CEO Magazine North American/Global Executive MBA Rankings: Tier-One

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2 CEO Magazine North American/Global Executive MBA Rankings: Tier-One Columbia Business School Cornell University Duke University: Fuqua George Washington University Kent State University Northern Illinois University Northwestern: Kellogg NYU: Stern Pepperdine University: Graziadio Purdue University: Krannert Queens University of Charlotte: McColl School of Business Rochester Institute of Technology Rutgers Business School Texas A&M: Mays Thunderbird UC Berkley: Hass UCLA: Anderson University of Chicago: GSB University of Indianapolis University of Louisville University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler University of Pittsburgh University of Pennsylvania: Wharton University of San Francisco University of Southern California: Marshall

3 24 CEO molding Tomorrow s leaders» Debbie Moss talks to Dr. Pamela Davies, Terry Broderick and Ron Veith Businesses today want leaders who can think creatively. You do not develop original thinkers by following the same old rules. That is what makes the McColl Executive MBA a one-of-a-kind experience - we started by breaking the rules. Introduction Kindly define the McColl School of Business EMBA value proposition. It s a 20-month leadership development program for individuals identified as either in leadership positions or about to be in leadership positions. As part of this 20-month executive development program, where the central theme is leadership, you also earn an MBA. Really the value proposition is: the leadership development, the MBA and, tied to that, experiential learning. In other words, if they re not already using a concept they ve learned in class on Monday, they ll be using it in a week or two. What they learn is that relevant to today s world. With the emphasis on leadership, we stress self-discovery. A great deal of attention is focused upon greater self-awareness because we believe the essence of leadership lies in being aware of self. And, as a consequence of creating greater self-awareness, we feel the potential for personal and professional transformation is very much in play. In fact, the tagline for our advertising is, Not just a degree, but an experience. We d like to say that in many cases we believe it s a transformational experience. In your opinion, when is the best time to enroll in an MBA program? Well, it depends. It s a combination of the executive and the individual. For an EMBA, the best time is when you have some substantive experience (10-15 years). With the EMBA and the way we are structured, our participants really learn as much from each other as they do from a case study or a faculty member. So, the decision really rests with the individual. EMBA programs have enjoyed significant growth over the last six years. To what do you attribute this success? There are a couple different reasons: Regarding MBA programs in general and the people major corporations are hiring, one thing they re doing increasingly is hiring people with diverse backgrounds. For example, big banks don t just come to us and other universities and hire undergraduate business majors exclusively. They re looking at English majors as well, because they want liberal arts degrees. So, as they progress through the program, more need the business education and it makes sense to do it at the graduate level and that goes for MBAs overall. With the EMBA there s recognition that we can do more for companies than just traditional classroom teaching, like accounting and finance. We can help them with the people they ve identified as the future leaders in the organization; that is, develop them not just academically, but in leadership. The level of competition for top jobs has become so intense that anything positive to add to a portfolio of experiences is terribly important. If you can add an EMBA from an accredited institution, it just provides another opportunity to advance, which one might not otherwise have. What sets the McColl School of Business EMBA program apart from the competition? Leadership and leadership development are a big part of what sets McColl apart, in addition to the role we play in helping students and participants develop that potential. The concepts of leadership and leadership development are integrated all the way through the program. It s not just a three credit-hour course on leadership; rather there are formal sessions in leadership throughout the 20 months. We even integrate the concepts of leadership into traditional topic areas like economics, finance, etc. We emphasize self-discovery, self-awareness, finding out who you are, what you stand for and what you believe in. We use a number of different methodologies to arrive at that. Another factor that sets McColl apart from the competition is that we re a cohort program and relatively small in size. Cohorts range in size from low 20s to low 30s in terms of number of students. There s a sense of community that s built into the program as well, and that extends well beyond graduation. Also, we re set apart by the relationship we have with the business community and the non-profit community. We have a number of non-profit students in our programs. All in all, graduates have a real affiliation and affection for both Queens University and its McColl School of Business.

4 North America With the EMBA there s recognition that we can do more for companies than just traditional classroom teaching, like accounting and finance. Another exciting facet of the Program was inspired by a trip we made to the Wharton School. We learned of an organization called Vertical. Operating from Santiago, Chili, they create and mange leadership ventures for five leading business schools in the U.S.: Harvard, Wharton, MIT, NYU Stern and McColl. Students travel to Santiago, Chili, where they spend a day at the local university and go to a couple of classes. They also do a high ropes course in the Andes, which is led by Vertical s chairman, Rodrico Jordon. In addition, Vertical has a foundation for the indigent poor in Chili. So, for two days, students build housing for the foundation. For those who don t go to Santiago, we have a program in the North Carolina Mountains. Here, Vertical s Rodrico again leads 35 students. According to a recent GMAC study, the quality of MBA applicants has risen significantly over the past three years. Is this something that you ve witnessed at the McColl School of Business? Yes I have. However, we use other quality measures as well, like finding out what the faculty thinks. We believe another characteristic of quality is diversity. To this end, the number of women and international students has also increased significantly. They bring an important and unique perspective to all of our students. Improving one s knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) is certainly a motivating factor for MBA candidates. However, in your opinion, is KSA acquisition second to career development? We think it s best if it happens iteratively. The best news we could receive is that a student acquires some theoretical knowledge during a Friday or Saturday class and walks into work on Monday realizing there s an opportunity to apply that knowledge. By the same token, if they experience something relevant at work during the week and come to class on the weekend, ready to talk about the skill set necessary to support or deliver it that s the kind of real learning that works best. CEO 25

5 In other words, if they re not already using a concept they ve learned in class on Monday, they ll be using it in a week or two. What they learn is that relevant to today s world. It s important to note that so often students come into the program without knowing what they ll be gaining, but along the way they realize they ve changed. Intellectually they re not the same as when they started. In short, students shouldn t be surprised to come in motivated by one thing but leave having realized something very different. An MBA graduate that performs well can anticipate certain opportunities. However, what can graduates typically expect from the McColl School of Business EMBA program in terms of ROI? We are seeing ROI very early. When an individual comes into the program, part of the admission guidelines is to have a company sponsorship letter. Part of that is logistical and part of it is so that everybody understands what we re trying to do. Since their company is actively sponsoring them, we survey those sponsors and they confirm they re seeing a difference while the student is enrolled. In fact, 80 percent of our EMBA students report back that they were either promoted or took on greater responsibility while in or shortly after completing the program. Green Issues Can you talk to us about the school s green building, the Duke Energy Sciences & Health Building? We are committed to being responsible environmentally. In fact, we recently established our own Sustainability Council that addresses green issues across our campus. We are about to break ground on our new science building, the Duke Energy Science & Health Building. We are committed to achieving a gold standard lead-certification for that building, which is really quite aggressive given that it is a science building and naturally a consumer of energy. We want it to be a model building for our region and for our community. The Sustainability Council works on many fronts to educate people about ways they can be more responsible to the environment. Each week we incorporate a leadership forum where we bring in individuals to speak to classes. It s relaxed and no one takes notes. Last week we had a panel discussion on green issues and green opportunities from a corporate and community sense. Leadership and Relationship Building Your EMBA program places a great deal of emphasis on leadership and, in times of crisis, this is certainly a very important trait. However, it is far easier to propose well thought-out leadership actions in the classroom than under conditions of extreme business pressure. How do you test the leadership qualities of your students and, ultimately, prepare them for the real world business challenges that lay ahead? Charlotte is a very unique place in large part because of the community leaders who live here, work here and who impact the thinking. The heroes in Charlotte are community leaders who give back almost sacrificially so that the city can thrive. A good example is Hugh McColl, the consummate community leader who gives back through the arts, through health and human services agencies and through education. Leadership is the premise upon which the McColl School of Business was founded and we define leadership using three different concepts: Competence: Having the requisite business acumen and skills to be a leader. A key determinant of a successful business education is its relevance. Our curriculum is designed to emphasize inter-connections and relationships between the traditional academic areas so that students develop a heightened awareness of cross-functional issues. This is accomplished by exposing students to many functional areas during each of our four academic terms. An overriding theme for each term guides the selection of topics within traditional functional areas. Character: Having the right values and integrity to lead others. Under this heading, there s a lot we do in order to create greater selfawareness, which we believe is the basis of leadership. For example, we do a 360 evaluation, where each student is obligated to prepare an individual development plan. Each individual is assigned a professional coach who volunteers time to work with students on a one-to-one basis. Work focuses on a personal development plan and other aspects of their personal and professional lives. Community: A commitment to giving back, to building your community around you whether it be your neighborhood, your city, state, country, but a commitment to others and to building community. That was the foundation upon which the leadership model was developed. When it comes to times of crisis and challenge we ve given students the fundamentals. We ve helped them to develop an understanding of the importance of values and integrity and transparency and serving others, well beyond simply how to make a lot of money. 26 CEO

6 North America Unlike 4th edition textbooks, where they ve added a new chapter called International Business, our specialization means integrating international business throughout all of the topic areas. The McColl School of Business has been successful in forging alliances with local businesses. To what extent do these relationships benefit the EMBA program and its students? I ll list a few examples: 1. Speaker series. Seeing leadership up close and personal is hugely important. For that reason we have the Leaders in Action Speaker Series. Students listen to the lecture and have dinner with these key leaders. (e.g. Ken Lewis) 2. Executives in residence. We have executives in residence at the business school that donate their time to students in small groups and individually to work with them on issues they might be facing at work. 3. Drop-ins. We all look forward to frequent drop-ins from Charlotte leaders. One of our most frequent drop-ins is Hugh McColl. 4. Case writing. Case writing efforts help with leadership studies. Each student is assigned a company to write a case about. 5. Entrepreneurial Leadership Circle. This is where 75 local entrepreneurs contribute time and money to the school, for example judging business plan competitions. 6. Executive Leadership Institute. This is our executive education arm. Here, we use our own faculty to work on customized programs for regional companies. The value to students is that the faculty interacts directly with the companies to solve their problems and then takes it back into the classroom for students to consider. CEO 27

7 There are a number of major corporations locally and nationally that won t reimburse employees for schools that aren t AASCB accredited. We are one of only two schools in North Carolina that holds two accreditations. While the AACSB puts its emphasis on a university s research standards, the ACBSP puts its emphasis on teaching. Accreditation McColl s EMBA program is accredited by the AACSB, the gold standard in accreditation. What does the school do in order to maintain the aforementioned seal of approval? Well, it s complex and lengthy. It takes six years initially to move through the accreditation process. Maintaining the accreditation is all about implementing processes, assurance of learning goals, and keeping our faculty both academically and professionally qualified. We are committed to McColl s Business School maintaining its accreditation with them. I think we have been reasonably generous from a resource allocation standpoint to ensure its success and will continue to do so going forward. For instance, a budget has already been made available for faculty to participate in AACSB conferences and seminars. When selecting an EMBA program, how important is accreditation? It s extremely important, especially with more and more MBA programs to pick from and, quite honestly, more sophisticated buyers. The majority of people investigating MBA programs are doing it via the web, thereby becoming more astute. They understand more about what accreditation means. As a result, it s very important for recruiting students. There are a number of major corporations locally and nationally that won t reimburse employees for schools that aren t AASCB accredited. We are one of only two schools in North Carolina that holds two accreditations. While the AACSB puts its emphasis on a university s research standards, the ACBSP puts its emphasis on teaching. The number of program providers servicing the EMBA market has increased significantly over the last five years, some say the market has reached saturation point. As corollary, has the AACSB raised the bar in terms of qualifying standards? Yes, I think the AACSB has raised qualifying standards. It has raised the bar in terms of educating people about what accreditation means how to get it, what it means once you have it and how to maintain it. Six years ago we might have thought of the AACSB as something we had to take care of. However, in the course of doing so, we ve realized there is real and tangible value in the process. We wouldn t be involved in some of the efforts we re making today without the AACSB emphasis behind us. Looking Ahead What can graduates and employers expect, in terms of support, from the McColl School of Business Alumni Association (MCAA)? One activity the alumni association has taken on is raising money for scholarships. It s their primary purpose, which benefits individuals, corporations and non-profits in the Charlotte region. They also take part in a symposium where topical issues are discussed at length and programming is created accordingly. The Alumni Association is a wonderful networking arm for current graduates and active students, a very functional and committed group. What can new and existing students expect from the McColl School of Business, in terms of program innovations, over the next months? We have introduced a Master of Science in Organization Development, which ties in very nicely with our leadership mission. It s unique in its particular emphasis on research methods and statistics, as well as teaching organizational development practitioners how to converse in the language of business. Along with the aforementioned Master s degree, we now offer a certificate in coaching. We re trying to bolster our undergraduate curriculum by adding a specialization in finance, which will be followed up in a year with one in international business. Finally, we re in the early stages of developing a center for entrepreneurship. It s important to mention that, over the next year, once again we ll be looking at our curriculum to make sure it s highly relevant to what s happening in the business community. This involves taking a hard look at international business. Unlike 4th edition textbooks, where they ve added a new chapter called International Business, our specialization means integrating international business throughout all of the topic areas. Biographies Dr. Pamela Davies became President of Queens University of Charlotte on July 1, 2002, making her the 20th president of the institution. She is the former Dean of the McColl School of Business, and before coming to the institution, she was Professor of Management and Dean of the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. Terry Broderick is the Dean of the McColl School of Business. Prior to this Mr. Broderick served on the Queens University of Charlotte Board of Trustees. Mr. Broderick retired as CEO and President of Royal & SunAlliance USA in June Ron Veith joined the McColl School of Business as the Director of the Executive MBA Program in the fall of Prior to his joining the McColl School Mr. Veith spent more than 20 years with Accenture retiring as a partner in At Accenture he was the Global Managing Partner for one of the firm s global practice areas. Mr. Veith served as a lead partner for many large clients including Bell South (now AT&T), Nabisco, Sara Lee, and Michelin. 28 CEO

8 I thought I was ready for the future. But this experience was a revelation. McColl Executive MBA Student My confidence. That s what changed. McColl Professional MBA Student The difference was they clearly focused on what we needed. McColl Executive Leadership Institute Client Accredited by AACSB International CEO 9