Students' Perceptions

Quality in an MBA programme: students’ perceptions Ainin Sulaiman and Suhana Mohezar, University of Malaya DOI:10.3794/ijme.72.204 Received: March 2007 Revised: January 2008 Accepted: March 2008

Abstract The demand for MBA education has increased tremendously over recent years. Having an MBA qualification is seen as a passport for a managerial role. The prestige of MBA education, however, has fluctuated. In a fast-paced global work environment, MBA graduates are often criticised for their inability to transfer content knowledge to real situations. Criticism of MBA holders and the programmes that produce them have led to this study, which aims to explore the learning outcomes of the MBA programme by assessing students’ perceptions. The results of the study of data gathered from 53 MBA graduates, from the MBA programme in University Malaya, demonstrates that the programme does increase the learning skills of its participants. The added value that an MBA provides can be seen from the students’ achievement in terms of competency and personal skills acquired. Keywords: quality; MBA; curriculum development; graduates; perceptions; competency

Introduction The Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme is one of the most popular qualifications in management education and has become almost a requirement in some business circles. The ability to think analytically and strategically, complemented by leadership skills, quantitative skills and communication skills, are attributes that encourage the corporate sector to hire MBA graduates. The economic incentives and opportunity to boost career development are often cited by students as the most popular reasons why they are interested in pursuing their postgraduate education. This phenomenon has led to an increase in demand for MBA education globally. According to Kyle and Festervand (2005), the number of MBA graduates increased steadily from about 11% in 1971 to almost 25% in 2001. The enrolment of students in graduate business programmes is expected to rise following the increasing numbers of Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) taken worldwide. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC, 2003) reported that in 2002, there were approximately 161,000 test takers compared to 130,000 in 2000. Despite the brisk demand for MBA education during the past three decades, there are mixed reviews regarding the MBA programme and concern over the quality of MBA education has been debated frequently (Aiken, 1994; Eberhardt, 1997; Louw et al., 2001). Among the criticisms voiced are that MBA graduates are ill-equipped to cope with or meet the challenges of a dynamic and global environment; lecturers at business schools lack the necessary business experience; many MBA courses are too theoretically inclined; and there is an overemphasis on quantitative subject disciplines, while the development of people skills is neglected (Louw et al.). On this basis, a study was conducted to explore the graduate students’ satisfaction with the MBA programme and their perception of the skills and abilities they acquired during their MBA programme was also examined.

Value of MBA Programme Since the establishment of the MBA programme in the 1960s, the popularity of the programme has grown tremendously. In the Asia Pacific region alone there were 170,000 applications and 11,000 MBA degrees awarded by 74 prominent Asia-Pacific business schools in 2002, and the demand is expected to increase (Tan, 2003). The MBA qualification is seen as a passport into managerial roles (Luker et al., 1989; Carnall, 1992; Baruch & Peiperl, 2000). MBA graduates are often promised higher economic incentives (Kyle & Festervand, 2005) and the Global MBA Survey, conducted by GMAC (2003), reported that students in 2003 were anticipating a 56% increase in salary upon completion of their degrees. In line with the survey's results, Quacquarelli (2005) also indicated that the MBA is a significant investment in one's personal development as it affects the stream of income for an MBA graduate. The calculation of its return on investment (ROI) has Ainin Sulaiman is a lecturer at the Marketing and Information Systems Department, Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She currently conducts research in technology adoption, digital divide and performance. Suhana Mohezar obtained her Masters of Business Administration from University of Malaya. Currently she is pursuing her doctoral degree in Australia. International Journal of Management Education 7(2)

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revealed that for two years, for an MBA taken in the USA, the payback period is usually just over three and half years. This means that graduates will be better off three years after the completion of an MBA programme, even taking into account the salary foregone during the study period. In contrast, Baruch and Leeming (2001) discovered that a low proportion of students were expecting a higher income as a result of obtaining their MBA. The study also found that upon graduating a higher proportion of males than females tend to look for salary increments. The Global MBA Survey of MBA students worldwide, in 2003, indicated that when comparing the total monetary costs in attaining an MBA to the quality of education received, 67% rated the value of the degree as excellent and outstanding. According to Thompson and Gui (2000), the demand for MBA programmes among Asians is driven by the fact that the MBA programme will help graduates by preparing them for managerial roles. Students in this sample appeared to have more interest in enriching their management skills and capabilities, ranging from better power of analysis to certain functional managerial skills. Louw et al. (2001) found that MBA programmes have indeed contributed to an increase in students' knowledge and enhanced their insights in the challenging and dynamic business environment. According to Baruch and Leeming (2001), the competency skills which include oral presentations, written presentations, and research inquiry were among those that MBA graduates consider when they decide to take an MBA. Career progress was found to be one of the factors that motivate the students to undertake an MBA (Baruch & Peiperl, 2000; Thompson & Gui, 2000; Baruch & Leeming, 2001). According to Baruch and Leeming, the improvement in career development after obtaining an MBA is one of the values that MBA graduates are looking for upon completion of the programme. It appears that having a management qualification is a basic demand for achieving senior management positions. It is, however, found that having an MBA is no longer a pre-requisite for a high flying career path. Exceptions include those that graduated from top business schools, namely Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School and London Business School. Further analysis in the same studies found that MBA graduates who have more than five years experience were being promoted at a faster rate than their colleagues. Top MBA's research (Quacquarelli, 2005) reported that approximately 50% of MBA applicants are considering switching from one function to another after their MBA, with 23% wishing to start their own business, while 65% seek career progression. Thompson and Gui found that older students have a greater desire to switch career after their MBA compared to younger students. Sears (2005) found that even though there are companies hiring and paying them, professionals and executives joining the MBA part-time programme are interested in taking up the entrepreneurship course, implying that the students are seeking a career change upon graduation.

Quality in MBA Programme Providing a quality MBA programme is a hard and challenging task. Sculley (1998) stated that educational institutions are scrutinised on the basis of the benefits that they provide to businesses, organisations and communities through graduates. According to Rapert et al. (2004), the complexity of providing a quality programme arises largely from the wide-ranging diversity of those who are drawn to enrol in such programmes. In the MBA programme, it is not uncommon to find cohorts with diverse academic backgrounds such as engineering, science, social science, music and medicine. Thus the meaning of a quality programme is often personal, and strongly associated with previous experience and individual expectations. For some, the search for a quality MBA programme entails evaluating how challenging the academic environment is. According to Ulinski and O’Callaghan (2002), the quality of a programme is judged on the ability of the students to enrich their analytical and soft-skills including oral communication and leadership skills. Porter and McKibbin (1988) noted that some of the business schools that offer MBA programmes are not doing enough to develop the soft skills of MBA graduates. Angeline (2001) suggested that courses such as public speaking, conflict resolution, negotiation and teamwork techniques, should be offered in business schools in an effort to enhance the students’ soft skills. Haynes and Setton (1998) claimed that MBA programmes should incorporate hands-on experience and team-oriented activities. Developing on this, Michaelsen and Razook (1999) suggested that faculty members must aggressively provide well-designed and enforced environments for maximising the team experience. In response to their needs, Northwestern University assigns their MBA students to a team and the students work with and belong to the same team throughout their 2-year programme (Hahs, 1999). In addition to the curriculum, students in higher educational institutions also place a greater emphasis on the quality of the lecturer and particular teaching styles (Hill et al., 2003). Postgraduate programmes in business are generally taught by academicians and this scenario has created an issue of whether it is possible to get the right fit between academics teaching on the programme, who may never have set foot into the world of business, and managers’ needs in practice (Monks & Walsh, 2001). Smart-Kelley and Conant (1999) indicated that as a step to enhance the quality of the programme, educators are working hard to develop discussionoriented cultures, employing an increased use of emerging technologies, and placing a greater emphasis on helping students strengthen their communication and decision making skills. 2

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Methodology Primary data was collected using the questionnaire survey method. 149 questionnaires were mailed to those University of Malaya MBA students who graduated between 2002 and 2005. A total of 56 questionnaires were received, thus reflecting a 37.5 per cent rate of return. However, only 53 responses were used for analysis as the other three were found to be incomplete. The two-page questionnaires were designed and adapted from Bruce and Egington (2003). Section 1 explored the graduating students’ satisfaction with the Graduate Business School, regarding facilities, curriculum, faculty (teaching staff), students’ services and career services. Moreover, this section also asks the students to highlight how the MBA programme helps their career progress. Section 2 sought to investigate the specific skills and abilities acquired by the graduating students during their business education. Students were asked to rate each of the 15 items relating to skills and knowledge before and after they were awarded their MBA degree. In addition, students were also asked whether they were willing to recommend the business school to others. Personal data of the respondents which included ethnicity, gender, age, area of employment and monthly income was gathered in Section 3.

Results and Discussions Demographic Profiles of Respondents Out of 53 respondents, 67.9% were Chinese, 18.9% were Malay, and 9.4% were Indian. International students were not very well represented, as they made up only 1.9% of the sample. Nearly two-thirds (66%) of the respondents were men. Just over half (54%) of the respondents were between 26 and 33 years old. This is to be expected as work experience is one of the requirements for all potential applicants. More than half of the respondents worked in the private sector whereas only 7.5% work with government agencies, implying that having an MBA degree is one of the pre-requisites for career advancement in the private sector. Most of the respondents worked in manufacturing (17%), education (18.9%), or hospitality/tourism (17%). The results show that 47.1% of the respondents were earning more than RM4000 before obtaining an MBA and 69.8% of the respondents were earning more than RM4000 after receiving their MBA. The figures indicate that the salaries of the respondents increased upon receiving an MBA degree (Table 1). Income before MBA Items

Frequency

Percentage (%)

Less that RM 2000

4

7.5

RM 2001 - RM 3000

14

26.4

RM 3001 - RM 4000

10

18.9

RM 4001 - RM 5000

7

13.2

RM 5001 - RM 6000

5

9.4

RM 6001 +

12

22.6

1

1.9

Not applicable

Income after MBA Items

Frequency

Percentage

Less than RM 2000

1

1.9

RM 2001 - RM 3000

5

9.4

RM 3001 - RM 4000

10

18.9

RM 4001 - RM 5000

6

11.3

RM 5001 - RM 6000

7

13.2

RM 6001 +

22

41.5

Not applicable

2

3.8

Table 1: Income before and after obtaining MBA

Value and Satisfaction Table 2 shows the factors that motivate students to enrol in MBA programmes. Development of knowledge and skills scored the highest means score (4.01). It appears that students enrolled in MBA programmes offered by the Graduate School of Business University Malaya, genuinely want to enhance their knowledge and skills in management. The results also suggest that respondents decided to take the MBA simply to achieve the qualification, as the item ‘credentials you desired’ had a high mean of 3.99 compared to other items. This finding is not new and has support from a previous study (Thompson & Gui, 2000). Reasons related to career progress and development also received high means. Students in the sample perceived an MBA qualification as an opportunity for their career advancement. Although the results indicate that the salary of respondents increased on graduating with an MBA degree, the study revealed that salary increment was not deemed a key International Journal of Management Education 7(2)

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factor motivating students in pursuing an MBA (Table 2). This finding is similar to Baruch and Leeming (2001). In addition, the results of the study also showed that graduates were least concerned with the social motivation factors when enrolling in the programme. Reason

Mean scores

Development of your management knowledge/technical skills

4.01

Credentials you desired

3.99

Preparation to get a good job in the business world

3.98

Opportunity for quicker advancement

3.97

The education that you need to remain marketable

3.91

Opportunity to imrove yourself

3.77

An increase in career options

3.70

Opportunity to network/form relationship with long term value

3.67

Job security

3.66

An increase in earning power

3.56

Table 2: Motivations for pursuing an MBA

Further analysis was carried out using the T-test to examine the impact of gender and age on motivation to pursue an MBA programme. A comparison by gender illustrated a number of differences. While female respondents were found to be more highly motivated to enhance their management knowledge and technical skills compared to their male counterparts, male respondents are more motivated to pursue an MBA because it promises quicker career advancement and career options, as well as an increase in earning power (Table 3). Significant differences dependent on the age of the respondents were also noted. Those who were 34 years and above were significantly more motivated to improve their management knowledge and technical skills compared with younger respondents. They were also significantly driven to improve their network and relationship with others. Contrary to the younger respondents, they were significantly less interested in career advancement and career switching (Table 4). Reason

Female mean score

Male mean score

P value


4.00

3.60

0.000


3.97

4.01

0.001


3.92

3.99

0.18


3.99

4.01

0.000


3.92

4.02

0.3

Opportunity to improve yourself

3.72

3.61

0.000


3.71

3.91

0.000


3.65

3.72

0.001

Job security

3.62

3.62

0.25

An increase in earning power.

3.58

3.99

0.000

Table 3: Motivations for pursuing an MBA by gender

Reason

Age ≥ 34

Age < 34

P value


3.99

3.72

0.000


3.61

3.62

0.12


3.56

3.62

0.6


3.77

4.01

0.001


3.92

4.01

0.1

Opportunity to improve yourself

3.72

3.61

0.13


3.71

3.91

0.54


3.75

3.70

0.000

Job security

3.75

3.72

0.22

An increase in earning power.

3.79

3.76

0.18

Table 4: Motivations for pursuing an MBA by age 4


Satisfaction

Frequency

Outstanding

4

Percentage 7.5

Excellent

29

54.7

Good

18

34.0

Fair

2

3.8

Poor

0

0

Total

53

100

Table 5: Overall value and satisfaction with the programme

Table 5 shows the overall value and satisfaction of the students towards the programme while Table 6 illustrates each of the key aspects of the programme. More than half the students indicated that the programme is excellent. Aspect of programme

Mean

P value

Curriculum

3.57

0.000

Faculty (teaching staff)

3.38

0.000

Infrastructure

3.15

0.005

Programme management

3.12

0.000

Student services

3.12

0.004

Admission

2.88

0.005

Career Services

2.73

0.005

Table 6: Students satisfaction relating to quality aspects

It is clear that graduates value the contributions of the faculty (teaching staff) and the curriculum content in their overall MBA experience (as the ratings for the two items are higher compared to other items, Table 6). Lecturers who are encouraging, constructive, and convey enthusiasm towards the subject that they teach are highly valued by the graduating students. This is not a new assertion and is supported from a study conducted by Hill et al. (2003). Pertaining to the curriculum content, the students described the course content as flexible, appropriate, upto date, and containing a good blend of theory and practice. In the University Malaya, students are given the flexibility to manage their study. Students have their own portfolio. They are given the freedom to choose when they wish to enrol for a particular course as long as it is within the maximum time frame of 10 semesters. Similar to Rapert et al. (2004), students in the sample also emphasise the challenging academic environment as one of the criteria that they look for when searching for a quality programme. The University’s MBA programme, which requires students to fulfil 51 credit hours, including a research project, may contribute to this challenging environment. The University believes that an active research culture ensures that the faculty is at the forefront of knowledge in its respective field and facilities. In line with this mission, students who enrolled in the MBA programme are required to produce a research project that is publishable. The results also show that MBA graduates are less satisfied with career services provided by the University as the services are more geared to the undergraduate students (Table 6). Students in the sample generally identified the infrastructure and facilities offered by the campus as more than ‘good’ (Table 6). Students appear to value the wide range of information resources that are available in the library. To date, the library has a collection of 1,064 volumes on its open shelves consisting mainly of texts, reference books, and other academic materials relating to business, management, finance, marketing, accounting, and other related fields. Moreover, the library subscribes to many online databases such as Proquest, Emerald and Science Direct. A one way ANOVA was performed to test the relationship between the overall satisfaction and the quality aspects of the MBA programme (Table 6). Overall satisfaction with the programme was found to be related to all characteristics and strongly associated with the curriculum, faculty, and programme management.

Development of Skills and Abilities In addition to their satisfaction with the school and the programme offered, students were also asked to evaluate to what extent the MBA programme had contributed to their personal development. Students were asked to rate their proficiency level before and after completing their MBA programme (Figure 1). It was International Journal of Management Education 7(2)

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established that students graduating from the University of Malaya have a higher mean score upon graduating compared to before graduating and have therefore improved their level of skills and knowledge. Previous research (Aiken et al.,1994, Baruch & Leeming, 2001; Thompson & Gui, 2001) suggested that leadership skills, communication skills and interpersonal skills are associated with quality MBA programmes as these are the skills that employers are looking for in graduating students. As showin in Figure 1, the School has been quite successful in developing these qualities in graduating students as it receives a comparatively high score. Faculty members work hard to develop discussion oriented class cultures, and place a greater emphasis on helping students to strengthen their communication skills, and this is a vital ingredient that contributes to the development of skills among graduating students. Good oral and written communication skills, displayed by graduating students, may be partly attributed to the school’s use of English as the medium of instruction, thereby providing the graduates with an opportunity to communicate effectively.

Figure 1: Proficiency Levels of Skills and Knowledge Note: Alphabetical coding given in Table 7 below. Mean score Skills and knowledge

Before MBA

After MBA

P value

A: Ability to think analytically

2.34

3.96

0.000

B: Ability to think strategically

2.23

3.62

0.000

C: Interpersonal skills

2.25

3.6

0.000

D: Oral communication skills

2.38

3.72

0.001

E: Leadership skills

2.40

3.63

0.001

F: Ability to make decisions with imperfect information

2.13

3.19

0.001

G: Written communication skills

2.38

3.42

0.005

H: Implementation/project management skills

2.28

3.32

0.005

I: Creative problem-solving skills

2.32

3.33

0.01

J: Ability to integrate infomraiton from a wide variety of sources

2.19

3.19

0.01

K: Ability to adapt/change to new situations

2.15

3.13

0.01

L: Initiative/risk-taking ability

2.17

2.98

0.01

M: Ethical awareness

2.02

2.76

0.05

N: Quantitative skills

2.25

3.72

0.05

O: Cross-cultural sensitivity and awareness

2.30

2.81

0.05

Table 7: Impact on skills and knowledge after MBA

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Interestingly, it was also found that graduating students do not acknowledge much exposure to ‘cross cultural sensitivity and awareness’ (Figure 1). It is assumed that students develop a low level of cross cultural sensitivity and awareness because they consider these attributes as less important in business life. The same goes for ethical awareness. However, in her study, Angeline (2001) highlighted that 80% of employers consider the abilities to understand local, Asian and global business cultures as one of the criteria that they look for when hiring executives with MBA degrees. A one-way ANOVA was conducted for each of the 15 proficiency skills and the knowledge outcomes measured. The results indicate that students graduating from the MBA programme report some increase in each of the 15 proficiency levels, implying that participation in the MBA programme does have a positive impact on most of the 15 proficiency levels (Table 7).

Conclusion The results of this study indicate that the University MBA programme increases the learning skills of its participants. The overall conclusion is that students have reaped benefits from their studies and are satisfied with their careers. The added value that an MBA provides can be seen from the students’ achievement in terms of competency and personal skills acquired. Nevertheless, judging by the results of the study, it is necessary for the school to consider improving the development of other factors including ethical awareness and cross cultural sensitivity, which is deemed to be increasingly important for organisations (Angeline, 2001). Although the results of the study demonstrate that students valued the contributions of the teaching staff and the curriculum content highly, the School must continue work to ensure its sustainability. The School, for example, should seek to add value to its excellent teaching staff so that they can continue to meet the demands and needs of the university’s stakeholders including students and employers. Clark et al. (2002) suggest that in-house learning and teaching programmes should be conducted as a way to provide opportunities for staff to reflect upon their teaching experiences and general pedagogical issues. Close partnership with employers is also necessary as it can provide an input when designing the curriculum content. This study provides insightful direction for both administrators and faculty members involved with the MBA programme. Student evaluation of the quality of the programme delivered should be a starting point for the administrator to continue improving students’ organisational experiences. As noted in previous research (Louw et al., 2001; Rapert et al., 2004) quality in higher education is considered a critical variable by a multitude constituent, which includes organisations, legislators and students. Although this study contributes to the knowledge regarding the quality of an MBA programme, it was limited to one graduate programme and only explored the perceptions of graduates, and additional study is warranted. Perceptions of other perspective, for instance employers, are needed to determine the outcome of the programme delivered. A comparative study of managers who have an MBA and those who do not could help differentiate more clearly between the two populations and further determine whether the MBA programme does provide additional value.

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