[photopress:thunderbird.jpg,full,alignright]Six months ago, the Garvin School of International Management at the Arizona-based Thunderbird University launched a new multi-million dollar MBA programme, meant for the executives of just one company — LG. This is part of a new and very large trend — offering custom-tailored programmes for companies.
While some schools do not yet offer a full-time MBA tailored for a single company, there is a massive boom in short-term custom programs.
Ian Hardie, associate dean, London Business School, says custom programs have doubled in size in last three years and revenues have grown from $20 million to $30 million. At UCLA-Anderson School of Management custom programmes have grown 36% over the last three years. Other schools like IMD, Kenan-Flagler, Tuck School of Business, Chicago-GSB, Darden (University of Virginia), Thunderbird, Harvard Business School and MIT-Sloan have all witnessed an increase in demand for custom programmes. 80% of Kenan-Flagler’s executive education programs are customised today while two-thirds of Darden’s programs are company specific.
A study by UNICON, the International University Consortium for executive education shows more than half of executive education is now customised, as opposed to the traditional open enrollment courses.
Beth Stoops, vice-president and Head of Corporate Learning at Thunderbird, said, ‘In the developed world, employee retention has become a very high priority. Continuous learning has become a vital part of the retention strategy. Many firms use executive education to help implement their strategies successfully.’ David Newkirk, CEO (Executive education), Darden, ‘We find ourselves helping clients understand India and China better both as markets as sources of clients, suppliers, and the cultures of fellow managers.’
Source: Times of India
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