China has a surplus of poor-quality MBA (People's Daily online) Updated: 2004-06-26 08:35
Though there witnessed not a long history of MBA education in China, yet the
glory that enveloped MBA has gone discolored within few years. With only a MBA
laurel, one cannot obtain a high post or get in high salary any longer.
When the training and enrolling advertisements of MBA posted like scabies on
the street wire poles and in alleyways of China, criticism and query on the MBA
education came along tempestuously. Is there still any selling point in China'
MBA education? For this reason, "International Herald Leader" had an interview
with Hu Dayuan, domestic President of Beijing International MBA at Peking
University.
"Situation in China is contrary to that of the world"
Reporter: At present, are there any changes in the supply-demand relations of
China's MBA education market as compared to those in the past few years?
Hu: In demand, it may not be so good as before, but the situation remains
stable on the whole. Now the arising problem is that the supply grows too
rapidly.
Reporter: Do you think there is any change in this year's MBA enrolment as
against that in last year?
Hu: There aren't many changes in the light of the situation as against that
in the corresponding period of last year. Business colleges are considering the
matter of their placement rather than remaining in motionless passivity. They
are all developing their own unique characteristics, striving for supremacy in
subdivision market.
Reporter: As for the demand of MBA education, the foreign characteristic is
that, when the economy is booming, the enrolment application decreases, whereas
at a time when the economy is in depression, the application for MBA study
increases. Does the Chinese market also face such a trend?
Hu: There do exist such a situation in the foreign market. That is because
when the economy is going downhill, some people go for education when
unemployed, but when the economy gets brisk they go to work. However, in China,
this must be analyzed according to the actual situation, as there is no obvious
indication of prosperity or depression of economy in China. For example, is the
Chinese economy in prosperity or in depression now? The purchase of cars and
houses are very popular, and the investment in certain trades is very heated as
well; but some other trades are left in the dark. China is always maintaining
certain growth, which is different from the USA.
Another important reason is that, in the USA, business college students all
pay by themselves; they pay to go for education when the economy turns to go
downhill. However, this is often paid by units or companies in China. When the
economy is in depression, companies often cut down expense and reduce the
training opportunities; and while in prosperity, they make provisions for the
future and pay for the senior staff for MBA education. China and the foreign
countries are on the contrary in terms of the relationship between enrolment
application and economic development.
Commercialization of MBA, the fault of us folks
Reporter: What's the selling point of China's MBA education? Is there any
possibility of competing with international renowned ones?
Hu: China's business colleges cannot compete with international renowned ones
at all. China's business colleges should first be aware of their statuses, and
judging from the teaching staff and the makings of students, one can get to know
easily that they are not on a par with the American ones, and it is impossible
for China's business colleges to attract excellent American students. Of course,
it is also difficult for Chinese students to be enrolled in American ones. We
must realize this gap clearly, just like that we Chinese people call Peking
University "China's Harvard", while the American people would not call Harvard
"America's Peking University". Of course, the purpose of China's MBA education
is to cultivate talents that fit for China, on this point, we own some
advantages.
Reporter: How do you evaluate the present EMBA education heat?
Hu: How many regular MBA are there in China? In the USA, EMBA is a kind of
"make-up lessons" for people who missed MBA education, and it is different from
MBA in its structure, and is suitable for different groups of people. But in
China, EMBA is misinterpreted as "advanced MBA", which is really leading astray
the consumption.
Reporter: Being the most commercialized education, will MBA colleges care
nothing about the students' performance after getting in the money?
Hu: It is Chinese people who commercialize the MBA education. In fact, MBA is
a kind of vocational education, which is related to academic education.
There are indeed some cases of earning money regardless of the quality of
learning in China, and some foreign cooperative partners worry about the
appearance of the phenomenon of "selling diploma" in China. Nevertheless, it
also has something to do with students' attitude. Some people, once they paid
the money, took it for granted that they would get the degree. Actually, there
are comparisons and elimination in business colleges. Those colleges who pay no
attention to the students' performance could only earn money in a short period,
and won't be able to last long.
American standard vs. Chinese situation
Reporter: What's the basis for MBA's contents of courses? How do you solve
the disconnection between the things academic and the things practical?
Hu: MBA education has developed for 100 years in the USA. Although it was
considered something queer by some orthodox European educators at the initial
stage, but it managed to develop after all. Actually in the USA, the courses of
most business colleges are very much the same. What we Chinese people should do
is very easy: bring in the standard courses of the USA, and add China's
"situation courses", then it will be OK. Take the basic courses of Beijing
International MBA at Peking University for example, the Management Science is
the same as the USA, but courses like Human Resources Management are much more
valued, as Chinese enterprises are in greater need of this kind of courses.
Reporter: Do you think there is any connection between MBA education and
salary?
Hu: Nowadays, there are often arguments like the decline of the salary of
MBAs and the difficulty of finding a job for MBAs, but actually it is the
problem of MBA, not the problem of the business colleges. Some MBAs often say
"My classmate has a salary of so much", and take it for granted that they
themselves ought to get the same. However, if you cannot earn fortune for the
company, you will not be able to gain that amount of money at all.
What's surplus now is poor-quality MBA programs. As for business colleges,
the crux of the matter is to turn out good products - the qualified students.
China has a huge demand for MBA, and there will certainly be some first-class
business colleges, and what counts most is to do their things well.
