There’s no doubting, given the right course is selected, that an MBA can work wonders, affording prospects for higher pay, richer opportunities and a speedier ascent up the career ladder. Those looking to hone their general management skills and leadership credentials should look to a reputable business school to catalyse their career prospects. For those in general management looking to enhance and enrich their skill set, there is a plethora of executive MBAs and other pertinent courses on the market from which to choose. An MBA Program will enable students to gain a broad range of general management skills, with graduates being held in high esteem by leading corporations. It can enhance a candidate’s employability and promotion prospects, with many roles closed to those without such a qualification.

So, while there’s no guarantee that gaining an MBA will deliver opportunity, there’s also no doubt that employers believe the pursuit of one indicates commitment and a desire not to rest on one’s laurels. It is an investment and acts as a differentiator, which is no bad thing in a crowded job market. MBAs are all about team work, and studying in this fashion means entrenched unproductive patterns of working, problem solving and decision-making can be overturned. Collaboration and interaction are indeed the watchwords here. MBAS are for humility, listening, and above all learning, more than they are for forthrightness or students giving peers the value of their own wisdom.

It is important then, for candidates to arrive with an open, enquiring mind to get the most from the situation, and use the opportunity to learn something new. If candidates don’t perceive things fundamentally differently thereafter, they either chose the wrong course, or that course was not fit for purpose. MBAs afford candidates the chance to immerse themselves in a creative environment marked by new ways of interpreting and critically analysing business challenges, such that they come to a greater holistic understanding of commerce and its dynamics. 

While the process is of course not open-ended, the absence of real world pressures clouding powers of reasoning, or of concerns about the potential adverse impacts of injudicious decision-making risking inertia, candidates come to know clarity of thinking and are liberated to be both more receptive and more likely to ruminate over a difficult task in an innovative fashion. That said, while a simulated environment allows for experimentation, students can nonetheless expect to wrestle with case studies written by experts and designed to bring to the fore typical business problems. These require viable solutions, allowing students to draw on and sharpen their analytical and communication skills, in the process enhancing their business leadership skills and building up their confidence.

“Short open enrolment and customised executive education courses brings with them opportunities to refresh and even revolutionise business thinking in a more concentrated and less disruptive manner.”

The value of this emotional/intellectual approach is manifold. Not only does it train students how to keep a clear head when quick, impactful decisions are required, but it also requires them to defend their position and build strong support among their companions, an indispensable skill that can thereafter be brought to bear in the boardroom. There’s no doubting, given the right course is selected, that an MBA can work wonders, affording prospects for higher pay, richer opportunities and a speedier ascent up the career ladder. However, if interested parties are not in a position to meet the not inconsiderable time commitment an MBA requires of them, there are many other opportunities out there too.

Short open enrolment and customised executive education courses brings with them opportunities to refresh and even revolutionise business thinking in a more concentrated and less disruptive manner. Like full MBA programmes, applied teaching methodologies are the order of the day, enabling students and their peers to come to a greater understanding of how business problems develop in the first place, as well as the best means of resolving them. Whichever format is deemed more suitable, it remains the case with both that students will largely get out of it what they put in.

In other words, they must be prepared to be both attentive and proactive and fully embrace the situation. ESMT Berlin business school in Germany provides a particularly noteworthy platform for those in general management, in the form of its Postgraduate Diploma in Management. It is open to all managers with professional experience, and requires candidates to enrol for a minimum of three program weeks over 30 months. Fully customisable, the syllabus encompasses all major topics on leadership and general management, and is suited to individuals, as well as to companies looking to invest in and retain premium managerial labour resources.

Ultimately, however, how do interested parties select the business school route that’s best for them, and so maximise the boost to their managerial credentials and employment standing. Suitability of course content, cost, time commitment and reputation are of course key determinants, but beyond that, it’s a lot to do with instinct. This is supremely apt, since a good course will nurture that instinct to make candidates the most effective managers and leaders they can be.

Profile of ESMT Berlin
ESMT Berlin in Germany is a fully accredited private international business school founded by 25 leading global companies and institutions. It is principally concerned with leadership and social responsibility, European competitiveness, and the management of technology, and offers a full portfolio of learning opportunities through which an enlightened understanding of these subjects can be achieved. These include full-time MBA, EMBA, Master’s in Management and its Executive Development Programs, designed for those transitioning to general management as well as those looking to focus on special topics and build on existing knowledge. In addition, the business school’s distinguished group of academics regularly publishes in academic journals of renown, while the institution further provides an interdisciplinary platform for discourse between politics, business, and academia.