MBA, the abbreviation of (Master Of Business Administration), is called MBA in Chinese. MBA is a professional master's degree originated from Europe and America, which specializes in training middle and senior professional managers. MBA is the product of market economy, which trains high-quality managers, professional managers and entrepreneurs.
MBA is generally regarded as a stepping stone to the management level in business circles. At present, in order to develop financial resources and increase income, many schools cooperate with world-renowned university business schools to sell their MBA courses.
There are three kinds of MBA courses:
The first one is a course for senior managers of companies, which is usually taken after working hours and is called Executive MBA (EMBA)； for short);
The second type is a general MBA course for current managers or university graduates to improve their management knowledge, which is the prototype of MBA.
the third is a master of business administration course, also known as the master of science in business administration (MScBA), for those who are currently employed or have more than two years' working experience to strengthen their professional foundation of business administration.
According to incomplete statistics, from January to September this year, the advertisements put in by business schools for MBA programs reached 55 million yuan, but the number of applicants dropped significantly
Although Guo Yong had attended MBA remedial classes for several months, he gave up the registration for the 24 MBA exam at the last minute.
"Can I find a job as good as it is now after my MBA?" The future employment situation is Guo Yong's biggest worry. He is now the marketing manager of a large real estate company in Shanghai. Several "test friends" who thought the same question as Guo Yong finally gave up studying for an MBA for the time being.
The abandonment of Guo Yong and his "test friends" is directly reflected in the number of applicants for the MBA entrance examination in 24. According to the data from the National MBA Teaching Steering Committee, the number of applicants for the MBA entrance examination in 24 decreased by 11% compared with that in 23, including 17% in Beijing and 5% in Shanghai. The figures show that the rapid development of MBA education in China has quietly entered a bear market with the arrival of winter, which will make MBA education fade away and return to its original reason.
rational bear market
among the rapidly decreasing figures, the business schools of the first echelon in China, which were once the most beautiful, felt deeply. Comparing the MBA application data in recent years, there were 2314 candidates who applied for the MBA of Tsinghua University in 24, compared with 4482 and 2871 in 22 and 23 respectively. Guanghua School of Management of Peking University planned to recruit 32 MBA graduate students in 24, but the number of applicants was only 1454. Shanghai Jiaotong University dropped to more than 1,2 students from the early 23, and Fudan University also dropped for the first time, from more than 2,6 students in 23 to 2,2 students.
compared with the first echelon of MBA education such as Tsinghua and Fudan, the MBA enrollment of 25 newly-added universities this year faces greater challenges. According to the news from Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai University, Suzhou University and other schools, these schools plan to recruit about 4-6 MBA graduate students.
"As far as the current registration situation is concerned, some of the newly added 25 institutions may have great problems in MBA enrollment." Professor Zheng Shaolian, deputy director of the National MBA Teaching Steering Committee, said that it is possible that some colleges' MBAs cannot start as expected.
The news from the Ministry of Education is that the country will also add new colleges and universities in MBA education. At the "23 China MBA Development Forum" hosted by Jiaotong University on October 2th, Zhao Chunjun, dean of Tsinghua Institute of Economics and Management and deputy director of the National MBA Teaching Steering Committee, said that the national policy is to encourage some institutions to "contribute to the cultivation of local talents".
"People who want to study MBA have more choices, and they may study EMBA directly after enriching their work practice." Zhang Guohua, vice president of China Europe International Business School, said that their choices include MPA, Master of Engineering and Master of Law, and MBA is no longer the only choice.
In addition, various foreign business schools have rushed to share the China market, which has also taken away some students. Since last year, only journalists themselves have been invited to participate in more than a dozen project promotion meetings from business schools such as the United States, Europe and Singapore.
"The decline in the number of MBA applicants in 24 is related to the current economic situation and employment pressure." Professor Zheng Shaolian said that Guo Yong's example is just like this.
Professor Zheng said that the MBA peak in previous years was actually the process of releasing the accumulated "quantity". After the release in previous years, the MBA will gradually enter a rational and stable development track.
But Guo Yong's judgment comes from what he knows about the market attitude towards MBA. "MBA is no longer a first-class ticket".
"The rapid rise of MBA status in the past few years makes people take this diploma as a first-class ticket, and with it, they can get the ideal high salary and rush to a bright career future." But this year, those MBA students suddenly found that there are so few people willing to check in for them in the market, and the scene of hiring hundreds of MBAs in a hurry makes people wonder if this is an MBA.
"MBA is a business elite. If you have more, it will naturally be worthless." An MBA who is looking for a job complains about the large number of enrollment expansion plans of colleges and universities.
In terms of absolute speed, it is only in the past two years that MBA has increased in China. In 1991, more than 8 MBA students were enrolled nationwide. By September 23, the cumulative number of MBA students enrolled nationwide exceeded 82,, and the number of EMBA students enrolled exceeded 4,. The number of MBA institutions has increased from 9 in 1991 to 87 in 23.
But compared with the huge economy of China, the number of MBAs in China is insignificant. Professor Zhang Weiying from Guanghua School of Peking University calculated that there are 6 million enterprises in China. If each enterprise only needs one MBA, it will be 6 million people-how great the market demand for MBA is.
But there are still so many MBAs who can't seem to find jobs. Zhang Weiying explained that this is because there are not enough MBAs in China. Zhang Guohua also holds the same view. He said that MBA learning is more of a communication language, and the same expression paradigm and way of thinking can make MBA more recognized in an organization.
in addition to this statement, business executives think that the "high price and high quality" of MBA is the problem. Zhang Weijun, the general manager of Shanghai Talent Co., Ltd., once criticized MBA for its low eyes and low hands-on ability, too idealization and lack of professionalism. According to a survey, China enterprises are only 3.4% satisfied with the "quality" of MBA.
obviously, the decline in the number of MBA applicants in 24 directly reflects the crisis of market confidence in the MBA product itself and MBA students' reflection on themselves.
in fact, in the market where the number of applicants is decreasing year by year, especially for the top universities in China, the competition for MBA enrollment is close to hand. The advertising volume of business schools shows the competitive state of this market. According to incomplete statistics, in 2, business schools put in 1 million yuan in advertising for enrollment promotion, and this year it reached 55 million yuan from January to September.
Investment or speculation
"What attitude MBA takes to study is very important. Some students are not diligent enough." Lu Xiongwen, deputy dean of the School of Management of Fudan University, said that whether it is an investment attitude or a speculative attitude is very different for MBA, and it is also true for business schools.
once upon a time, MBA and "golden collar" were regarded as synonyms. Being admitted to an MBA meant booking an admirable management position and a high salary, which was summarized as "MBA = high salary+promotion" in China. Under the control of this general social psychology, many people regard applying for MBA as a bet on their lives, hoping to "jump the dragon gate" through MBA.
according to the reporter's investigation and related information, it also shows the "quick success and instant benefit" of MBA in China at present. At present, MBA students in China basically have several purposes: first, the original situation is not ideal, and they want to change their identities and expand their social networks. Business schools also use this to attract students. Some business school project descriptions directly list the names of some famous entrepreneurs, and the following notes: "You can call them classmates here." It's exciting for some people who want to study MBA to be friends with famous entrepreneurs and establish friendship with classmates. The second category, the original job is good, I want to study MBA to enrich myself and add icing on the cake. As mentioned above, Guo Yong belongs to this category. Third, the occupation and post have changed, and management knowledge needs to be supplemented. Many technicians choose to study for MBA after adjusting to management positions. In addition, some business presidents improve their management skills and leadership through MBA.
the fact that many MBAs are embarrassed is that in the impetuous social state, the proportion of MBA speculation is not small-some MBAs are far more interested in making "classmates" than grasping the essence of business cases.
"Professional managers are just one of thousands of professional jobs, not the only way to success." Professor Lu Xiongwen said that students who want to study for MBA should have a clear understanding of themselves, not blindly rely on the school, but should increase their preparation.
"Not everyone is suitable for MBA." Lu Xiongwen warned those who want to study for an MBA.
according to the reporter's observation, some MBAs lack the ability of communication and study in management courses, which makes some people's MBA study like a "beauty salon" to some extent. The reporter himself has participated in MBA and EMBA courses in many colleges and universities, and found an interesting phenomenon: in the process of group case study, about half of the students basically did not participate in the discussion, and the collective work of the group was operated by someone (usually a manager from a multinational company) or took turns to sit in the village.
"If this is the learning process, I can say that this is a failed MBA education." Professor Zhang Guohua said. In the communication with Professor Lu Xiongwen and Professor Zhang Guohua, the reporter said that good "management education" can only be guaranteed by good "education management".
"Only by running MBA brand with Business method, integrating resources and paying attention to the quality of education can we develop for a long time." Professor Zhang Guohua and Professor Lu Xiongwen said that domestic MBA education institutions should also develop MBA education with the mentality of investing in education, instead of speculating in the market, which ultimately damaged the MBA brand.
Zhang Guohua suggested that every business school should give full play to its own characteristics. Later, it would be unrealistic for institutions to always demand themselves by the standards of Peking University or Tsinghua. Zhang said that many colleges and universities in China have advantages and resources. The key is how to make full use of their advantages, integrate resources, position themselves accurately, and find the development path of the college. Now is the time for all business schools to adjust.
"If you are not afraid of being small, you are afraid of not being down-to-earth." Zhang Guohua stressed.
"The big fish should eat what the big fish should eat, and the small fish eat small fish should eat." A person from the Business School of Shanghai University said that when recruiting students, he described the current competition situation of business schools. In the bear market, it is really a great challenge for the latecomers to establish their position.
different luck for p>MBA students? Stories?
"MBA is useless!" Zhu Xiaojun said. When applying for MBA in 1999, Zhu Xiaojun was an ordinary civil servant in the office of a unit in Jiangsu Province. Four years later, although I have finished the MBA course, Zhu Xiaojun's position has not changed.
"The choice at that time was completely impulsive." Zhu Xiaojun said frankly. In 1999, this young man, who had worked for less than two years, felt that his job was boring and fidgeting, which coincided with the fact that MBA was being fired all over the country, as if he had graduated from MBA. At that time, the minimum annual salary of MBA graduates in Tsinghua was 1, yuan, and the average annual salary reached 22, yuan, which was enough to make Zhu Xiaojun's monthly salary less than 3, yuan move.
another impulse is reflected in the choice of schools. In 1999, the tuition of MBA in one university rose from 3, yuan to 5, yuan, and in the same year, the tuition of another university remained unchanged at 3, yuan. On balance, Zhu Xiaojun applied for an MBA from another university. As for the specific projects and the strength of teachers, Zhu Xiaojun did not consider it at all. "Anyway, the ranking gap is not big, so I chose the cheap one."
For the next three years, Zhu Xiaojun traveled between Shanghai and Nanjing on Fridays and Saturdays, and took a 6-hour train ride back and forth every week. For three years, the fare alone was more than 1, yuan. Many of Zhu Xiaojun's classmates are busier than him, and often come to class with suitcases, either just getting off the plane or getting on the plane soon. What impressed Zhu was a student who flew from Beijing to Shanghai for classes every week. This classmate used to work in Shanghai General Electric, and later moved to Beijing Tsinghua Tongfang as the business manager. The transfer of position has not made him give up his studies in Shanghai.
"At that time, we were all full of hope for MBA, but the fact is that the employment situation of MBA is getting worse every year. By the time we graduated, some people only found jobs with a monthly salary of 3, yuan. " The huge psychological gap made Zhu Xiaojun frustrated.
"Some people say that MBA is an investment, but I always think that MBA is a consumption." MBA Zhu Xiaojun began to understand that MBA can only be icing on the cake, and it can't be a timely help.
But Song Fei, another classmate of Zhu Xiaojun's, has a different fate. He originally graduated from finance college. Before studying for MBA, he worked as an accountant in the electronic commercial street of Zhujiang Road in Nanjing. His original business experience laid a good foundation for Seinfeld's MBA graduation. One year before graduation, Song Fei went to Zhejiang University Net New (listed company, stock code 6797) for an internship, and became the financial director of Zhejiang University Net New Hangzhou subsidiary after graduation.
Like many students with administrative background, Zhu Xiaojun had nowhere to go and was forced to give up his dream of staying in Shanghai and return to his original job.
to Zhu Xiaojun's disappointment, the interpersonal relationship of MBA class disappeared after graduation. "The work background is different, and now I have rarely contacted them." Zhu Xiaojun didn't seem to get any opportunities and connections.
Zeng Fanming is the beneficiary of MBA. He is the oldest MBA class in a university in Nanjing in 1998. He thinks the MBA course is "very helpful" to him.
"MBA taught me to manage rationally, but before that, my management was in an unconscious and spontaneous state."
Zeng Fanming is a graduate of Tsinghua University Electronic Engineering in 1991. After graduation, he was assigned to work in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. In 1998, he became the general manager of Jiangsu Wanfang Network Engineering Company, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.
"I used to be a person with an engineering background, and it's okay to manage product production, but it's beyond my ability to manage production and sales." To this end, Zeng