Abstract
Critics of the value of the Executive MBA program have not adequately considered the perceptions of Executive MBA students. This paper evaluates performance of an Executive MBA program by exploring students’ preferred developmental outcomes and perceptions about the effectiveness of their Executive MBA program towards delivering the targeted outcomes. Interviews, focus groups and survey were conducted with program’s directors, staff, and current and graduated students in a large privately run university in Punjab province of Pakistan. As a result of a rigorous process, the study identified twenty-seven critical outcomes under two categories namely “personal outcomes” and “professional outcomes” which students consider important and urge their Executive MBA program to deliver. On the whole students appear to be satisfied with their Executive MBA program; however, the effectiveness of their program is below their expectations. Identification of the exact outcomes in this study provide directions for Executive MBA administrators to make their curriculum and pedagogical/andragogical techniques more relevant and value-oriented for their students. Based on these findings, it is inferred that Executive MBA programs’ planning should consider students as the protagonist of their programs’ planning process.
Highlights
Executive development has been the primary focus of both the universities and in-house training company programs since the nineteenth century
Five interviews with program directors, Dean and administrative staff were conducted followed by two focus groups with current and graduate students to identify and develop a list of participants expected developmental outcomes of Executive MBA program, whereas survey method was used to gauge participants’ satisfaction with program’s effectiveness
The current study was undertaken with an intention to examine the effectiveness of an Executive MBA program by capturing participants’ perceptions about the relevance of programs’ developmental outcomes with their personal/professional goals
Summary
Executive development has been the primary focus of both the universities and in-house training company programs since the nineteenth century. The program aims to develop creative and critical thinking skills in individuals by advancing their professional skills, competencies, and behaviors (Bandera, Somers, Passerini, Naatus, & Pon, 2020; Kirby, 2004; Styger & Richardson, 2017). In this stream, university-based executive education is considered to be a vital source of improving an individual’s professional competencies and performance (Dubas, Ghani, Davis, & Strong, 1998; Reid, Cook, Viedge, & Scheepers, 2020) as well as generating a competitive advantage for the firms (Longenecker & Ariss, 2002; Nguyen, 2017)
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