MBA Part II: It's Not Too late

MBA Part II: It's Not Too late

The most popular type of MBA in Japan is a part-time one, whereby
you can continue working. This means attending school in the
weekends with the occasional block course. While the rest of the
tertiary education world is going back to school in April, one
school, McGill, starts its 2004 classes in June. This gives you a bit
more time to consider whether or not you would like to embark on
an MBA.

McGill MBA Japan is the Japanese branch of McGill University, one
of the world's top 50 business schools, located in Montreal, Canada.
The school has a 2-year, 60 credit program which it runs for two
Saturdays a month, giving those with families a little more time
with the kids - or to make business trips.

I talked to the school Director Scott Maltby about why people
would want to do an MBA in Japan, when they could be doing the
same thing back home. Scott highlighted an interesting point: that
part-time "in-situ" learning allows people to apply what they've
learned the very next working day at the office. This has a huge
reinforcing effect on what might otherwise just be a bunch of
theory. He predicts that moreand more MBA schools will move to
part-time advanced learning, simply because it seems to work so
well. I certainly agree that this removes some of the reputation
(not necessarily deserved, but in a tight market often repeated)
that freshly minted MBAs often get for being expensive "trainees".

There is another reason why McGill is interesting. As many readers
will know, when people, and essentially employers, think of Asia
these days, Japan is not necessarily at the top of the list - rather,
the mind share tends to be taken up by China instead, or in fact the
overall region as a whole. Therefore, if you are going to get an MBA
for strategic reasons, it's probably a good idea to choose a school
that can offer a strategic selection of locations.

The McGill folks came to this conclusion several years ago, and
from this year, will be offering block courses not only at their
campus at Sophia University, but also in Beijing and Seoul. Thus,
coming out of a McGill program will rightly allow you to say that
you have regional experience and exposure. Of course, if you happen
to like Canada, or indeed are Canadian, then another reason to look
at McGill is their Japan+Canada study program. This option has you
getting started here in Tokyo, then finishing up the second year in
Montreal.

So, there you have it, some more good reasons for doing an MBA in
Tokyo while sojourned here.

You can find out more about the McGill program at
http://www.mcgillmbajapan.com/

If you are considering a career in the recruiting industry, you can
drop Terrie Lloyd an email for more advice at
terrie.lloyd@daijob.com. You can also see his weekly newsletter,
called Terrie's Take, at www.terrie.com.