What skills does an MBA student achieve?

Nowadays, in higher education, new ways of learning are promoted that contribute to the development of the skills established in the design of the programs. The research presented below analyzes the applicability in the professional environment of the skills achieved by company managers who participate as students in MBA programs.

This research article has been published by Ramon González Cambray, Amal Ejjaberi Elasri and Enric Serradell López, all three members of the Management & e-Learning (MeL) research group. The article was published in the CIDUI conference in 2021.

Methodology

The data obtained by the study come from the sample of a questionnaire answered by 62 students who graduated from the Executive MBA program of the Open University of Catalonia, in five different editions, from the 9th edition (October 2013) to the 13th (May 2017).

The questionnaire consisted of a total of 72 questions, based on the deployment of the skills map identified in the program’s validation phase, and in which a total of 12 skills were selected: (1) Change Management; (2) Strategic Planning; (3) Customer orientation; (4) Leadership; (5) Teamwork; (6) Negotiation; (7) Decision making; (8) Time Management; (9) Entrepreneurial creativity; (10) Communication; (11) Conflict Management; (12) Emotional intelligence.

Results and conclusions

The results show a generalized leap in competence for graduate students with respect to their initial competence profile when starting the MBA program.

Additionally, it is concluded that the skills they develop to a greater extent are those of strategic planning, time management, leadership, communication and change management, all of which are relevant in the e-Learning modality that is presented in this communication.

Finally, it is concluded that the choice of skills that were chosen for the MBA degree are correct, and allow for an individualized intervention with each participant, accompanying them at all times and throughout the entire study process.

Check out the study

You can consult the study for free by clicking on this link.