InTouch : MBAs go global

The ability to work cross culturally around the world is now vital skill set for managers, and management edu­cation needs to reflect this more globalised business model.
That’s according to director of the Graduate College of Management at Queensland’s Southern Cross University, Ian Eddie who believes management programmes in Australia and New Zealand are well positioned to cater to this trend.
“The networking of business schools and programmes around the world is model of education that we’ll see more off. As director of an MBA programme, one of my challenges is building the global networks to create pathway for students to pick up components of their courses from around the world and get that international skill set embedded into their education.”
In New Zealand to celebrate Southern Cross University’s 10-year partnership with the Manukau Institute of Technology, Eddie along with SCU’s associate professor and Leadership author Peter Miller see globalisation as one of the biggest challenges facing both management and management education.
“The need for managers to become globally relevant in their skills sets is major challenge,” says Miller. “And moving between countries is big deal on personal level for managers and their families.”
The trend could be beneficial to local management education programmes, suggests Eddie. The growing demand for MBA qualifications from rapidly developing economies such as China and India is already evident in enrolments.
“While we may not have so many programmes as are available in places like the US, most of them are internationally recognised courses so they’re seen as globally portable, which makes them an attractive option.”
Southern Cross is already represented in more than 10 countries including China, Malaysia, New Guinea, Hawaii and Switzerland as well as New Zealand, says Eddie.
“In future we are going to see more of that kind of growth – it could make the courses much more dynamic. I think the students of the future are going to have much more exciting MBAs than just going to, say, Harvard Business School. That purely national model may not provide the best environment to embed global value skills.”