What MBA is about, and how it works.

Students and teachers of MBA programs.

Global MBA Rankings 2012.

Details and Conclusion.

What MBA is about, and how it works

MBA, or Master of Business Administration, is a master’s degree in business administration.

Every successful business leader has to be experienced in establishing goals; identifying, grouping and delegating responsibilities; managing human resources; directing teams of people, and controlling quality of performed tasks. Therefore, MBA programs provide students with extensive knowledge in those areas, as well as help them in getting necessary practical skills.

Things are packages of emphasis, and it should be noted, that MBA programs are not just the same in different universities, so different students make different choices, and different MBA learning projects are focused on the activities like Project Management, Operations Management, Marketing Strategy, Leadership, Financial Accounting etc. Some of the key subjects for students are as follows: Business Strategy, Investment, Marketing, Accounting and Finance, Human Resource Management etc.

‘Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people,’ said Steve Jobs. Thereby, MBA is all about practice and teamwork, since knowing how to run a company only in theory is not enough. MBA consultants make students solve all kinds of business situations and therefore teach students how should all members of a team work together in order to achieve business goals in the most effective way.

If you are running a business, you have to communicate with lots of people outside of your company, so MBA provides so-called Career Sessions, where you can study Business Etiquette, Business Networking, Presentation Delivery Skills, Negotiation Skills and so forth.

Any business is a continuous line of numerous activities, and therefore it is of great importance to be a witness of such work being done in the most professional way. Students have a chance to visit a number of successful companies that push the industry forward, and learn how supply chain management and quality control management are applied. Thus, practical knowledge consolidation is provided via participation in real business projects under real working conditions and operating data.

One of the key values of any given MBA program is that it either assists students in finding a real business project or company to work for or encourages them to make a startup of their own.

Students and teachers of MBA programs

‘I am an entrepreneur,’ says Justin Timberlake playing Sean Parker in the David Fincher’s “The Social network” film. In other words, entrepreneurship is one the greatest things the US is famous for — this is why American MBA programs are highly thought of by the business persons and future startup founders living outside of the United States.

Speaking of young startup makers, they used to get MBA degree in USA to live and work among like minds, and it gives them hand with finding right persons to start a new business together. It is far more likely for them to establish a contact with their first investor there.

Usually, students are the people from all over the globe and of different ages as well (in most cases they are between 25 and 50 years old), their main occupation being different, as follows: bankers, engineers, marketing directors, web developers etc. The importance of MBA programs as a skill-sharing place cannot be overestimated. Hence, MBA is where you truly understand why the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

MBA teaches you how to work hard and produce results against time, instead of shuffling off responsibilities and wasting working time. In any successful business it is of huge importance to be personally liable for the results towards the entire team.

It is definitely better to apply and attend MBA programs in the best universities of the US, like Stanford, Harvard, Columbia and the others. There are reasons that clarify this.

First of all, top-level universities have an advantage of getting the best students and tutors involved in the education process, who are ready to share their actual and instantly applicable experience.

The second reason takes in account your motivation. When you get in touch with hundreds of talented classmates, teachers and lots of successful businessmen on an everyday basis, you do your best to eventually become one of them. It does help students to get faith in themselves.

Finally, MBA is tremendously helpful for establishing business relationships for your future career. It pushes your personal brand forward, so in future it will be easier for you to promote a business of your own as well as convince right people of your business ideas.

Global MBA Rankings 2012

You may refer to this rating to see a list of 100 most honored MBA business schools. This table provides lost of reference information about the universities that you might be interested in, including the average alumni salaries. I’d like to mention the following ones:

• Stanford Graduate School of Business (US, rank 1);

• Harvard Business School (US, rank 2);

• University of Pennsylvania: Wharton (US, rank 3);

• London Business School aka LBS (UK, rank 4);

• Columbia Business School (US, rank 5);

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Sloan aka MIT Sloan (US, rank 7);

• University of California at Berkeley (US, rank 14);

• Yale School of Management (US, rank 21);

• University of Oxford (UK, rank 22);

• Cornell University (UK, rank 25);

• University of Cambridge (UK, rank 26);

• Warwick Business School (UK, rank 27).

Details and Conclusion

Two-year, or Full Time MBA programs, used to take place over 2 academic years.

Nowadays figures from official website of the Graduate School of Stanford Business show that Cost of Attendance for a First-Year Student varies between $90,000 and $110,000. Thereby, the cost of the entire two-year program will be equal to $200,000. This sum depends, in particular, on marital status of a student.

Two thirds of the price goes for tuition itself, one quarter is for living allowance that includes rent, food, and personal expenses for a moderate lifestyle. All the rest is for books and supplies, instructional materials, transportation, medical insurance etc.

It should be mentioned that many banks offer education loans to students, so MBA becomes even more affordable for students with low income. In most cases it is a soft loan. In addition, Loan Forgiveness Programs are available that support MBA graduates entering the nonprofit and public service sectors.

The motivation of yours is utterly essential and it should be aimed at obtaining a brand new experience rather than money.

It is strongly advised that you focus on opportunity instead of problems, since every financial crisis, every single inconvenience in making every day actions (in both business sphere and ordinary life) provides the world with a perfect market niche.

Start your next morning from applying the MBA program. Find your business partner, create a great new business idea, meet your first investor in a nearby café, and eventually become the author of a thing that this world had never experienced yet!

September 1, 2012, Samara, Russian Federation