The Benefits of an Executive MBA #5 The Impact on Colleagues and Company

In the fifth instalment of its look at the benefits of an EMBA, TopMBA.com looks at how it can impact companies and one's colleagues.

The benefits of an Executive MBA on the individual graduate are often talked about but there is another party reaping the rewards of the EMBA student’s business school investment – the employer.

Company funding for Executive MBAs may be waning in these difficult financial times, but many employers are still aware of the positive impact an EMBA can have on their organization.

The immediate benefits for employers and colleagues rest not only in the applied hard skills an EMBA student acquires throughout the program, but also in the confidence, attitude and new approach to work a newly graduated EMBA employee will likely bring to the organization as a whole.

In addition, the structure of Executive MBA programs mean employees can apply new skills and knowledge into the workplace straight away, thus making an instant impact rather than having to wait until after graduation.

At the forefront of business trends

The EMBA environment presents students with a range of new experiences and impressions. These can be used to make a positive contribution to the workplace. Yet of greatest value is the exposure Executive MBA students receive to cutting edge developments and prospects in the international and global business world. This means they are able to identify new trends and swiftly turn them into opportunities, either for a specific company project or the organization as a whole. The global business environment is one of high dynamism and frequent change and being embedded in a learning environment, such as that of the EMBA classroom, gives employees the unparalleled possibility to find out about and react to these latest trends quickly. This, among other aspects of an EMBA education, results in an EMBA employee being able to think better strategically with the organization’s interests in mind.

Shaping strategy

Being able to shape strategies effectively and innovatively is perhaps among the most valuable benefits an EMBA student can bestow on his or her company. Thinking through complex business cases and problems within the EMBA curriculum, inside and outside the classroom, will often result in greater agility in tackling problems that arise within the work context. Additionally, being exposed to new perspectives and creative input from other classmates and students creates a general outlook of innovation and inspiration.

Developing strong leadership

Employees with an EMBA education will often exhibit innovation, tenacity and forward-thinking. This is particularly inspiring for colleagues around them. As a result, EMBA graduates make for stronger team leaders who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to create and motivate better performing teams. EMBA programs today increasingly focus on the development of soft skills, such as improved communication, a greater self-awareness and the ability to motivate others more effectively. When EMBA-employees directly transfer this knowledge from the business school classroom into the real world, this can make for a very productive, dynamic and rewarding process. Furthermore, the reactions and responses from work teams and employers can be critically discussed back in the classroom, and potential challenges can be addressed. However, the learning doesn’t stop there. The results of these discussions among the EMBA faculty and a student’s classmates can then be fed back immediately into the work environment.

Spreading the skills

An Executive MBA doesn’t just equip students with the most up to date knowledge in the business sector; it also arms them with the tools, methodologies and analytical frameworks to work from. This is yet another advantage the Executive MBA brings to the organization. While an EMBA employee’s fellow colleagues can witness firsthand the relevance of their co-worker’ education, perhaps the true benefit is in the frameworks he or she implements and to lasting effect. This combined with a new perspective and different methods of approaching specific problems on a wider, collective basis can only result in a win-win situation for all involved.