Business School changed the way he worked. 

“I really picked up a lot of unique skills and knowledge from my classmates who came from really diverse backgrounds. And it wasn’t just a diversity of cultures or professions but the type of experiences and contexts I was able to learn from all of them,” he added.

Miko, furthermore, highlighted how the MBA program helped him synergize all these diverse skills to train him and his fellow classmates in running a business. All these, he described, “while keeping you up-to-date with the latest developments.” 

“Fail fast, learn fast,” on the other hand, were the words that Angela Encanto – a Senior Brand Manager at Mondelez International’s Taipei office – chose to describe her learning experience at IE Business School. 

“In today’s fast-paced world, I cannot agree more that businesses need to be faster and more agile – and to do this, people need to start with a change in mindset.”  

She concluded, “IE has given me more confidence to take more risks, and pursue unexplored opportunities.” 

Both Miko and Angela agree that with IE’s Global Online MBA program, people can get the IE MBA experience without sacrificing their commitments. They are empowered to take further studies while they manage their business, work in a company, or be with family.

Taking up higher education is always a big decision for any student. For some, there’s this fear that they will be taking on another responsibility on top of their busy schedule. For others, it can be a distraction that can hinder their momentum.

However, one must remember that with all these new paradigms and educations, and with the help of cutting edge technology, integrating your personal life, work, and education is achievable. And, IE’s MBA programs put this consideration at the forefront with its blended methodology.

If you’re looking to enrich your business knowledge through global perspectives and by building an international network, you can learn more about IE’s Global Online MBA and Executive MBA programs by visiting this page. – Rappler.com